Cast & creator
LeVar Burton
Best known for Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Daily Show
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.
Also known as: Levar Burton, Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr.
73
film credits
79
television credits
132
1962–2026 · acting roles
6.7
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (152)
Showing 152 of 152 credits
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest
2009
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
The Daily Show
Self
1996
Family Guy
Vern (voice)
1999Family Guy
LeVar Burton (voice)
1999
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self
2019
The View
Self - Guest
1997The View
Self
1997
Jeopardy!
Self - Host
1984Jeopardy!
Self
1984
JAG
Director
1995
Charmed
Director
1998
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Geordi La Forge
1987Star Trek: The Next Generation
Director
1987
Star Trek: Voyager
Captain Geordi La Forge
1995Star Trek: Voyager
Director
1995
Adventure Time
Bubble (voice)
2010
Futurama
Unlicensed Hologram of LeVar Burton (voice)
1999
The Love Boat
Darnell Hall
1977
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Director
1993
Murder, She Wrote
Reporter Dave Robinson
1984
The Tamron Hall Show
Self - Guest
2019
Star Trek: Enterprise
Director
2001
Scorpion
Director
2014
Las Vegas
Director
2003
INVINCIBLE
Suit AI (voice)
2021
Community
LeVar Burton
2009
Batman: The Animated Series
Hayden Sloane (voice)
1992
Hell's Kitchen
Self - Restaurant Patron
2005
NCIS: New Orleans
Director
2014
The Big Bang Theory
LeVar Burton
2007
Perception
Paul Haley
2012Perception
Director
2012
Trapper John, M.D.
1979
The Legend of Vox Machina
Undead Thordak (voice)
2022
Gargoyles
Anansi/Poacher 2 (voice)
1994
Star Trek: Picard
Commodore Geordi La Forge
2020
Becker
Mr. Haller
1998
Finding Your Roots
2012
One Night Only
Rick
2026
Reading Rainbow
Self - Host
1983Reading Rainbow
Executive Producer
1983
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Kwame (voice)
1990
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
Self
2007
NCIS: Hawaiʻi
Director
2021
Leverage: Redemption
Mr. Blanche
2021
The Eric Andre Show
Self
2012
PBS News Weekend
Himself (voice)
2013
Transformers: Rescue Bots
Doc Green (voice)
2012
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
The Monk (voice)
1995
The Ready Room
Self
2019
OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Kwame
2017
Pinky and the Brain
Murray (voice)
1995
Explained
Narrator (voice)
2018
Roots
Kunta Kinte
1977
Boomtown
Marvin Lloyd
2002
Strip Law
(voice)
2026
Carol & the End of the World
(voice)
2023
100 Years of Warner Bros.
Self
2023
The Shuttlepod Show
Self
2022
The Problem with Jon Stewart
Self
2021
Christy
Daniel Scott
1994
Star Trek: First Contact
Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
1996
Roots
Ephraim
2016Roots
Co-Executive Producer
2016
Weird City
Dr. Negari
2019
The Captain and Tennille
Self
1976
Soul Food
Director
2000
Star Trek: Nemesis
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
2002
Shatner's Raw Nerve
Self
2008
Houston Knights
Jason Evans
1987
Star Trek: Insurrection
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
1998
Deadly Games
Mr. Metcalf
1995
Weather Hunters
Flexspecs (voice)
2025Weather Hunters
Great Grandpa Wallace (voice)
2025
Scripps National Spelling Bee
Self - Host
Tom Swift
Barclay (voice)
2022
Trivial Pursuit
Self - Host
2024
Star Trek: Generations
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
1994
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
Richard Jefferson
1980
Ali
Martin Luther King, Jr.
2001
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
Black Lightning (voice)
2009
MADtv
Self
1995
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
Cap Jackson
1977
Beyond the Spotlight
2020
Central Park
Self
1990
Rise of the Zombies
Dr. Dan Halpern
2012
Our Friend, Martin
Martin at Age 26 (voice)
1999
Miracle's Boys
Director
2005
The Hunter
Tommy Price
1980
And They're Off
Self
2011
Smart House
Director
1999
US Against the World
Self
1977
The Midnight Hour
Vinnie Davis
1985
Lennon or McCartney
Self
2014
The Muppets Go Hollywood
Self (uncredited)
1979
Butterfly in the Sky
Self
2024
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
2013
The Jesse Owens Story
Professor Preston
1984
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
Self
1991
Trekkies
Self
1997
Yesterday's Target
Winstrom
1996Roots: The Complete Miniseries
Kunta Kinte
1977
Blizzard
Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
2003Blizzard
Director
2003
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
2014
Dummy
Donald Lang
1979
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Self
1994
The Tiger Woods Story
Director
1998
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
2013
Brentwood
LeVar Burton
2018
And the Children Shall Lead
Glenn Scott
1985
Remembering Roots
Self
2002
I Love Liberty
Self
1982
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
Self
2024Make-Up Man: The Michael Westmore Documentary
Self
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
Self
1996
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
Self
2005
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
Fire Chief J. Allan Mather
1993
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
Self
1988
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
Ron LeFlore
1978
Roots: The Gift
Kunta Kinte
1988
40 Years of Star Trek
Self
2006
Taken in Broad Daylight
Mike Timbrook
2009
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
Commodore Geordi La Forge
2023
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
Self
2012
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
2017
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
2013
The Jensen Project
Kendrick
2010
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
Self
2014
Definition Please
LeVar Burton
2020
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
2014
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
Geordi La Forge
1993
Star Trek: Federation Science
1992
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
Billy Peoples
1977
Mickey's 50
Self
1978
Liberty
Robert Johnson
1986Grambling's White Tiger
Charles 'Tank' Smith
1981Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Self
2012
The Supernaturals
Pvt. Michael Osgood
1986
Booker
Davis
1984
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
Narrator (voice)
2022
The Acorn People
Rodney
1981
The Right to Read
Executive Producer
2023
Parallel Lives
Dr. Franklin Carter
1994
Reach for Me
Nathanial
2008Reach for Me
Director
2008
Battered
Andrew Sinclair
1978
Emergency Room
Ray Walden
1983
A Special Friendship
Ben Sumner
1987
Almos' a Man
Dave
1976