Hollywood is in mourning after news of James Earl Jones’ death at 93.
Jones, the iconic voice actor behind legendary screen characters like Star Wars‘ Darth Vader and The Lion King‘s Mufasa, died on Monday, Sept. 9, at his home in Dutchess County, New York, his agent confirmed to PEOPLE.
As news of Jones’ death spread around the internet, several celebrities — those who worked with him and those who admired his work — shared on social media to grieve the late actor. Mark Hamill, who famously portrayed Luke Skywalker opposite Jones’ voice work as Darth Vader, quickly shared a simple message via X with a broken heart emoji: “#RIP dad ????,” he wrote.
Hamill, 72, then shared an Instagram photo of himself embracing Jones and wrote in a caption, “One of the world’s finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable. He’ll be greatly missed. #RIP dad ????”
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In The Empire Strikes BackVader famously revealed he was Skywalker’s father Anakin via the famous line, “I am your father.”
Rob Minkoff, the co-director of The Lion Kingwrote: “I was blessed to get to work with him. His portrayal of Mufasa was perfection. What a powerful man and actor. Gone but will never be forgotten. Rest in power.”
“From the gentle wisdom of Mufasa to the menacing threat of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones gave voice to some of the greatest characters in cinema history. A celebrated stage actor with nearly 200 film and television credits to his name, the stories he brought to life with a uniquely commanding presence and a true richness of spirit have left an indelible mark on generations of audiences,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger, in a statement. Disney obtained the rights to Star Wars in 2012 after purchasing Lucasfilm.
Kevin Costner paid tribute to his Field of Dreams costar, posting on Instagram: “That booming voice. That quiet strength. The kindness that he radiated. So much can be said about his legacy, so I’ll just say how thankful I am that part of it includes Field of Dreams.”
LeVar Burton also posted on X, sharing a short post as the news broke, writing, “There will never be another of his particular combination of graces.” Jones starred in the spin-off series Roots: The Next Generations.
“RIP to a King,” Prime Video shared on X, alongside a photo of Jones in Coming 2 America.
Josh Gad shared an undated photo of himself, Nikki M. James and Andrew Rannells posing with Jones on Instagram and wrote he was “shattered” by Jones’ death. “For so many of us, you defined our childhoods from Star Wars to Lion Kingfrom Field of Dreams to The Sandlot, from Coming to America to Dr. Strangelove,” Gad wrote. “Thank you James for giving your life to art and filling our lifetimes with some of the best performances of any resume ever. It was an honor to know you and and an even bigger honor to get perform in a theater with your namesake.”
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Colman Domingo uploaded a photo of a young Jones on X and wrote, “Thank you dear James Earl Jones for everything. A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best.”
“Legendary doesn’t even begin to describe his iconic roles and impact on cinema forever. His voice and talent will be remembered always. Sending love to his family, friends and countless fans in all the galaxies, far, far away,” added actor Octavia Spencer on Instagram.
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Jones was famously brought in to voice Star Wars villain Darth Vader versus utilizing the voice of actor David Prowse, who physically embodied the character in his suit on screen, for the series’ original 1977 movie. He went on to voice Vader across a number of forms of media for decades including recent releases like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and the miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
He retired from voicing the character in 2022 and reportedly gave Disney permission to continue using digital recreations of his voice for Darth Vader appearances to come in the future.
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