Actor
· Acting
LeVar Burton
Born 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 129
One Night Only
2026
Strip Law
as (voice)
2026
Weather Hunters
as Flexspecs (voice)
2025
Weather Hunters
as Great Grandpa Wallace (voice)
2025
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
as Self
2024
Trivial Pursuit
as Self - Host
2024
Butterfly in the Sky
as Self
2024
Carol & the End of the World
as (voice)
2023
100 Years of Warner Bros.
as Self
2023
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
as Commodore Geordi La Forge
2023
Tom Swift
as Barclay (voice)
2022
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
as Narrator (voice)
2022
The Shuttlepod Show
as Self
2022
The Legend of Vox Machina
as Undead Thordak (voice)
2022
The Problem with Jon Stewart
as Self
2021
Leverage: Redemption
as Mr. Blanche
2021
INVINCIBLE
as Suit AI (voice)
2021
Beyond the Spotlight
2020
Definition Please
as LeVar Burton
2020
Star Trek: Picard
as Commodore Geordi La Forge
2020
Tamron Hall
as Self - Guest
2019
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self
2019
Weird City
as Dr. Negari
2019
The Ready Room
as Self
2019
Brentwood
as LeVar Burton
2018
Explained
as Narrator (voice)
2018
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
as Kwame
2017
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
2017
School of the Future
2016
Roots
as Ephraim
2016
Lennon or McCartney
as Self
2014
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
2014
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
as Self
2014
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
2014
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
2013
PBS News Weekend
as Himself (voice)
2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
2013
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Self
2012
Rise of the Zombies
as Dr. Dan Halpern
2012
Perception
as Paul Haley
2012
The Eric Andre Show
as Self
2012
Finding Your Roots
2012
Transformers: Rescue Bots
as Doc Green (voice)
2012
And They're Off
as Self
2011
The Jensen Project
as Kendrick
2010
Adventure Time
as Bubble (voice)
2010
Taken in Broad Daylight
as Mike Timbrook
2009
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
as Black Lightning (voice)
2009
Community
as LeVar Burton
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
2009
Shatner's Raw Nerve
as Self
2008
Reach for Me
as Nathanial
2008
The Big Bang Theory
as LeVar Burton
2007
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
as Self
2007
40 Years of Star Trek
as Self
2006
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
as Self
2005
Hell's Kitchen
as Self - Restaurant Patron
2005
Blizzard
as Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
2003
Star Trek: Nemesis
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
2002
Boomtown
as Marvin Lloyd
2002
Remembering Roots
as Self
2002
Ali
as Martin Luther King, Jr.
2001
Futurama
as Unlicensed Hologram of LeVar Burton (voice)
1999
Family Guy
as Vern (voice)
1999
Family Guy
as LeVar Burton (voice)
1999
Our Friend, Martin
as Martin at Age 26 (voice)
1999
Star Trek: Insurrection
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
1998
Becker
as Mr. Haller
1998
Trekkies
as Self
1997
The View
as Self - Guest
1997
The View
as Self
1997
Star Trek: First Contact
as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
1996
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
as Self
1996
The Daily Show
as Self
1996
Yesterday's Target
as Winstrom
1996
MADtv
as Self
1995
Pinky and the Brain
as Murray (voice)
1995
Deadly Games
as Mr. Metcalf
1995
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as The Monk (voice)
1995
Star Trek: Voyager
as Captain Geordi La Forge
1995
Star Trek: Generations
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
1994
Gargoyles
as Anansi/Poacher 2 (voice)
1994
Parallel Lives
as Dr. Franklin Carter
1994
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Self
1994
Christy
as Daniel Scott
1994
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Descent
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
1993
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birthright
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
1993
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
as Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
1993
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
as Geordi La Forge
1993
Batman: The Animated Series
as Hayden Sloane (voice)
1992
Star Trek: Federation Science
1992
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
as Self
1991
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
as Kwame (voice)
1990
Central Park
as Self
1990
Roots: The Gift
as Kunta Kinte
1988
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
as Self
1988
Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Geordi La Forge
1987
A Special Friendship
as Ben Sumner
1987
Houston Knights
as Jason Evans
1987
Liberty
as Robert Johnson
1986
The Supernaturals
as Pvt. Michael Osgood
1986
The Midnight Hour
as Vinnie Davis
1985
And the Children Shall Lead
as Glenn Scott
1985
Murder, She Wrote
as Reporter Dave Robinson
1984
Jeopardy!
as Self - Host
1984
Jeopardy!
as Self
1984
The Jesse Owens Story
as Professor Preston
1984
Emergency Room
as Ray Walden
1983
Reading Rainbow
as Self - Host
1983
I Love Liberty
as Self
1982
The Acorn People
as Rodney
1981
The Hunter
as Tommy Price
1980
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
as Richard Jefferson
1980
Trapper John, M.D.
1979
Dummy
as Donald Lang
1979
The Muppets Go Hollywood
as Self
1979
Mickey's 50
as Self
1978
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
as Ron LeFlore
1978
Battered
as Andrew Sinclair
1978
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
as Cap Jackson
1977
The Love Boat
as Darnell Hall
1977
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
as Billy Peoples
1977
US Against the World
as Self
1977
Roots
as Kunta Kinte
1977
The Captain and Tennille
as Self
1976
Almos' a Man
as Dave
1976
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
Scripps National Spelling Bee
as Self - Host