LeVar Burton is a jack of many trades, given that he’s an award-winning actor, director, and education advocate. While the actor has been a part of numerous movies and shows, he’s globally famous for playing Kunte Kinte in Roots and Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The show ran for a total of seven seasons, and Burton directed some episodes of it as well.
In the show, his character, Geordi La Forge, has been blind since birth, and to tackle this, he uses an advanced VISOR instrument. However, this visual tool also had additional repercussions for the actor, compelling him to experiment with a different acting technique.
LeVar Burton tried out a new method of acting due to his VISOR
The VISOR was connected to the character’s optic nerve and further allowed him to see and perceive the world. The device quickly became one of Star Trek’s most iconic instruments, but LeVar Burton, on the other hand, has a difficult time wearing it for the scenes.
However, for the Roots actor, this also acted as a valuable lesson. The actor emphasized how much he used to rely on his eyes, saying they were the most crucial part of his performance. However, the VISOR device forced him to completely change his acting style. Through this, he learned how to convey his emotions without his eyes, which ultimately helped him. In an interview with Creative Live, he explained:
There was a real gift of challenge in that role for me as an actor because I had come to really rely on my eyes, acting on film, as my go-to. It was my strong suit, it was the first tool in the bag that I would go to. Having my eyes covered … really caused me to have to learn how to communicate without my eyes, so I know that the time I spent on “Star Trek” made a much better actor out of me.
The device in the movie helped Geordi with his vision; however, it covered the actor’s eyes so much that it made him practically blind, blocking around 85 to 90 percent of his vision (via Alibi). However, this was not the worst part of wearing the device. The VISOR was made of heavy metal, so it needed some serious engineering so that it could stay on Burton’s head.
This set-up was a big pain for the actor, as it gave him a lot of headaches throughout the show. But thankfully somebody in the crew pointed out the discomfort and the VISOR was gradually phased out starting from the movie First Contact, where his character directly used implants instead of the device.
LeVar Burton was a huge fan of Star Trek
The Star Trek franchise surely boasts a large fan following. Adding to this, even LeVar Burton was a lifelong fan of the franchise, but especially of the diverse casting that was happening under the vision of Gene Roddenberry.
Upon being cast in the 1983 movie Emergency Room, Burton discovered that Robert H. Justman, one of the show’s producers, had previously worked on Star Trek. Adding to the earlier Creative Live interview, he stated:
Every day, I would find a reason to sit next to him and just pump him for stories about ‘Star Trek’… And years later, he remembered my passion.
He also noted that Justman was working with Gene Roddenberry at Paramount to launch Star Trek: The Next Generation, and somehow, he remembered Burton’s passion for the franchise. Further, he added that the producer called him up and asked him if he’d be interested in a Star Trek role.
While this was a really great opportunity for the actor, he had one condition before joining the series. He asked Justman, “Is Gene Roddenberry involved?” To his excitement, he was indeed involved in the project, due to which Burton not only took the part but also played it for the next 11 years.
You can stream Star Trek: The Next Generation on Paramount+
