LeVar Burton profile
Actor profile

LeVar Burton

16th February 1957 Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany Acting

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.

66 Movies 60 TV Shows 1 In Production 127 Credits
Filmography

Movies & TV Shows

Blizzard poster
Blizzard 15th May 2003 as Night Watchman Elf (uncredited)
Ali poster
Ali 10th December 2001 as Martin Luther King, Jr.
Liberty poster
Liberty 23rd June 1986 as Robert Johnson
Dummy poster
Dummy 27th May 1979 as Donald Lang
Battered poster
Battered 26th September 1978 as Andrew Sinclair
Roots poster
Roots 30th May 2016 as Ephraim
Boomtown poster
Boomtown 29th September 2002 as Marvin Lloyd
Futurama poster
Futurama 28th March 1999 as Unlicensed Hologram of LeVar Burton (voice)
Becker poster
Becker 2nd November 1998 as Mr. Haller
MADtv poster
MADtv 14th October 1995 as Self
Gargoyles poster
Gargoyles 24th October 1994 as Anansi/Poacher 2 (voice)
Christy poster
Christy 3rd April 1994 as Daniel Scott
Roots poster
Roots 23rd January 1977 as Kunta Kinte
One Night Only poster Coming soon
One Night Only 5th August 2026