James Earl Jones: the voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa falls silent

«Simba, let me tell you something that my father told me,» says Mufasa, the Lion King, to his young son. The vastness of the African night sky stretches infinitely above them. «Look at the stars. The Great Kings of the Past look down on us from those stars.»

On 9 September 2024, the sky gained a new star: James Earl Jones. The man who lent his unforgettable voice to Mufasa in Disney’s The Lion King has died at the age of 93 at his home in Dutchess County, New York. Now he’s up there with the kings, looking down on us.

The stammerer

It’s in these almost magical moments that we feel the full weight of James Earl Jones’s legacy. A voice that brought not just characters, but entire worlds and galaxies to life.

Not many people saw his fate coming. Born in Mississippi on 17 January 1931, Jones grew up in difficult circumstances. The trauma of his parents’ separation in 1936 left its mark on him in the form of a stammer. For years, Jones barely said a word. Eight years would pass before his high school teacher Donald Crouch recognised his potential. Crouch was so convinced of Jones’s talent that he had him recite a poem in class every day. In the end, speaking in front of an audience gave him enough self-confidence to finally stop stammering. But that wasn’t all.

Jones’s newfound, sonorous voice soon became his calling card.

The stage legend

Jones started out as a premed student at the University of Michigan. During his studies, he also attended the university’s Reserve Officer Training Corps to train as an officer. In autumn 1953, he even received his commission, and was transferred to Camp Hale, Colorado. There, he was assigned to the training unit for mountain warfare and winter combat. After three years of service, he left the army to pursue his new dream: acting.

It didn’t take long for success to come knocking. Jones’s deep, distinctive voice soon began reverberating across the world’s biggest theatre stages. In 1957, he even made it to Broadway, the heart of American theatre.

His portrayal of boxer Jack Johnson in The Great White Hope won him his first Tony Award (the highest award in theatre, comparable to an Oscar) in 1969. After starring in the film adaptation of the play in 1970, he took home a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Oscar. He later won the second Tony Award of his career for Fences (1987), in which he played a baseball player and working-class father in Pittsburgh who’s forced to give up his career when his son is born.

But James Earl Jones didn’t just do stage appearances. With his imposing voice, he made his Hollywood breakthrough in Stanley Kubrick’s satirical war comedy Dr. Strangelove in 1964. However, his best-known film roles included appearances in Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams and The Hunt for Red October. In the latter, he played CIA director James Greer, boss and father figure to the movie’s hero Jack Ryan. He liked the part so much that he continued in the role in the sequels Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger alongside Harrison Ford.

The character Jones is best known for playing, however, goes by another name...

The breath of the galaxy

It’s 1977. After spending just two and a half hours in the dubbing studio, James Earl Jones has delivered all the lines George Lucas needs for his first major Hollywood film: Star Wars. In it, Jones plays none other than the most legendary villain of all time, Darth Vader. His first appearance has an air of sheer menace. Vader advances threateningly towards the rebel princess. His black armour and mechanical breathing create an atmosphere of fear and power.

Darth Vader’s not an opponent to be messed with.

Jones was paid just 7,000 US dollars for the role that immortalised him. Good money, in his book. Even so, Jones didn’t want to be mentioned in the credits, a decision he took partly out of respect for David Prowse, the British actor who played the iconic villain under the suit. Prowse, incidentally, had been promised that his own voice would be reworked later to sound scarier. It wasn’t until the film premiere that Prowse found out Lucas had broken his promise. A breach of trust that Prowse would remember until his death in 2020.

Meanwhile, James Earl Jones starred in two more Star Wars films before finally agreeing to be mentioned in the credits as «Darth Vader’s Voice». By that point, everybody knew it was him anyway. Besides, Jones was sure there wouldn’t be any new Star Wars projects in the future.

He was wrong.

By 2022, he’d voiced the fallen Jedi and Sith Lord 16 times. Most recently, his voice was used in the series Obi-Wan Kenobi – albeit only as a mixture of real recordings, archive recordings and AI-generated voice clips. It was the last official voice-acting role of his life.

Right after working on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jones retired from acting. Before stepping back from work, he gave his permission for his voice to be generated by AI in subsequent Star Wars projects. As he made apparent in an interview with the New York Times in 2014, Jones wasn’t one for vanity. When asked how he’d manage to keep his career going for so long, he answered simply:

«The secret is never forgetting that you’re a journeyman actor. Nothing is your final thing, nothing is your greatest thing, and nothing is your worst thing. I still consider myself a novice.»

Rest in peace, Great King

«Simba, look at the stars. The Great Kings of the Past look down on us from those stars,» says Mufasa, the Lion King, to his young son.

«Really?» asks Simba. The vastness of the African night sky stretches infinitely above them.

«Yes,» replies Mufasa, gently. «So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you.»

The stars shine brighter and more clearly than ever.

«And so will I.»