Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. (1957 - ) known as Levar Burton is an African-american actor who first came to prominence playing Kunte Kinte in the 1977 miniseries Roots.
He later played the role of Geordi LaForge in the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series and related movies. He is also the host of the long-running children's show Reading Rainbow (1983-) on PBS.