Feb 16, 1957

Landstuhl, West Germany

LeVar Burton made his acting debut at age 19 in the acclaimed landmark TV miniseries "Roots." He served as host and producer of "Reading Rainbow," an acclaimed children's show designed to instill an interest in reading, and regained widespread celebrity in the late 80s as a member of the intergalactic ensemble of "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Since leaving "Star Trek," Burton had a recurring role on the period family drama "Christy" and published the novel "Aftermath" in 1996. In addition, ... ... (read more...) he has developed a second career as a director, handling helming chores on the various spin-offs like "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", "Star Trek: Voyager" and "Enterprise," as well as non-Trek series such as the Showtime drama "Soul Food." He branched out of the sci-fi genre to direct the 1998 Showtime biopic "The Tiger Woods Story" and the 1999 family comedy "Smart House" for The Disney Channel. He also had a cameo as Martin Luther King Jr. in <i>Ali</i>.