Coming off of his success in numerous projects including Roots and Reading Rainbow, LeVar Burton won the role of the blind helmsman and turned him into a sci-fi icon. From his intelligence to his famous VISOR, La Forge soon became a fan favorite for Trekkies everywhere.

Over seven seasons, La Forge stood not only as an iconic African-American sci-fi character but also a positive role model for fans with disabilities. The relatable nature of his struggles and success in overcoming his personal obstacles has made him an unforgettable character in the Star Trek universe.

Her are 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Geordi La Forge.

He was named after a real Star Trek fan

While fans love watching their favorite TV shows at home, others aspire to be a part of the action. Though most of us will never get to be on these shows, a few lucky Star Trek fans had the chance to be a part of the crew. W

hile creating the characters for TNG, the Star Trek writers kept one particular fan in mind. George La Forge was a quadriplegic fan of the original Star Trek TV series who sadly ed away in 1975. With creator Gene Roddenberry focused on creating a new character with disabilities, it was screenwriter David Gerrod who suggested naming the character after the long-time fan. They both agreed this would be a special tribute to the late dedicated Trekkie.

A second Trekkie, a British fan named Janet Quarton, was the inspiration for the character “Q”.

Wesley Snipes and Reggie Jackson auditioned for the role

Initially, LeVar Burton did not seem like the obvious choice for the role of La Forge. However, with time, fans came to love him in the role and can’t imagine anyone else playing the character.

In the early stages of casting, however, the actors for the role varied considerably from the Reading Rainbow alum. Early casting choices included character actor Kevin Peter Hall (who played Harry in Harry and the Hendersons and the Predator in Predator) and baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.

One of the bigger names interested in the role was Wesley Snipes. At the time, however, he was a relatively unknown actor with just a few credits to his name, including a part in the comedy Wildcats and playing Michael Jackson’s rival in his music video for "Bad".

He was originally conceived to be a Jamaican teacher

The creation of Geordi La Forge took some time to perfect. Though it was decided early to him a disabled Black crew member, his background and education were not fully fleshed out. His job on the series moved from helmsman of the USS Enterprise-D to eventually a role as the chief engineer.

However, creators were originally influenced by Burton’s career in their occupational choice for the character. In an homage to Burton’s legacy on the children’s program Reading Rainbow, the show’s producers originally planned to make La Forge’s specialty focused on “the starship school for children.” This idea was scrapped for a more technological background instead.

Also, his background would have been of Jamaican descent. Although this detail was left out of his backstory, his mother was played by Jamaican actress Madge Sinclair (The Lion King).

Burton was the most well-known actor at the time of casting

At the time of the casting announcement for Star Trek: The Next Generation, LeVar Burton was one of the most well-known cast . He had an extensive acting career that included his acting debut as Kunta Kinte in the TV drama Roots.

In fact, he was featured in the initial casting announcement headlining over Patrick Stewart, whose fame was limited in the United States. As reported by The New York Times, an article in The Los Angeles Times once referred to "unknown British Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart".

Despite his fame, Burton was not chosen to be the lead in the new series. Instead, he was cast in a part that the Associated Press initially referred to as “the new Spock” (a role that was eventually filled by Data instead).  In the end, Stewart was able to bounce back from his initial first impressions just fine.

Gene Roddenberry had plans to make La Forge gay

One of the greatest aspects of the Star Trek universe (and many other science fiction shows and movies) is an opportunity for highlighting new cultures, species, and worlds. With unlimited possibilities for new adventures, these shows still seem to reflect the growing changes in today’s societies.

Early in the process for creating the new series, Roddenberry had significant plans for the diversity of this series. According to IMDB.com, “Gene Roddenberry had made public his plans to add gay characters to the show (with Geordi La Forge reported to be one such character in the original series treatment), and had even commissioned scripts to introduce them at the start of the series' run.”

His newfound outlook on LBGT characters came after overcoming his own homophobia. Sadly, Roddenberry ed away before he could make these changes in the fifth season of the show.

Geordi's VISOR was improvised on the first day of shooting

Production on Star Trek: The Next Generation began in 1987 with a relatively unknown cast. For some actors, like Patrick Stewart, working on a television program like this came with a big adjustment. While the main outline of the plot was finalized, there were still small touches to iron out like makeup, costumes, and set designs.

On the site StarTrek.com, several photos were shared showing initial tests with the makeup for the series including La Forge’s VISOR. However, the props team created a very unique version of his famous eyewear for the initial shooting.

According to IMDB.com, “Geordi's VISOR was improvised on the first day of shooting using chiefly an automotive air filter and a hair band.” After the first day, a more permanent prop was created and used going forward. That future design was not that far off from this makeshift prototype.

His VISOR design was inspired by '80s fashion hair trends

Many of us are haunted by pictures from our youth. Looking back, we gasp on our poor fashion choices and style that have been forever captured in photos and film.

At the peak of 1980s fashion, in particular, women were decked out with oversized scrunchies, crimped hair, and thousands of plastic bracelets. However, the hideous trends of the '80s led to the creation of one of the most iconic props from the Star Trek franchise.

Enter the banana clip - the plastic hair accessory fashioned with two sets of “crocodile” teeth to help pull your hair into a fanned ponytail. According to an interview on StarTrek.com, this particular accessory led to the creation of La Forge’s VISOR. Star Trek archivist Penny Juday explained that set artist Michael Okuda was inspired by his girlfriend’s use of the hair product.

His inspiration led to the final design of the VISOR, or Visual Input Sensory Optical Reflector (which was later updated to Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement).

The VISOR helped Burton sleeping on set undetected

The simplistic origins of the VISOR led to a final product that, well, simply was not made for enhancing anyone's vision in reality. The half-circle “teeth” design made it difficult for Burton to see clearly. Not only was his central vision impaired but his peripheral vision as well. He often found himself running into low-hanging props and tripping over chairs.

Although the process of wearing the VISOR was a nightmare, it did have its perks. During the 2015 Star Trek Official Convention in Las Vegas, several cast were assembled for a special including Brent Spiner, Jonathan Frakes and LeVar Burton. As the cast recalled tales from the series, Burton opted to share the fact that, “In the first season, during a long take, I fell asleep in the VISOR." Sounds like the best prop ever made.

La Forge and Burton shared similar ailments on the show

Playing the character of Geordi La Forge was a new challenge for Burton. Known for having very expressive eyes, he had to learn other ways to best convey his emotions throughout the series. Given that his VISOR gave him so many visual limitations, he learned how to make the best of his challenging role. However, over time, Burton came to share one particular ailment that always plagued La Forge: painful headaches.

In the series, the character often complained about experiencing headaches as a result of wearing the VISOR. In reality, Burton was experiencing the same issue.

In an interview with the BBC, Burton stated, “In the second season we re-designed the VISOR and made it heavier and the way we actually affixed it was that we screwed it, we literally screwed it into my head and so there were screws that we would turn and there were flanges on the inside that would press into my temples and so after fifteen or twenty minutes of that I got headaches. So I had a daily headache for about six years.” Wow.

Geordi La Forge was promoted faster than any other Star Trek character

Geordi La Forge has had one of the most impressive careers in the Star Trek Universe. He existed as more than just the blind member of the crew and blossomed into an integral member of their team.

Over the course of the seven year run of the series, La Forge moved up in the ranks at a fairly quick rate. In season 1, he began as the helmsman of the USS Enterprise-D as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. By season 2, he was promoted to Lieutenant and finally Lieutenant Commander (in season 3) and became the Chief Engineer for both the Enterprise-D and the Enterprise-E.

Although other characters have held the same titles, no one has been promoted as fast. His promotions did not end at the conclusion of the show, either. In the futuristic timeline of Star Trek: Voyager: Timeless, Geordi eventually becomes a Captain.