The 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' actor is grateful for the various 'opportunities' he received after getting snubbed by 'Jeopardy!' bosses despite being a fan favorite.

• Sep 19, 2021

AceShowbiz - Actor LeVar Burton has accepted he won't be taking over as "Jeopardy!" host despite being a fan favourite for the plum job.

Following last month's (Aug21) firing of scandal-ridden producer Mike Richards - who was briefly named as the show's new frontman before controversial comments from an old podcast resurfaced - the search for a permanent continues, while Mayim Bialik and past champ Ken Jennings fill in.

But Burton is moving on and the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" star has scooped some "dream" career options as a result of the outcry when he was passed over the job.

On 11 August (21), "Selma" director Ava DuVernay tweeted her support for Levar, writing, "ME TRYING TO CREATE A SHOW RIGHT IN THIS MOMENT FOR @LEVARBURTON TO HOST AND MAKE AN INTERNATIONAL HIT."

Burton was all for it, replying at the time, "Check your DMs (direct messages)."

Now he tells Trevor Noah's "The Daily Show", "The crazy thing is that when you set your sights on something, you know, they say be careful of what you wish for, because what I found out is that it wasn't the thing that I wanted after all."

"What I wanted was to compete. I mean, I wanted the job, right, but then, when I didn't get it, it was, like, 'Well, okay, what's next?' "

"And, so, the opportunities that have come my way as a result of not getting that gig, I couldn't have dreamt it up," he said. "If you had given me a pen and paper and said, well, so what do you want this to really look like? If it doesn't include Jeopardy! I wouldn't have been this generous to myself."

"I never thought about hosting any other game show outside of Jeopardy!"

"But now, they went in a different direction with their show, which is their right," he shares.

"Now I'm thinking, well, it does kind of make sense, let me see what I can do. So we're trying to figure out what the right game show for LeVar Burton would be," he adds.