On September 9,2024, the world was dealt a devastating blow as the news broke thatJames Earl Joneshadpassed away at the age of 93. James Earl Jones was a titan of the stage and screen, an EGOT winner known worldwide for his iconic voice. His body of work was incredible with iconic films likeThe Lion King,Field of Dreams,Conan the Barbarian,Coming to America, and memorable television guest spots likeThe Simpson’s very first Halloween Treehouse of Horror,Will & Grace, andBig Bang Theory. In a career filled with incredible work, there is one role that stood above all the others: Darth Vader in theStar Warsseries.
When it comes to movie villains, no character looms larger than Darth Vader. Often considered the most significant cinematic villain of all time, Darth Vader is known worldwide. From his black armor to iconic breathing, even if you’ve never seenStar Wars, you know Darth Vader. Yet what truly makes Darth Vader is his voice. James Earl Jones’s vocal performance is one of the greatest voice-acting roles of all time, immediately conveying a sense of gravitas, danger, and power. Darth Vader and, by extension,Star Warswould not be what it is today without James Earl Jones, and here is how the actor landed the iconic role.
James Earl Jones Recorded Star Wars in Just a Day
In 1977, James Earl Jones had already made a name for himself. He was an accomplished actor on the stage, having performed inOthello,King Lear, andA Midsummer Night’s Dream. He made his cinematic debut in Stanley Kubrick’s iconic 1964 war satireDr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. In 1970, he was nominated for Best Actor for his performance inThe Great White Hope, an adaptation of the stage play of the same name Jones starred in on Broadway.
Jones was brought in to redub the vocals for Darth Vader. Actor David Prowse had played Vader on set, but director George Lucas never intended to use Prowse’s on-set vocals for the role of Darth Vader due to the actor’s heavy West Country accent. Despite having a successful career, Jones found himself broke at the time when he was approached to voice Darth Vader. Shortly before receiving a Lifetime Achievement Oscar, Jonestold The Hollywood Reporterhow he got the role.
“One of those summers that I was broke again, my agent called and said,‘Do you want a day’s work doing some voiceover?’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure!’… She said, ‘It’s a science-fiction movie.’I said, ‘Okay.’ So I went to work, and I met George Lucas andwe did it in two-and-a-half hours. I got paid seven thousand dollars for it. Nobody at that time knew that it would become a cult hit… I’m very happy to be a part of that cult, even though I didn’t get paid a lot for it.”
James Earl Jones saidLucas originally wanted Orson Wells to voice Darth Vader but decided against it as the voice might be too recognizable. In an interview with The American Film Institute in 2009, Jones said:
“George wanted, pardon the expression, a dark voice. So he hires a guy born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters. And that’s the voice. That’s me. I lucked out, from all these so-called handicaps, for a job that paid $7,000! And I thought that was good money. And I got to be a voice on a movie.”
Jones would get more money as he would return for the two direct sequels,The Empire Strikes BackandReturn of the Jedi. He also got paid more for the various other times he voiced Darth Vader, like inRevenge of the Sith,Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,The Rise of Skywalker,Star Wars: Rebels, and the Disney attractionStar Tours: The Adventure Continues. However, Jones would not be credited as Darth Vader for years, at his request.
James Earl Jones Was Originally Uncredited
Anyone who goes to watchStar WarsorThe Empire Strikes Backnow on Disney+ or on a Blu-Ray will see James Earl Jones’s name in the credits of the film. Yetthe actor opted out of a screen credit for the original 1977 release ofStar Wars. His reasoning relates to David Prowse. While Jones himself is the actor most linked to Darth Vader for his voice, Jones always respectedDavid Prowse, who provided Vader’s intimidating statureon set. He knew Prowse did the hard work on set and saw his voice as a special effect. In a 2008 interview with Newsday, Jones said:
“When Linda Blair did the girl inThe Exorcist, they hired Mercedes McCambridge to do the voice of the devil coming out of her. And there was controversy as to whether Mercedes should get credit. I was one who thought no, she was just special effects. So when it came to Darth Vader, I said, no,I’m just special effects. But it became so identified that by the third one, I thought, OK, I’ll let them put my name on it.”
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Jones would be credited for the first time as Darth Vader in 1983’sReturn of the Jedi. In 1997, when theStar WarsSpecial Editions were released, James Earl Jones’s credit was added to bothStar WarsandThe Empire Strikes Back.The Empire Strikes Backis Vader’s most iconic film, and Jones’s delivery of the line “No, I am your father,” is not only one of the greatest cinematic twists but alsoone of the most quotable film lines in movie history. When Jones read the original dialogue, he thought that Vader was lying and it would be resolved in the third film,Return of the Jedi.
At first, Jones wanted to add more subtle nuance to Vader’s vocal performance inThe Empire Strikes Back, but Lucas didn’t want to mess with what worked prior and thought keeping Vader less human fit with Obi-Wan Kenobi’s “he’s more machine than man now” description. Yet forReturn of the Jedi, which saw the redemption of Darth Vader to become Anakin Skywalker once more, Jones did get to add a little more depth to the character. This decision worked as it helped cement Darth Vader as one of the greatest cinematic characters of all time.
The Return of Darth Vader and the Retirement of James Earl Jones
Following the end of theStar Warstrilogy, Jones did more incredible work on the stage and screen. His role as Terrance Mann inField of Dreamsis a real standout, and he acted alongside hisStar Warsco-star Harrison Ford for the first time in person in 1992’sPatriot Gamesand 1994’sClear and Present Danger. He voicedMufasain 1994’sThe Lion King, which became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. He would later reprise his role in 2019’sThe Lion King,which only recently lost the title of highest-grossing animated filmbehindInside Out 2. Jones was also the voice of CNN, showing that his voice was the voice to have.
In 2005, 22 years after he last voiced the character, Jones returned to the role of Darth Vader forStar Wars Episode III - Revenge of The Sith. In what at the time was the final chapter in the Star Wars saga, the franchise was brought full circle as audiences saw the birth of Darth Vader and got to see Jones’s voice come out of the mask for what is the first time in the franchise chronology. Hearing Jones' Darth Vader say the word Padme was a delight for fans, and even if the infamous Vader screaming “Nooooo!” scene would be widely mocked, many enjoyed what they felt would be his last time voicing Vader.
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Yet what made Jones great was that he clearly loved the role of Darth Vader and always jumped at the chance to play the character, regardless of the media. He voiced the character in the Disney attractionStar Tours: The Adventure Continuesin 2011, and in 2014, he lent his voice to five episodes of the Disney XD seriesStar Wars: Rebels. In 2016, he reprised his role inRogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the last time he would voice the character would fittingly be in the final Skywalker Saga movie, 2019’sThe Rise of Skywalker, in a brief voice cameo.
While Darth Vader had a major role inObi-Wan Kenobi, Jones did not actually voice the character of Darth Vader. Instead, Jones signed a deal with Lucasfilm authorizing archival recordings of his voice to be used in the future to artificially generate the voice of Darth Vader with the Respeecher software.Jones retired from Darth Vader’s roleand said that for the character’s future appearance, this would be how he would appear.
James Earl Jones Gave Darth Vader His Voice and His Soul
In one of the most impressive bodies of work an actor could ask for,Darth Vader easily stands out as James Earl Jones’s most iconic role. For five decades and countless generations, Jones’s voice coming out of Darth Vader’s mask has entertained and even terrified audiences. Vader has a booming voice that commands obedience and displays power, but Jones is also able to convey the character’s soul and inner turmoil. He helped take what could have just been a send-up to the villains of sci-fi movie serials of the 1930s and turned him into one ofcinema’s most compelling characters.
James Earl Jones lived an incredible life, living every day to the fullest. He leaves behind an incredible legacy. Now, watchingStar Warsmight have a hint of sadness, knowing that he is gone, but fans can be happy knowing they were lucky enough to have him in the first place.
Rest in Peace, James Earl Jones, and may the Force be with you.
