LeVar Burton
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Feb 16, 1957 (age 69)
- Place of birth
- Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
- Credits
- 128
Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years (1983–2006). Burton received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow.
His other roles include Cap Jackson in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), Donald Lang in Dummy (1979), Tommy Price in The Hunter (1980), which earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture, and Martin Luther King Jr. in Ali (2001). Burton received the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards for his narration of the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr. In 1990, he was honored for his accomplishments in television with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
From 2017 until 2024, Burton created and hosted the podcast LeVar Burton Reads, often described as "Reading Rainbow for adults". In October 2024, Burton appeared as the host of the Trivial Pursuit television game show broadcast on The CW network and streaming online.
Known for
The Big Bang Theory
2007TV
LeVar Burton
INVINCIBLE
2021TV
Suit AI (voice)
Family Guy
1999TV
Vern (voice), LeVar Burton (voice)
Futurama
1999TV
Unlicensed Hologram of LeVar Burton (voice)
Adventure Time
2010TV
Bubble (voice)
Community
2009TV
LeVar Burton
Filmography
One Night Only
2026Movie
Rick
Strip Law
2026TV
(voice)
Weather Hunters
2025TV
Flexspecs (voice), Great Grandpa Wallace (voice)
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
2024Movie
Self
Trivial Pursuit
2024TV
Self - Host
Butterfly in the Sky
2024Movie
Self
Carol & the End of the World
2023TV
(voice)
100 Years of Warner Bros.
2023TV
Self
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
2023Movie
Commodore Geordi La Forge
Tom Swift
2022TV
Barclay (voice)
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
2022Movie
Narrator (voice)
The Shuttlepod Show
2022TV
Self
The Legend of Vox Machina
2022TV
Undead Thordak (voice)
The Problem with Jon Stewart
2021TV
Self
Leverage: Redemption
2021TV
Mr. Blanche
INVINCIBLE
2021TV
Suit AI (voice)
Beyond the Spotlight
2020TV
Definition Please
2020Movie
LeVar Burton
Star Trek: Picard
2020TV
Commodore Geordi La Forge
The Tamron Hall Show
2019TV
Self - Guest
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019TV
Self
Weird City
2019TV
Dr. Negari
The Ready Room
2019TV
Self
Brentwood
2018Movie
LeVar Burton
Explained
2018TV
Narrator (voice)
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
2017TV
Kwame
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
2017Movie
School of the Future
2016Movie
Roots
2016TV
Ephraim
Lennon or McCartney
2014Movie
Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
2014Movie
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
2014Movie
Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
2014Movie
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
2013Movie
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
PBS News Weekend
2013TV
Himself (voice)
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
2013Movie
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
2013Movie
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
2012Movie
Self
Rise of the Zombies
2012Movie
Dr. Dan Halpern
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
2012Movie
Self
Perception
2012TV
Paul Haley
The Eric Andre Show
2012TV
Self
Finding Your Roots
2012TV
Transformers: Rescue Bots
2012TV
Doc Green (voice)
And They're Off
2011Movie
Self
The Jensen Project
2010Movie
Kendrick
Adventure Time
2010TV
Bubble (voice)
Taken in Broad Daylight
2009Movie
Mike Timbrook
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
2009Movie
Black Lightning (voice)
Community
2009TV
LeVar Burton
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009TV
Self - Guest
Shatner's Raw Nerve
2008TV
Self
Reach for Me
2008Movie
Nathanial
The Big Bang Theory
2007TV
LeVar Burton
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
2007TV
Self
40 Years of Star Trek
2006Movie
Self
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
2005Movie
Self
Hell's Kitchen
2005TV
Self - Restaurant Patron
Blizzard
2003Movie
Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
Star Trek: Nemesis
2002Movie
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Boomtown
2002TV
Marvin Lloyd
Remembering Roots
2002Movie
Self
Ali
2001Movie
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Futurama
1999TV
Unlicensed Hologram of LeVar Burton (voice)
Family Guy
1999TV
Vern (voice), LeVar Burton (voice)
Our Friend, Martin
1999Movie
Martin at Age 26 (voice)
Star Trek: Insurrection
1998Movie
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Becker
1998TV
Mr. Haller
Trekkies
1997Movie
Self
The View
1997TV
Self - Guest, Self
Star Trek: First Contact
1996Movie
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
1996Movie
Self
The Daily Show
1996TV
Self
Yesterday's Target
1996Movie
Winstrom
MADtv
1995TV
Self
Pinky and the Brain
1995TV
Murray (voice)
Deadly Games
1995TV
Mr. Metcalf
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995TV
The Monk (voice)
Star Trek: Voyager
1995TV
Captain Geordi La Forge
Star Trek: Generations
1994Movie
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Gargoyles
1994TV
Anansi/Poacher 2 (voice)
Parallel Lives
1994Movie
Dr. Franklin Carter
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
1994Movie
Self
Christy
1994TV
Daniel Scott
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
1993Movie
Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
1993Movie
Geordi La Forge
Batman: The Animated Series
1992TV
Hayden Sloane (voice)
Star Trek: Federation Science
1992Movie
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
1991Movie
Self
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
1990TV
Kwame (voice)
Central Park
1990Movie
Self
Roots: The Gift
1988Movie
Kunta Kinte
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
1988Movie
Self
Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987TV
Geordi La Forge
A Special Friendship
1987Movie
Ben Sumner
Houston Knights
1987TV
Jason Evans
Liberty
1986Movie
Robert Johnson
The Supernaturals
1986Movie
Pvt. Michael Osgood
The Midnight Hour
1985Movie
Vinnie Davis
And the Children Shall Lead
1985Movie
Glenn Scott
Booker
1984Movie
Davis
Murder, She Wrote
1984TV
Reporter Dave Robinson
Jeopardy!
1984TV
Self - Host, Self
The Jesse Owens Story
1984Movie
Professor Preston
Emergency Room
1983Movie
Ray Walden
Reading Rainbow
1983TV
Self - Host
I Love Liberty
1982Movie
Self
Grambling's White Tiger
1981Movie
Charles 'Tank' Smith
The Acorn People
1981Movie
Rodney
The Hunter
1980Movie
Tommy Price
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
1980TV
Richard Jefferson
Trapper John, M.D.
1979TV
Dummy
1979Movie
Donald Lang
The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979Movie
Self (uncredited)
Mickey's 50
1978Movie
Self
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
1978Movie
Ron LeFlore
Battered
1978Movie
Andrew Sinclair
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
1977Movie
Cap Jackson
The Love Boat
1977TV
Darnell Hall
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
1977Movie
Billy Peoples
US Against the World
1977Movie
Self
Roots
1977TV
Kunta Kinte
Roots: The Complete Miniseries
1977TV
Kunta Kinte
The Captain and Tennille
1976TV
Self
Almos' a Man
1976Movie
Dave
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962TV
Self
Scripps National Spelling Bee
TV
Self - Host
Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary
Movie
Self