Few film and TV stars are more devoted to learning and expanding people’s horizons than LeVar Burton.

He spent more than 20 seasons (1983-2006) as host and executive producer of PBS’ “Reading Rainbow.” Among the longest-running children’s television shows in history, it garnered multiple Daytime Emmy Awards and a prestigious Peabody Award.

Burton co-authored the 2014 children’s book “The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm,” with Susan Schaefer Bernardo, and also wrote “A Kids Book About Imagination,” which was recently released.

Since 2017, he has hosted the “LeVar Burton Reads” podcast where he shares favorite short-fiction picks. And his YouTube series, “This is My Story,” through a number of videos, spotlights life experiences and racism in America.

Last May, the actor teamed up with the Fable social reading app to start the premium subscription-based “LeVar Burton’s Book Club,” using an all-inclusive approach toward literature.

Burton, 64, believes reading is an asset to promote mental health.

Additionally, he teaches “The Power of Storytelling” through video lessons on the streaming platform MasterClass. It premiered last June. Then his “Jeopardy!” guest hosting stint later in the summer proved to be among the most popular.

Related: Every grand marshal in Rose Parade History

The 2022 Rose Parade will have the theme “Dream. Believe. Achieve.” — with an emphasis on celebrating education. Considering Burton’s advocacy for education and efforts to support literacy, it’s no surprise he was tapped as the grand marshal.

“My education was tied to a dream — that dream of my mother Erma Jean — to make sure that her children could compete on a level playing field in this America and reach their most full potential,” he said at the Tournament of Roses ceremony announcing him as grand marshal. “I am living, breathing proof that dreams do indeed come true.”

As a child, Burton was a voracious reader and has dedicated his life to the power of storytelling because he says exceptional stories bring everyone together. That passion stems from his mother, an English teacher who insisted that reading and the written word were a consistent part of her children’s lives while growing up. She also stressed the importance of education.

After graduating from USC’s School of Dramatic Arts, Burton first came to national prominence as Kunta Kinte in the landmark 1977 ABC miniseries “Roots.” (Burton was one of the executive producers when Alex Haley’s classic story was retold on the History Channel in 2016.) Burton also famously portrayed Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge on the television series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” from 1987-1994 and four subsequent feature films for the franchise.

The actor also has appeared in dozens of other movies and TV shows including “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Love Boat,” “Fantasy Island,” “Trapper John M.D.,” “NCIS: New Orleans” and various “Star Trek” spinoffs.

Burton often served as director for the latter two as well as “Las Vegas,” “JAG,” “Charmed” and more. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1990 and won a Grammy in the Best Spoken Word category in 2000 for “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.”

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