Actor LeVar Burton is best known for his role as Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. A lifelong franchise fan, Burton played the role for all seven seasons of the show and was known for his signature VISOR, which allowed the character to see as he was blind from birth.
Burton also took on the role of director of some series episodes and returned to helm episodes of the spinoff show Star Trek: Voyager. The actor mentioned that he preferred to direct rather than spend hours applying makeup and the VISOR as an actor.
LeVar Burton Despised The Grueling Star Trek Filming Process And Preferred To Direct
LeVar Burton’s role in the Star Trek universe has been an irreplaceable part of pop culture. The actor played the chief engineer of the USS Enterprise-D Geordi La Forge. Characterized by his signature VISOR, the Roots star was appreciated for his performance and even graduated to become a director in The Next Generation.
Burton has directed many episodes in multiple spinoff shows and has reportedly helmed the most episodes by any former cast member. He has contributed to shows such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. While he returned as La Forge in shows such as Voyager and Picard, he mainly handled things behind the camera.
The star mentioned in an interview while filming the eighth episode of season 1 of Voyager that he preferred to direct over acting. He said to EW (via Totally Kate),
Do I miss that? Nooooo, sir. I don’t have to get up at 6:00 a.m. I don’t have to get into a space suit. I don’t have to put on that VISOR. Miss it? No. No.
The VISOR was one of his signature costume accessories which allowed the character La Forge to see as he was blind from birth. In the universe, the VISOR is connected to the optic nerves through the temples, allowing the wearer to sense directly.
LeVar Burton Was A Huge Fan Of The Star Trek Franchise
While Star Trek is one of the most popular franchises in the world, it did not start out that way, and it only gained traction years after it aired. The sci-fi franchise broke much ground in representation in mainstream TV and an episode of the original series has even been credited with showing the first interracial kiss on TV (via NBC News).
Such ideals of a future without racism and stereotypes reportedly inspired a young LeVar Burton, who mentioned that he was a huge fan of the original series before he was cast in The Next Generation. He said to Forbes,
I started watching Star Trek in the 60s. I’m a big fan of Gene’s vision. It’s very inspiring, Gene’s vision of the future. Growing up Black in America, seeing, having Nichelle Nichols there, seeing that when the future comes, there’s a place for me. That was really important. I think people forget how important it is to see oneself represented in the popular culture growing up. Star Trek was a real positive portrayal of people of color in the future. I was really drawn to it.
The actor also mentioned that he met with Gene Roddenberry for the role of Geordi LaForge partly only because he was a huge fan of the creator and treated him as a God.
Star Trek: Voyager and The Next Generation is streaming on Paramount+.
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