LeVar Burton

The actor on losing the ‘Jeopardy!’ gig and what ‘Star Trek’ gave him

- ANGIE MARTOCCIO

You’ve been an icon to several different generations. When a fan approaches you, can you tell right away if they want to talk about Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reading Rainbow, or Roots? Ninety-five percent of the time. More often than not, I am absolutely able to tell what’s their entry point to LeVar and the work I do. It’s cool. I am very proud of the way my career has been able to speak to different generations simultaneously. If it were easy, everybody would do it.

Is there any downside to living so much of your life in the public eye?

Most recently I discovered that one of the downsides to fame is vulnerability. I put myself out there and publicly stated that I wanted the job on Jeopardy! — when I didn’t get the job, there was a lot of unnecessary concern that I was devastated, when in fact I wasn’t. I was disappointed, but I wasn’t devastated.