LeVar Burton Gets Choked Up as He Welcomes Daughter Mica Into 'Star Trek' Universe (Exclusive)

August 17, 2024

LeVar Burton is one proud dad. Not only was his daughter, Mica, his red carpet date to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the Star Trek: The Original Series television premiere date on Wednesday, but she was also co-hosting the second annual celebration! The duo spoke with ET's Mike Cohen on the red carpet, where LeVar got a little choked up about bringing his daughter into his beloved universe.

"I never saw this coming, right? Growing up, she had her fandoms and Star Trek wasn't among them. So I did not think this was ever gonna happen," the Star Trek: The Next Generation actor said when asked how it felt to have Mica by his side. "To have her be officially a part of this Universe, it's a proud dad moment. It genuinely is."

For Mica, the opportunity to dive into her father's world means answering some tough questions, like what iconic character she would liked to have played -- aside from her father's Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge, of course.

"Is it a cheat code to just say a Tribble? Because I want to be the cutest, fluffiest Tribble imaginable," she answered. "But if a Tribble could become really sentient and then also become a captain I would want to be Captain Tribble."

The question is a little harder for her father, who ultimately decided to stay with his esteemed Geordi, although Mica noted that she thinks he'd make a pretty good Sulu.

"I can't imagine playing another one. I mean Geordi is a part of me. There's no way around that," he reasoned. "I wouldn't want to [play another character], I love this guy. I love his energy, his attitude, his optimism. He's still fun to play after all these years. I'm going to stick to what I know. Stick with what works."

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After pretending to be in space for seven seasons on The Next Generation, LeVar revealed that he'd be ready to go "anytime" if humans were able to live out in space someday. "It's the unknown," he explained when asked why he'd be so gung-ho to hop onto a ship. "It's the unknown and only a handful of people have done it, right? It's a very small, eclectic club."

It seems that this is where the father and daughter duo will have to put the pause on any future red carpet dates since Mica said she wouldn't be venturing into "the unknown" anytime soon.

"I would [go on] maybe the 40th or 50th ship until they work out the kinks, just in case," she said. "Also, I feel like I would want it to be a destination, I would want to go to a planet. Not just go into space. I want to hang out on Mars or something. A Mars beach sounds great."

It's hard to argue with a beach on Mars.

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