LeVar Burton is one of the most accomplished Star Trek: The Next Generation alumni. The actor played the role of chief engineer Geordi La Forge for seven seasons and even directed some episodes in the series. He returned behind the camera for subsequent spinoff shows.
While La Forge’s character has a lot of mystery surrounding him, an oral history of the show revealed that the writers actually had a backstory on the character’s origins. According to producer Jeri Taylor, Geordi La Forge was written to be a half-alien hybrid with a horrific backstory.
LeVar Burton’s Geordi La Forge Had An Insane Backstory In Star Trek: The Next Generation
LeVar Burton was a huge Star Trek fan before he was cast as Geordi La Forge in The Next Generation. The actor has proclaimed his love for the original series and his admiration for the creator Gene Roddenberry multiple times. Burton played the character for all seven seasons of the show and reprised his role in the films and subsequent spinoff shows.
La Forge has often been regarded as one of the most underdeveloped characters in Star Trek history. The chief engineer is known by his signature VISOR which allows him to see as he is blind from birth. Apart from that, there is very little known about his history and upbringing.
However, the makers reportedly actually had some ideas on the backstory of La Forge. According to The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, an oral history of the show, executive producer Jeri Taylor revealed their plans for LeVar Burton’s role,
We wanted to make Geordi an alien. He was going to discover that his father was not who he thought he was, and his mother had an almost Rosemary’s Baby–kind of thing and had been impregnated by an alien. As a result, Geordi was actually half alien and now, at his present age, his people were coming back to get him. I thought that would have given Geordi’s character a lot of elaboration.
Still, La Forge’s father and mother are referred to and make an appearance in an episode. While the idea of making him an alien was abandoned, more about his character and his journey was revealed in the spinoff show Star Trek: Picard.
LeVar Burton Hated Putting On The VISOR
Though it is not known whether LeVar Burton liked the idea of Geordi La Forge being a half-alien, he certainly hated one aspect of the character’s backstory. The actor has mentioned his disdain for the VISOR on multiple occasions and has often remarked on how difficult it was to wear it.
La Forge is born blind and the VISOR helps him detect waves in the electromagnetic spectrum, thus allowing him to ‘see’. The actor, however, was reportedly relieved when he went behind the camera as a director and did not have to wear the VISOR. He said (via EW),
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 actor directed the most episodes on the franchise compared to other actors who returned to the series as filmmakers.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Parmount+.
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