James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is a multi-award-winning American actor of theater and film, well known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership. He is known for providing the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise and the tagline for CNN. James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi, the son of Ruth (née Connolly) and Robert Earl Jones. At the age of five, he moved to Jackson, Michigan, to be raised by his maternal grandparents, but the adoption was traumatic and he developed a stutter so severe he refused to speak aloud. When he moved to Brethren, Michigan in later years a teacher at the Brethren schools started to help him with his stutter. He remained functionally mute for eight years until he reached high school. He credits his high school teacher, Donald Crouch, who discovered he had a gift for writing poetry, with helping him out of his silence. Jones attended the University of Michigan where he was a pre-med major. While there, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps, and excelled. During the course of his studies, Jones discovered he was not cut out to be a doctor. Instead he focused himself on drama, with the thought of doing something he enjoyed, before, he assumed, he would have to go off to fight in the Korean War. After four years of college, Jones left without his degree. In 1953 he found a part-time stage crew job at the Ramsdell Theatre in Manistee, Michigan, which marked the beginning of his acting career. During the 1955–1957 seasons he was an actor and stage manager. He performed his first portrayal of Shakespeare’s Othello in this theater in 1955. After his discharge from the Military, Jones moved to New York, where he attended the American Theatre Wing to further his training and worked as a janitor to earn a living. His first film role was as a young and trim Lt. Lothar Zogg, the B-52 bombardier in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb in 1964. His first big role came with his portrayal of boxer Jack Jefferson in the film version of the Broadway play The Great White Hope, which was based on the life of boxer Jack Johnson. For his role, Jones was nominated Best Actor by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, making him the second African-American male performer (following Sidney Poitier) to receive a nomination. In 1969, Jones participated in making test films for a proposed children's television series; these shorts, combined with animated segments were the beginnings of the Sesame Street format. The next year, in the early 1970s, James appeared with Diahann Carroll in the film called Claudine. While he has appeared in many roles, he is well known as the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy. Darth Vader was portrayed in costume by David Prowse in the original trilogy, with Jones dubbing Vader's dialogue in postproduction due to Prowse's strong West Country accent being unsuitable for the role. At his own request, he was originally uncredited for the release of the first two films (he would later be credited for the two in the 1997 re-release). His other voice roles include Mufasa in the 1994 film Disney animated blockbuster The Lion King, and its direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. He also has done the CNN tagline, "This is CNN", as well as "This is CNN International", and the Bell Atlantic tagline, "Bell Atlantic: The heart of communication". When Bell Atlantic became Verizon, Jones used the tagline greeting of "Welcome to Verizon" or "Verizon 411" right before a phone call would go through. The opening for NBC's coverage of the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics; "the Big PI in the Sky" (God) in the computer game Under a Killing Moon; a Claymation film about The Creation; and several guest spots on The Simpsons. In addition to his film and voice over work, Jones is an accomplished stage actor as well; he has won Tony awards in 1969 for The Great White Hope and in 1987 for Fences. Othello, King Lear, Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Abhorson in Measure for Measure, and Claudius in Hamlet are Shakespearean roles he has played. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2002. Jones has been married to actress Cecilia Hart since 1982. They have one child, Flynn Earl Jones. He was previously married to American actress/singer Julienne Marie (born March 21, 1933, Toledo, Ohio); they had no children. Jones is a registered Republican.
Acted in
Butterfly in the Sky
2024
as Guest Narrator (archive footage)
Obi-Wan Kenobi
2022
as Darth Vader (voice)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Coming 2 America
2021
as King Jaffe Joffer
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
2019
as Darth Vader (voice)
The Movies That Made Us
2019
as Self (archive footage)
On Broadway
2019
as Self (archive footage)
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
2019
as Self
The Lion King
2019
as Mufasa (voice)
The Space: Theatre of Survival
2019
as Narrator
Words from a Bear
2019
as Self
Warning Shot
2018
as Pendleton
Broadway: The Next Generation
2017
The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands
2017
as Mufasa (voice)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
as Darth Vader (voice)
God Bless You, Mr Rosewater
2016
as Kilgore Trout
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
2015
as Mufasa (voice)
Driving Miss Daisy
2015
as Hoke Colburn
Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
2015
as Darth Vader (voice)
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
2015
Star Wars Rebels
2014
as Darth Vader (voice)
Star Wars Rebels
2014
as Anakin Skywalker (voice)
Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
2014
as Darth Vader (voice)
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
2014
as Ruben
Gimme Shelter
2013
as Frank McCarthy
Muse of Fire
2013
as Self
Blackfish
2013
as Self (archive footage)
Milius
2013
as Self
An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road
2012
as Self
Joe Papp in Five Acts
2012
as Self
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey
2010
as Admiral (voice)
Jack and the Beanstalk
2009
as The Giant (voice)
Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
as Self (archive footage)
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
2008
as Papa Jenkins
Earth
2007
as Narrator (voice)
The Big Bang Theory
2007
as Self
Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson
2007
as Self
John, Paul, George and Ben
2007
as Narrator
Searching for Orson
2006
as Self
Click
2006
as Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited)
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
2006
as Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences")
Scary Movie 4
2006
as Narrator (uncredited)
The Benchwarmers
2006
as Darth Vader (voice)
Hollywood's Greatest Villains
2005
as Self
The Sandlot 2
2005
as Mr. Mertle
The Reading Room
2005
as William
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
2005
as Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)
Robots
2005
as Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice)
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
2005
as Narrator
House
2004
as Dibala
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
2004
as Self
Nine Dog Christmas
2004
as Narrator
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
2004
as Self
The Story of Star Wars
2004
as Darth Vader (archive footage)
Black Indians: An American Story
2004
as Narrator
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror
2003
as Maggie Simpson (voice)
Two and a Half Men
2003
as Himself
The Great Year
2003
as Narrator
Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October'
2003
as Self
Everwood
2002
as Will Cleveland
Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film
2002
as Narrator
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
2001
as Self
Feast of All Saints
2001
as Older Marcel
Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street
2001
as Mister (voice)
According to Jim
2001
as Royal Flush Voice (voice)
Finder's Fee
2001
as Avery Phillips
Disney's American Legends
2001
as Narrator
Antietam: A Documentary Film
2000
as Narrator
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
2000
as Self
Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'
2000
as Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg'
Summer's End
2000
as Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely
The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove
2000
as Self
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
2000
Fantasia 2000
2000
as Self - Host
Santa and Pete
1999
as James Earl Jones
The Annihilation of Fish
1999
as Fish
Undercover Angel
1999
as The Judge
On the Q.T.
1999
as Leo
Our Friend, Martin
1999
as Daddy King (voice)
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
1998
as Mufasa (voice)
Will & Grace
1998
as Self
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
1998
as Self
Merlin
1998
as Rock of Ages
Primary Colors
1998
as CNN Voiceover (voice)
Alone
1997
as Grey
The Second Civil War
1997
as Jim Kalla
What the Deaf Man Heard
1997
as Archibald Thacker
Gang Related
1997
as Arthur Baylor
Hitler's Forgotten Victims
1997
as Narrator (voice) (DVD version)
Casper: A Spirited Beginning
1997
as Kibosh (voice)
Stargate SG-1
1997
as Unas (Voice)
Sports on the Silver Screen
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
1997
as Self
Afro Promo
1997
as Self (archive footage)
Timepiece
1996
as Lawrence
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
1996
as Dr. McDuffie
Looking for Richard
1996
as Self - Interviewee
A Family Thing
1996
as Ray Murdock
Cry, the Beloved Country
1995
as Rev. Stephen Kumalo
Who's in Rabbit's House?
1995
as Narrator (voice)
Judge Dredd
1995
as Narrator (uncredited)
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995
as Self
The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
1995
as Host
Jefferson in Paris
1995
as Madison Hemings
Under One Roof
1995
as Neb Langston
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
as King Dakkar (voice)
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable
1995
as Mufasa (voice)
Signs and Wonders
1995
as Diamond
People: A Musical Celebration
1995
as The Storyteller (voice)
Bah, Humbug!: The Story of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'
1994
as Narrator
Touched by an Angel
1994
as The Angel of Angels
Clear and Present Danger
1994
as Admiral James Greer
The Lion King
1994
as Mufasa (voice)
The Making of the Lion King
1994
as Self
Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics
1994
as Host
Clean Slate
1994
as John Dolby
Africa: The Serengeti
1994
as Narrator
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994
as James Earl Jones (uncredited)
Gangs: Turning the Corner
1994
as Self
Confessions: Two Faces of Evil
1994
as Charles Lloyd
The Vernon Johns Story
1994
as Vernon Johns
Hallelujah
1993
as Old Man Taylor
Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films
1993
as Self [Superbowl Heal The World] (voice)
Frasier
1993
as Norman Royster
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
1993
as Franklin Stern
Percy & Thunder
1993
as Percy Banks
The Meteor Man
1993
as Earnest Moses
Dreamrider
1993
as Bill Perry
Excessive Force
1993
as Jake
The Sandlot
1993
as Mr. Mertle
Sommersby
1993
as Judge Barry Conrad Issacs
Homicide: Life on the Street
1993
Lincoln
1992
as Narrator (voice)
Sneakers
1992
as Mr. Bernard Abbott
Patriot Games
1992
as Adm. James Greer
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992
as Narrator (Voice)
Pros and Cons
1991
as Gabriel Bird
True Identity
1991
as Himself
Scorchers
1991
as Bear
Portrait of Castro's Cuba
1991
as Host/Narrator
Visitors from the Unknown
1991
as Narrator
Convicts
1991
as Ben Johnson
Grim Prairie Tales
1990
as Morrison
Law & Order
1990
as Defense Attorney Horace McCoy
Gabriel's Fire
1990
as Gabriel Bird
Ivory Hunters
1990
as Inspector Nkuru
Heat Wave
1990
as Junius Johnson
Last Flight Out
1990
as Al Topping
By Dawn's Early Light
1990
as Alice
The Ambulance
1990
as Lt. Spencer
The Hunt for Red October
1990
as Admiral Greer
Teach 109
1990
as Dr. Winston
The Simpsons
1989
as Narrator (voice)
The Simpsons
1989
as Maggie Simpson (voice)
The Simpsons
1989
as Moving Man / Serak the Preparer / Narrator (voice)
11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried
1989
as Narrator
Best of the Best
1989
as Frank Couzo
Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast
1989
as Narrator (voice)
Field of Dreams
1989
as Terrence Mann
Long Ago and Far Away
1989
as Host
Three Fugitives
1989
as Dugan
Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark
1989
as Narrator
The Hunting of the Snark
1989
as Narrator (voice)
Terrorgram
1988
as Retribution (voice)
Coming to America
1988
as King Jaffe Joffer
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
1988
as Narrator (voice)
Matewan
1987
as 'Few Clothes' Johnson
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
1987
as Emperor of the Night (voice)
Gardens of Stone
1987
as Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson
A House Divided
1987
Mathnet
1987
as Chief Thad Green
Mathnet
1987
as Chief Thad Green (voice)
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
1986
as Umslopogaas
Soul Man
1986
as Professor Banks
L.A. Law
1986
as Lee Atkins
My Little Girl
1986
as Ike Bailey
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
1986
as Genie / Narrator
The Lone Star Kid
1986
as Holmes
City Limits
1985
as Albert
Me & Mom
1985
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
as Self
The Atlanta Child Murders
1985
as Major Walker
Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates
1985
The Flight of Dragons
1984
as Ommadon (voice)
The Vegas Strip War
1984
as Jack Madrid
CBS Schoolbreak Special
1984
as Detective Robb
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
1984
as Narrator
Reading Rainbow
1983
as Himself - Narrator (voice)
Return of the Jedi
1983
as Darth Vader (voice)
Blood Tide
1982
as Frye
Amy and the Angel
1982
as Gabriel
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982
as Genie / Narrator (voice)
Conan the Barbarian
1982
as Thulsa Doom
Night of 100 Stars
1982
as Self
The Creation
1981
as Narrator (voice)
The Bushido Blade
1981
as The Prisoner
There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues
1981
as himself, voice
Beauty and the Beast
1981
as Narrator (voice)
God's Trombones
1981
as Himself - Narrator (segment "The Creation")
The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story
1980
as Dane Oliver
The Empire Strikes Back
1980
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
The Me Nobody Knows
1980
as Self
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
1980
as Father Divine
Paris
1979
as Woody Paris
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1979
as Self - Host
Roots: The Next Generations
1979
as Alex Haley
Paul Robeson
1979
as Paul Robeson
Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement
1978
as Self
The Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self
The Star Wars Holiday Special
1978
as Darth Vader (voice)
The Magic of David Copperfield
1978
The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened
1977
as Morris Bird, Jr.
A Piece of the Action
1977
as Joshua Burke
The Making of Star Wars
1977
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
Exorcist II: The Heretic
1977
as Older Kokumo
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
1977
as Sheikh
Star Wars
1977
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
The Greatest
1977
as Malcolm X
Jesus of Nazareth
1977
as Balthazar
Swashbuckler
1976
as Nick Debrett
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
1976
as Leon
The River Niger
1976
as Johnny Williams
Deadly Hero
1975
as Rabbit Shazam
The UFO Incident
1975
as Barney Hill
The Cay
1974
as Timothy
Claudine
1974
as Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall
King Lear
1974
as King Lear
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
The Man
1972
as Douglass Dilman
Malcolm X
1972
as Biographical Narration (voice)
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream
1971
as Narrator
Great Performances
1971
as King Lear
The Great White Hope
1970
as Jack Jefferson
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970
as Self (archive footage)
End of the Road
1970
as Doctor D
Sesame Street
1969
Film Night
1968
The Comedians
1967
as Dr. Magiot
Tarzan
1966
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1964
as Lt. Lothar Zogg
East Side/West Side
1963
Dr. Kildare
1961
as Dr. Lou Rush
The Defenders
1961
as Lieutenant Andrews
The Defenders
1961
as Reverend Harris Bonham
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Nominee / Performer
Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Archibald Thacker
Lamp Unto My Feet
1948
Vegetable Soup
as Long John Spoilsport