James Earl Jones, the legendary actor who voiced Darth Vader and The Lion King’s Mufasa, has died aged 93.
Although Jones, who was born in Mississippi in 1931, featured in over 80 films and nearly 50 TV series, he will always be best-remembered for his voice roles, which gave life to some of film’s most iconic characters.
Sharing a tribute this week, Star Wars creator George Lucas said Jones had "a most unique voice both in art and spirit".
"For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being," said Lucas.
Rest in Peace Lord Vader pic.twitter.com/HsFn5bkQC0
— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) September 9, 2024
To celebrate the life of Jones, here we pick his best films.
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
Perhaps James Earl Jones was always set to have a stellar career, with Dr. Strangelove his first-ever movie credit. Set in the Cold War, Stanley Kubrick’s Oscar-nominated political satire, a black comedy starring Peter Sellers, told the story of a US air force general who goes mad and orders bomber planes to attack the USSR. The film is now regarded as one of the greatest American films of all time, and is included in the US Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. Jones played Lieutenant Lothar Zogg, a bomber crew member.
Star Wars (1977)
The role that James Earl Jones will always be best-remembered for: in 1977, 13 years into his career, he played the voice of Darth Vader in George Lucas’s cinema-defining, sci-fi extravaganza. Things could have been so different – Orson Wells was apparently first considered for the role – but Lucas worried he would be too recognisable, distracting audiences from the villainous character. Jones was the perfect decision in the end: Vader’s deep, assured voice is unmistakably bound up with villain of the series.
Coming to America (1988)
Now a cult classic, Eddie Murphy’s Coming to America details the experiences of crown prince Akeem Joffer, a wealthy African royal who gets the shock of a lifetime when he heads to New York City to find love, rejecting his parents’ arranged marriage. He ends up in Queens in a run down apartment and goes on some memorable adventures. Brilliantly cast, Jones played his father, King Jaffe Joffer, King of Zamunda.
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
This Oscar-winning thriller, based on Tom Clancy's best selling 1984 novel, is a nail-biting race against time across the Atlantic as Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) goes awol while on a mission, and CIA analyst Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) has just hours to work out what the Russian captain is doing, and persuade his superiors of his deductions. Jones played CIA boss Vice Admiral James Greer.
Patriot Games (1992)
This great action thriller from Phillip Noyce, once again based on a Tom Clancy novel, is the sequel to The Hunt for Red October. Jones returned to reprise his Deputy Director of the CIA role, alongside a cast that starred Harrison Ford, Anne Archer, Sean Bean, Samuel L. Jackson, David Threlfall and Richard Harris. This time the story follows what happens when CIA agent Jack Ryan (now Ford) foils an IRA terrorist attack in London.
The Lion King (1994)
Even in a cast that included Jeremy Irons, Matthew Broderick, Rowan Atkinson and Whoopi Goldberg, Jones’s lush voice stood out. The Lion King, one of Disney’s most-loved animations, tells the story of the power struggle within a pride of lions in the African savanna.
Jones played Mufasa the king and lion cub Simba's father. Fantastic music from Hans Zimmer, gorgeous illustrations and a gripping story as old as time made this film a two-time Oscar-winner in 1995. It has made nearly $1 billion dollars at the box office.
