LeVar Burton
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.
| Known For | Acting |
|---|---|
| Most Rating | 1.8204 |
| Birthday | 1957-02-16 |
| Place of Birth | Landstuhl, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany |
| Also Known As | Levar Burton, Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. , |
1994
Star Trek: Generations
6.515/1453
Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star syste...
Watch Now
Star Trek: Generations
2002
Star Trek: Nemesis
6.301/1549
En route to the honeymoon of William Riker to Deanna Troi on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise...
Watch Now
Star Trek: Nemesis
1996
Star Trek: First Contact
7.294/1918
The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew o...
Watch Now
Star Trek: First Contact
1998
Star Trek: Insurrection
6.445/1325
When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and th...
Watch Now
Star Trek: Insurrection
2012
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
5.5/2
Feature-length documentary offering the definitive look at the making of the iconic science fiction classic; STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION! Includes...
Watch Now
Stardate Revisited - The Origin of Star Trek: The Next Generation
1980
The Hunter
5.891/152
During his long career, bounty hunter Ralph "Papa" Thorson has caught over 5,000 criminals. Now, while he is working on apprehending fugitives in Illi...
Watch Now
The Hunter
2009
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
7.072/699
United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a Kryptonite meteor to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty on the heads...
Watch Now
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
1985
The Midnight Hour
5.9/58
Phil, Melissa, Mitch, Mary, and Vinnie are high school friends, who unwittingly raise the dead on Halloween night. Once the dead have returned, Pitchf...
Watch Now
The Midnight Hour
1982
I Love Liberty
0/0
An all-star variety special saluting America.
Watch Now
I Love Liberty
2022
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
7/1
For most of America's history, sacred buildings represented our greatest feats of innovative engineering and artistic design. Unlock the elements of...
Watch Now
Secrets of Sacred Architecture
2010
The Jensen Project
5.5/15
After a sixteen-year absence, married scientists Claire and Matt Thompson reunite with The Jensen Project. The Jensen Project is a secret community of...
Watch Now
The Jensen Project
1977
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
6.363/125
A short, unhappy affair with a married man leads a dedicated schoolteacher into the alcohol-and-drug fueled underworld of singles’ bars, where she beg...
Watch Now
Looking for Mr. Goodbar
2023
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
7.7/9
Get ready to send off Jean-Luc Picard and his crew in style! On Wednesday, April 19, experience the last two episodes of Star Trek: Picard in IMAX, fo...
Watch Now
Star Trek: Picard - The IMAX Live Series Finale Event
1997
Trekkies
6.373/63
Denise Crosby takes a first look at the huge fans of "Star Trek" from around America and how the series has affected and shaped their lives.
Watch Now
Trekkies
2024
Butterfly in the Sky
8.2/10
Two seconds into the bubbling synth sounds of its theme song will have a child of the 1980s or ‘90s exclaiming “Reading Rainbow!” Such is the beloved...
Watch Now
Butterfly in the Sky
1986
The Supernaturals
4.1/16
Nichelle Nichols is an army sergeant who leads her platoon into the woods of the deep south on a training exercise. Unfortunately, it is the site wher...
Watch Now
The Supernaturals
2009
Taken in Broad Daylight
5/30
Every 24 hrs. after a child's been kidnapped by a stranger, chances of finding them alive diminishes to almost 100% ... The true and inspiring surviva...
Watch Now
Taken in Broad Daylight
2008
Reach for Me
2.8/4
Old and bitter, Alvin just wants some peace and quiet in his last days. His wish, however, is not granted when a young, vibrant and ironically full of...
Watch Now
Reach for Me
1992
Star Trek: Federation Science
1/1
Produced by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (lead writer, Mark Bourne), the exhibit was originally developed to coincide with both the 25th...
Watch Now
Star Trek: Federation Science
1994
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
6.667/9
Your destination: the 24th century. Your mission: to voyage where few have gone before--behind the scenes of Star Trek: The Next Generation! Join Jona...
Watch Now
Journey's End - The Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation
1988
Roots: The Gift
6.8/12
On Christmas Eve 1770, a young African warrior, who three years prior had been captured and sold into slavery in America, leads a desperate group of r...
Watch Now
Roots: The Gift
1977
US Against the World
0/0
This NBC Special from 1977 pitted celebrities from the worlds of film and TV in the United States against stars from the U.K. and the rest of the Worl...
Watch Now
US Against the World
2012
Rise of the Zombies
4.233/103
When zombies overrun San Francisco, a desperate group survives by locking themselves inside Alcatraz Prison. When the undead breach the island, our he...
Watch Now
Rise of the Zombies
1999
Our Friend, Martin
6.9/14
Two teens are sent back in time to meet Martin Luther King Jr. at several points during his life.
Watch Now
Our Friend, Martin
1984
The Jesse Owens Story
7.9/5
The Jesse Owens Story is a biographical film about the black athlete Jesse Owens. Dorian Harewood plays the Olympic gold-winning athlete. The drama wo...
Watch Now
The Jesse Owens Story
1977
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
0/0
A young ghetto kid despairs of ever getting out of that environment and making something of himself, until one day he gets a job as an assistant in a...
Watch Now
Billy: Portrait of a Street Kid
1978
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
5.5/3
The true story of baseball star Ron LeFlore, from his days as a street-corner punk with no future to his days behind bars on a petty robbery convictio...
Watch Now
One in a Million: The Ron LeFlore Story
1979
Dummy
8.5/2
The real-life account of an illiterate, deaf-and-mute, black youth who was accused of murdering a prostitute, and the relationship that developed betw...
Watch Now
Dummy
1981
The Acorn People
2/2
An unemployed teacher becomes a counselor at a summer camp for severely disabled children.
Watch Now
The Acorn People
1983
Emergency Room
0/0
An ER doctor divides her time between saving lives, playing hospital politics, and juggling a love affair with a fellow doctor.
Watch Now
Emergency Room
1996
Yesterday's Target
3.875/12
Memory loss, separation and assassins threaten three time-travelers with special powers who are stuck in the past.
Watch Now
Yesterday's Target
1994
Parallel Lives
5/6
A college reunion turns into a tangled web of passion, romance and intrigue as old friends and enemies catch up with each other's lives. Includes a lo...
Watch Now
Parallel Lives
1993
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
1/1
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Behind the Scenes was a fifty minute documentary hosted by Terry Farrell that looked at the creation of Star Trek: Deep S...
Watch Now
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Behind the Scenes
2005
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
5.5/10
Friends, family, co-stars and admirers of actor Steve McQueen talk about his life and his movie career.
Watch Now
Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool
1976
Almos' a Man
0/0
Although Dave (LeVar Burton) and his family are poor sharecroppers in the Deep South in the 1930s, this 15-year-old's problem is shared by teenagers t...
Watch Now
Almos' a Man
2014
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
0/0
This fast-paced Documentary was filmed inside America's biggest Comics/Film Convention and includes informative and humorous interviews with Levar Bur...
Watch Now
A Star Is Drawn: Rob Simone's Look Inside Comic-Con
1984
Booker
7/1
Booker tells the true story of Booker T. Washington, who, as a young slave, dreams of learning to read and write. After the Civil War frees him, Booke...
Watch Now
Booker
1993
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
4.5/2
Based on the actual events of the 1991 brush fires that swept across Northern California, which left countless people without homes. A rookie fire chi...
Watch Now
Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland
1996
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
5.8/6
A star-studded tribute to Star Trek on its 30th anniversary, hosted by many of the stars and guest stars from all of the Trek series and movies. Also...
Watch Now
Star Trek: 30 Years and Beyond
2014
Lennon or McCartney
5.2/28
550 artists were interviewed over ten years. At some point during those interviews, they were asked a question and told to answer with one word only....
Watch Now
Lennon or McCartney
2001
Ali
6.8/1836
In 1964, a brash, new pro boxer, fresh from his Olympic gold medal victory, explodes onto the scene: Cassius Clay. Bold and outspoken, he cuts an enti...
Watch Now
Ali
1981
Grambling's White Tiger
0/0
A young white man goes to a historically black college for the chance to be the starting quarterback. There he encounters considerable resentment and...
Watch Now
Grambling's White Tiger
1987
A Special Friendship
0/0
During the American Civil War, two women, a wealthy white woman and a freed black slave, join forces to fight for freedom and the abolition of slavery...
Watch Now
A Special Friendship
1978
Battered
0/0
Gritty drama of three interweaving stories of three women of various backgrounds and ages whose marriages are complicated by spouse-abuse by their hus...
Watch Now
Battered
2016
School of the Future
7/1
Researchers and educators highlight the gaps in the U.S. education system and share their visions for innovative and meaningful learning environments.
Watch Now
School of the Future
1990
Central Park
7.4/9
CENTRAL PARK is a film about the famous New York City landmark and the variety of ways in which people make use of it: running, boating, walking, skat...
Watch Now
Central Park
1991
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
5.9/8
This documentary is hosted by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy and they take us through the history of Star Trek. We also get to see bloopers from th...
Watch Now
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary Special
2006
40 Years of Star Trek
4.3/3
The Space Channel celebrates the 40th anniversary of the original STAR TREK. Produced by Mark Askwith, hosted by Jonathan Llyr and featuring interview...
Watch Now
40 Years of Star Trek
1985
And the Children Shall Lead
10/2
Mississippi in the early '60s is the setting for this story of a 12-year-old African-American girl who, along with her white friends, tries to ease in...
Watch Now
And the Children Shall Lead
2018
Brentwood
8/2
A running feud between Star Trek actors Brent Spiner and Levar Burton is the basis for this TV comedy pilot.
Watch Now
Brentwood
1978
Mickey's 50
0/0
"Mickey's 50" is a 90-minute special that aired on The Wonderful World of Disney on November 19, 1978. The special was made to commemorate the 50th bi...
Watch Now
Mickey's 50
2003
Blizzard
5.938/81
A young girl's aunt tells her the tale of a young ice skater and an enchanted reindeer.
Watch Now
Blizzard
1988
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
2.6/4
This special is hosted by Patrick Stewart and traced the history of Star Trek from its inception with "The Cage" through to Star Trek IV: The Voyage H...
Watch Now
The Star Trek Saga: From One Generation to the Next
2017
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
10/5
The Rescue Bots (Chase, Heatwave, Blades and Boulder) along with their human counterparts, the Burns, are one big happy Rescue Family! Together, they...
Watch Now
Transformers: Rescue Bots - Rescue Family
1986
Liberty
5/1
Drama about how the Statue of Liberty came to be erected in New York Harbor in the early 1880s and the people responsible for its creation.
Watch Now
Liberty
2020
Definition Please
3.2/5
The story of Monica Chowdry, a National Spelling Bee champ…from 15 years ago. Life hasn’t quite panned out as expected for Monica since her big win. W...
Watch Now
Definition Please
2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
7.25/16
The Enterprise has a deadly encounter with the Borg, resulting in Picard's kidnap, while Commander Riker encounters a beautiful rival with an eye on h...
Watch Now
Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Best of Both Worlds
2012
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
7/3
Reunification: 25 Years After Star Trek – The Next Generation is a 61-minute documentary celebrating the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Gener...
Watch Now
Reunification - 25 Years After Star Trek: The Next Generation
1979
The Muppets Go Hollywood
6.174/23
Kermit the Frog throws a glamorous party at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub to celebrate the premiere of the Muppets' first feature film, The Muppet Movi...
Watch Now
The Muppets Go Hollywood
2024
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
0/0
The documentary explores the legacy of Star Trek: Voyager (1995).
Watch Now
To the Journey: Looking Back at Star Trek: Voyager
2011
And They're Off
4.1/4
A comedy centered on a failed horse trainer who desperately wants to be back in the winner's circle.
Watch Now
And They're Off
2014
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
0/0
Tensions rise as a possible Cardassian attack looms, and Picard, Dr. Crusher and Worf are sent on a secret mission to find and destroy suspected biolo...
Watch Now
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Chain of Command
2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
0/0
Captain Picard embarks on a secret mission to find Ambassador Spock, who is rumored to have defected to the Romulan Empire. Picard and Data, with the...
Watch Now
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Unification
2013
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
9/1
The U.S.S. Enterprise travels to the Klingon Empire, where Captain Picard is to attend the installation of Gowron, the new Leader of the High Council....
Watch Now
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Redemption
2026
One Night Only
0/0
Two strangers scramble to find someone to sleep with on the one night of the year when premarital sex is legal.
Watch Now
One Night Only
2014
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
0/0
Capt. Picard finds himself shifting continually into the past, future and present and must use that to discover a threat to humanity's existence.
Watch Now
Star Trek: The Next Generation - All Good Things...
2002
Remembering Roots
0/0
The cast and crew of Roots (1977) recall its phenomenal success on its 25th anniversary.
Watch Now
Remembering Roots
1993
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birthright
0/0
While the Enterprise is docked at Deep Space Nine, providing assistance in repairing the Bajoran aqueducts, Worf is approached by an Yridian informati...
Watch Now
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birthright
1993
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Descent
0/0
On the holodeck, Lt. Commander Data plays a game of poker with holographic representations of Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking....
Watch Now