Cadet Kelly declined a casting to Hilary Duff.
Levardis Robert Martyn `` LeVar '' Burton Jr. -LRB- born February 16 , 1957 -RRB- is an American actor , presenter , director and author .. actor. actor. presenter. television presenter. director. television director. author. author. He is best known for his roles as the host of the long-running PBS children 's series Reading Rainbow , Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek  : The Next Generation and the young Kunta Kinte in the 1977 award-winning ABC television miniseries Roots .. PBS. PBS. Reading Rainbow. Reading Rainbow. Geordi La Forge. Geordi La Forge. Kunta Kinte. Kunta Kinte. ABC. American Broadcasting Company. Roots. Roots ( 1977 miniseries ). Star Trek. Star Trek. He has also directed a number of television episodes for various iterations of Star Trek , among other programs .. Star Trek. Star Trek