LeVar Burton On Guest Hosting 'Jeopardy!': 'I Was Absolutely Petrified'

CULVER CITY, Calif. (CBS) -- LeVar Burton is no stranger to TV, known for his roles as the longtime host of "Reading Rainbow" and Geordi La Forge on "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Guest hosting "Jeopardy!" however, made him a nervous wreck.

"Was I nervous? I was more than nervous," Burton said in a newly released interview for the show. "I was absolutely petrified and I don't know that that feeling ever went away."

Burton openly campaigned for the job and was the subject of an internet petition from fans who wanted him to get it. He will guest host "Jeopardy!" from Monday, July 26 to Friday, July 30.

"When this opportunity came by, I could not pass it up," he said.

Several celebrity guest hosts have stepped in to take the reins of the show since the death of iconic host Alex Trebek. A donation will be made to a charity of each guest host's choice, equal to the cumulative winnings of the contestants that compete while they're hosting.

Burton is playing for his charity Reading Is Fundamental. He told the Associated Press that once he was able to let go of the pressure to be as smooth as Trebek, he was able start having fun.

"I think all in all, I'm going to walk away happy," he said.

"Jeopardy!" airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on WBZ-TV.