Cast
LeVar Burton
Acting
Cast
LeVar Burton
Known for
Acting
Born
1957-02-16
From
Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany
Also known as Levar Burton, Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr.
Biography
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.
★7.3
MOVIE1996
Star Trek: First Contact
as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
★6.4
MOVIE1998
Star Trek: Insurrection
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
★6.3
MOVIE2002
Star Trek: Nemesis
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
MOVIE2026
One Night Only
★6.8
MOVIE2001
Ali
as Martin Luther King, Jr.
★6.5
MOVIE1994
Star Trek: Generations
as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
★7.1
MOVIE2009
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
as Black Lightning (voice)
★8.0
MOVIE2018
Brentwood
as LeVar Burton
★8.1
MOVIE1984
The Jesse Owens Story
as Professor Preston
★7.5
MOVIE1990
Central Park
as Self
★6.3
MOVIE1977
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
as Cap Jackson
★6.3
MOVIE1997
Trekkies
as Self
★7.1
MOVIE1999
Our Friend, Martin
as Martin at Age 26 (voice)
★5.3
MOVIE2014
Lennon or McCartney
as Self
MOVIE2002
Remembering Roots
as Self
★4.2
MOVIE2012
Rise of the Zombies
as Dr. Dan Halpern
★6.2
MOVIE1979
The Muppets Go Hollywood
as Self
★8.3
MOVIE2024
Butterfly in the Sky
as Self
★5.9
MOVIE1985
The Midnight Hour
as Vinnie Davis
★5.9
MOVIE1980
The Hunter
as Tommy Price
★6.0
MOVIE2003
Blizzard
as Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
★4.1
MOVIE2011
And They're Off
as Self
★8.8
MOVIE1979
Dummy
as Donald Lang
★5.9
MOVIE2005
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
as Self
★4.2
MOVIE1996
Yesterday's Target
as Winstrom
★9.0
MOVIE1978
Mickey's 50
as Self
★5.6
MOVIE1996
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
as Self
MOVIE2014
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
★5.2
MOVIE2009
Taken in Broad Daylight
as Mike Timbrook
MOVIE1982
I Love Liberty
as Self
★7.3
MOVIE1988
Roots: The Gift
as Kunta Kinte
MOVIE2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
★5.5
MOVIE2010
The Jensen Project
as Kendrick
★4.2
MOVIE1986
The Supernaturals
as Pvt. Michael Osgood
★3.8
MOVIE2006
40 Years of Star Trek
as Self
★3.7
MOVIE1981
The Acorn People
as Rodney
MOVIE1977
US Against the World
as Self
★2.5
MOVIE1988
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
as Self
★2.8
MOVIE2008
Reach for Me
as Nathanial
★5.7
MOVIE1994
Parallel Lives
as Dr. Franklin Carter
★10.0
MOVIE1976
Almos' a Man
as Dave
MOVIE2024
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
as Self
★7.2
MOVIE2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
MOVIE2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
★7.0
MOVIE1994
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Self
★9.0
MOVIE1987
A Special Friendship
as Ben Sumner
★7.0
MOVIE1981
Grambling's White Tiger
as Charles 'Tank' Smith
★5.9
MOVIE1991
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
as Self
MOVIE2014
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
★7.0
MOVIE2016
School of the Future
★2.0
MOVIE2014
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
as Self
★6.1
MOVIE1978
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
as Ron LeFlore
★1.0
MOVIE1992
Star Trek: Federation Science
★8.0
MOVIE1977
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
as Billy Peoples
★4.0
MOVIE1993
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
as Geordi La Forge
★7.7
MOVIE2023
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
as Commodore Geordi La Forge
★3.2
MOVIE2020
Definition Please
as LeVar Burton
★6.0
MOVIE1986
Liberty
as Robert Johnson
★9.0
MOVIE1978
Battered
as Andrew Sinclair
★5.3
MOVIE1993
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
as Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
★10.0
MOVIE2017
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
★9.0
MOVIE1983
Emergency Room
as Ray Walden
★9.0
MOVIE1985
And the Children Shall Lead
as Glenn Scott
★5.5
MOVIE2012
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Self
★7.0
MOVIE2012
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
as Self
★8.0
MOVIE1984
Booker
as Davis
★7.0
MOVIE2022
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
as Narrator (voice)