James Earl Jones

Biography

James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. He was described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances on stage and screen, and "one of the greatest actors in American history". Over his career, he received three Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985. He was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009 and the Honorary Academy Award in 2011. His deep voice has been praised as a "stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects.

Known For

Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

Star Wars

Lt. Lothar Zogg

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Judge Barry Conrad Issacs

Sommersby

Vice ADM James Greer

The Hunt for Red October

Mr. Bernard Abbott

Sneakers

Terrence Mann

Field of Dreams

Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

The Empire Strikes Back

Darth Vader (voice)

Return of the Jedi

Bill Perry

Dreamrider

Gabriel

Amy and the Angel

Narrator (voice)

Earth

Avery Phillips

Finder's Fee

Alice

By Dawn's Early Light

Earnest Moses

The Meteor Man

Mr. Mertle

The Sandlot

Jake

Excessive Force

'Few Clothes' Johnson

Matewan

Dugan

Three Fugitives

Narrator

Disney's American Legends

Admiral (voice)

Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey

Mufasa (voice)

The Lion King

Professor Banks

Soul Man

Umslopogaas

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

Mufasa (voice)

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

Admiral James Greer

Clear and Present Danger

King Jaffe Joffer

Coming to America

Thulsa Doom

Conan the Barbarian

Self

Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery

Ommadon (voice)

The Flight of Dragons

Adm. James Greer

Patriot Games

Rev. Stephen Kumalo

Cry, the Beloved Country

Papa Jenkins

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

Narrator

Africa: The Serengeti

Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson

Gardens of Stone

Arthur Baylor

Gang Related

The Giant (voice)

Jack and the Beanstalk

Nick Debrett

Swashbuckler

Leon

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings

Host

The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics

Dr. McDuffie

Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault

Ray Murdock

A Family Thing

Joshua Burke

A Piece of the Action

The Judge

Undercover Angel

Bear

Scorchers

Emperor of the Night (voice)

Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night

William

The Reading Room

Mr. Mertle

The Sandlot 2

Storyteller (voice)

Nine Dog Christmas

Morrison

Grim Prairie Tales

John Dolby

Clean Slate

Self - Host

Fantasia 2000

The Storyteller (voice)

People: A Musical Celebration

Lawrence

Timepiece

Narrator (voice)

Who's in Rabbit's House?

Ben Johnson

Convicts

Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall

Claudine

Older Marcel

Feast of All Saints

James Earl Jones

Santa and Pete

Rabbit Shazam

Deadly Hero

Sheikh

The Last Remake of Beau Geste

James Earl Jones

True Identity

Darth Vader (voice)

The Star Wars Holiday Special

Johnny Williams

The River Niger

Self (archive footage)

On Broadway

Archibald Thacker

What the Deaf Man Heard

Barney Hill

The UFO Incident

Dr. Magiot

The Comedians

Frye

Blood Tide

Narrator

The Space: Theatre of Survival

Self (archive footage)

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

Lt. Spencer

The Ambulance

Narrator (voice)

Beauty and the Beast

Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely

Summer's End

Narrator

11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried

Host

The Making of 'Jurassic Park'

Ike Bailey

My Little Girl

Self

Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'

Doctor D

End of the Road

Ruben

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn

The Prisoner

The Bushido Blade

Self

Gangs: Turning the Corner

Narrator

The Great Year

A House Divided

Narrator

Black Indians: An American Story

Self

Joe Papp in Five Acts

Jack Madrid

The Vegas Strip War

Timothy

The Cay

Vernon Johns

The Vernon Johns Story

Douglass Dilman

The Man

Frank McCarthy

Gimme Shelter

Frank Couzo

Best of the Best

Narrator (voice)

The Creation

Self

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

Jack Jefferson

The Great White Hope

Self (archive footage)

Waking Sleeping Beauty

Self - Interviewee

Looking for Richard

Older Kokumo

Exorcist II: The Heretic

Self (voice) (uncredited)

Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films

Narrator (voice)

The Hunting of the Snark

Self (archive footage)

Blackfish

Self (archive footage)

Sports on the Silver Screen

Jim Kalla

The Second Civil War

Narrator (voice) (DVD version)

Hitler's Forgotten Victims

Albert

City Limits

Hoke Colburn

Driving Miss Daisy

Narrator

Bah, Humbug!: The Story of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'

Percy Banks

Percy & Thunder

Narrator

By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'

Junius Johnson

Heat Wave

Inspector Nkuru

Ivory Hunters

Maggie Simpson (voice)

The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror

Madison Hemings

Jefferson in Paris

Malcolm X

The Greatest

Narrator

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream

Daddy King (voice)

Our Friend, Martin

Grey

Alone

Narrator

Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark

Self

Words from a Bear

Narrator (voice)

Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues

Self

Milius

Darth Vader (voice)

Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal

Dr. Winston

Teach 109

Narrator (voice)

Lincoln

Fish

The Annihilation of Fish

Self

Broadway: The Next Generation

Al Topping

Last Flight Out

Mufasa (voice)

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

Kilgore Trout

God Bless You, Mr Rosewater

Dane Oliver

The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story

Darth Vader (voice)

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion

Self

Night of 100 Stars II

Self

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

Narrator (voice)

Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast

Self

Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World

Guest Narrator (archive footage)

Butterfly in the Sky

Self

August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand

Self (archive footage)

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

James Earl Jones (uncredited)

Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult

Charles Lloyd

Confessions: Two Faces of Evil

Biographical Narration (voice)

Malcolm X

Darth Vader (voice)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Retribution (voice)

Terrorgram

Self

Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October'

Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Self (archive footage)

Afro Promo

Darth Vader (archive footage)

The Story of Star Wars

Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice)

Robots

Self

Muse of Fire

Mufasa (voice)

The Lion King

Morris Bird, Jr.

The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened

Pendleton

Warning Shot

Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited)

Click

Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

The Making of Star Wars

Genie / Narrator

Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp

King Lear

King Lear

Mufasa (voice)

The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands

Narrator (voice)

Visitors from the Unknown

Holmes

The Lone Star Kid

Darth Vader (voice)

The Benchwarmers

Narrator (uncredited)

Judge Dredd

Leo

On the Q.T.

Narrator

John, Paul, George and Ben

Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences")

The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays

Narrator (voice)

God's Trombones

Self

Hollywood's Greatest Villains

Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates

Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson

King Jaffe Joffer

Coming 2 America

Self

Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage

Kibosh (voice)

Casper: A Spirited Beginning

Self

No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat

Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg'

Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'

Self

The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove

himself, voice

There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues

Darth Vader (voice)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Narrator (uncredited)

Scary Movie 4

Self

The Me Nobody Knows

Mister (voice)

Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street

Self

Searching for Orson

Self

Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement

Self

An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road

Narrator

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

Old Man Taylor

Hallelujah

Narrator

Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film

Narrator

Antietam: A Documentary Film

Self

Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson

Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light

Self

The Making of the Lion King

Host/Narrator

Portrait of Castro's Cuba

Self

Night of 100 Stars

Self - Host

A Walking Tour of Sesame Street

CNN Voiceover (voice)

Primary Colors

Self (archive footage)

BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy

Self

Corwin

(voice)

When It Was a Game

Pharaoh

Moses

Mufasa

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable

James Bing

Good Luck

Himself

Strange Septembers: The Hill Abduction & the Exeter Encounter

Self - Host

The JFK Conspiracy

Darth Vader (voice)

The Story of the Faithful Wookiee

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

201

Gender

Male

Birthday

1931-01-17

Place of Birth

Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA

Also Known As

James Earl Boggins Jones