LeVar Burton
Acting
1957-02-16 · Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
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.
Filmography
TheatersOne Night Only
2026 · Movie
Strip Law
2026 · Series
Weather Hunters
2025 · Series
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
2024 · Movie
Trivial Pursuit
2024 · Series
Butterfly in the Sky
2024 · Movie
Carol & the End of the World
2023 · Series
100 Years of Warner Bros.
2023 · Series
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
2023 · Movie
The Right to Read
2023 · Movie
Tom Swift
2022 · Series
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
2022 · Movie
The Shuttlepod Show
2022 · Series
The Legend of Vox Machina
2022 · Series
The Problem with Jon Stewart
2021 · Series
NCIS: Hawaiʻi
2021 · Series
Leverage: Redemption
2021 · Series
INVINCIBLE
2021 · Series
Beyond the Spotlight
2020 · Series
Definition Please
2020 · Movie
Star Trek: Picard
2020 · Series
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019 · Series
Tamron Hall
2019 · Series
Weird City
2019 · Series
The Ready Room
2019 · Series
Brentwood
2018 · Movie
Explained
2018 · Series
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
2017 · Series
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
2017 · Movie
School of the Future
2016 · Movie
Roots
2016 · Series
Lennon or McCartney
2014 · Movie
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
2014 · Movie
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
2014 · Movie
NCIS: New Orleans
2014 · Series
Scorpion
2014 · Series
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
2014 · Movie
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
2013 · Movie
PBS News Weekend
2013 · Series
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
2013 · Movie
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
2013 · Movie
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
2012 · Movie
Rise of the Zombies
2012 · Movie
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
2012 · Movie
Perception
2012 · Series
The Eric Andre Show
2012 · Series
Finding Your Roots
2012 · Series
Transformers: Rescue Bots
2012 · Series
And They're Off
2011 · Movie
The Jensen Project
2010 · Movie
Adventure Time
2010 · Series
Taken in Broad Daylight
2009 · Movie
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
2009 · Movie
Community
2009 · Series
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009 · Series
Shatner's Raw Nerve
2008 · Series
Reach for Me
2008 · Movie
The Big Bang Theory
2007 · Series
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
2007 · Series
40 Years of Star Trek
2006 · Movie
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
2005 · Movie
Hell's Kitchen
2005 · Series
Miracle's Boys
2005 · Series
Las Vegas
2003 · Series
Blizzard
2003 · Movie
Star Trek: Nemesis
2002 · Movie
Boomtown
2002 · Series
Remembering Roots
2002 · Movie
Ali
2001 · Movie
Star Trek: Enterprise
2001 · Series
Soul Food
2000 · Series
Smart House
1999 · Movie
Futurama
1999 · Series
Family Guy
1999 · Series
Our Friend, Martin
1999 · Movie
Star Trek: Insurrection
1998 · Movie
Becker
1998 · Series
Charmed
1998 · Series
The Tiger Woods Story
1998 · Movie
Trekkies
1997 · Movie
The View
1997 · Series
Star Trek: First Contact
1996 · Movie
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
1996 · Movie
The Daily Show
1996 · Series
Yesterday's Target
1996 · Movie
MADtv
1995 · Series
JAG
1995 · Series
Pinky and the Brain
1995 · Series
Deadly Games
1995 · Series
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995 · Series
Star Trek: Voyager
1995 · Series
Star Trek: Generations
1994 · Movie
Gargoyles
1994 · Series
Parallel Lives
1994 · Movie
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
1994 · Movie
Christy
1994 · Series
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
1993 · Movie
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
1993 · Movie
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1993 · Series
Batman: The Animated Series
1992 · Series
Star Trek: Federation Science
1992 · Movie
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
1991 · Movie
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
1990 · Series
Central Park
1990 · Movie
Roots: The Gift
1988 · Movie
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
1988 · Movie
Star Trek: The Next Generation
1987 · Series
A Special Friendship
1987 · Movie
Houston Knights
1987 · Series
Liberty
1986 · Movie
The Supernaturals
1986 · Movie
The Midnight Hour
1985 · Movie
And the Children Shall Lead
1985 · Movie
Booker
1984 · Movie
Murder, She Wrote
1984 · Series
Jeopardy!
1984 · Series
The Jesse Owens Story
1984 · Movie
Emergency Room
1983 · Movie
Reading Rainbow
1983 · Series
I Love Liberty
1982 · Movie
Grambling's White Tiger
1981 · Movie
The Acorn People
1981 · Movie
The Hunter
1980 · Movie
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
1980 · Series
Trapper John, M.D.
1979 · Series
Dummy
1979 · Movie
The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979 · Movie
Mickey's 50
1978 · Movie
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
1978 · Movie
Battered
1978 · Movie
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
1977 · Movie
The Love Boat
1977 · Series
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
1977 · Movie
US Against the World
1977 · Movie
Roots
1977 · Series
Roots: The Complete Miniseries
1977 · Series
The Captain and Tennille
1976 · Series
Almos' a Man
1976 · Movie
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · Series
Scripps National Spelling Bee
Series
Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary
Movie