“I am your father”: this legendary phrase from the saga Star Warswrapped in the cavernous voice of Darth Vader, was his own. James Earl Jones died Monday, September 9, at the age of 93, his agents announced.
“Rest in peace dad”reacted, on the X platform, the actor Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker in George Lucas’ intergalactic opera, and to whom the famous phrase, which marked the history of cinema and several generations, was addressed.
Beyond his voice acting roles, notably as Mufasa in The Lion Kingthe African-American actor, often sporting a chevron moustache, is known for his long career both on the silver screen and on stage.
Nothing predestined him to become one of the most emblematic voices in the history of cinema: until he was 8 years old, the young James Earl Jones hardly spoke due to a severe stutter. “Stuttering is painful. In catechism, I would try to read the lessons and the children behind me would roll on the floor laughing.”the actor told the British daily in 2010 Daily Mail.
“I didn’t think I would become an actor”
Born in 1931 in Mississippi, a segregated state in the South, James Earl Jones moved with his family to Michigan, in the northern United States, at the age of 5. He eventually regained control of his speech through the recitation of poems, at the initiative of his English teacher, himself a poet.
The young man is not yet considering an artistic vocation, but rather studying medicine, or even entering religious orders. “I didn’t think I would become an actor. Even when I started studying acting, I imagined myself as a soldier. And the idea of becoming an actor didn’t come to me until almost the end of my military service.”explained James Earl Jones in 1998 to the American public channel PBS.
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After completing his enlistment in the US Army as a lieutenant, he moved to New York in the mid-1950s to pursue acting, while working as a janitor at night. “I’ve cleaned quite a few toilets”he told NPR radio in 2014.
The actor made his Broadway debut in 1958 with the play Sunrise at Campobello at the Cort Theatre, renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2022. Between 1961 and 1964, he played in New York in The Blacksthe play by Jean Genet entitled The Negroes in French, alongside the poet Maya Angelou in particular.
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His first film role came with Dr. Strangelove by Stanley Kubrick, where he plays Lieutenant Zogg aboard a B-52 bomber. The military theme will come back frequently in his filmography, notably through his role as Admiral Greer in the film saga Jack Ryan (In pursuit of Red October, War games, Immediate danger), or even a sergeant-major in Stone gardens by Francis Ford Coppola in 1987.
The most famous villain in cinema history
His first recognition in the industry came in 1969 with his victory at the Tony Awards, American theater awards, for his title role in the play The Insurgent. It tells the true story of Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champion, and the “great white hope” that the white American public expected to dethrone him. A critical success, the play was adapted into a film the following year. James Earl Jones reprised the role of Jack Johnson and his performance earned him an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win.
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In total, the actor would be nominated for four Tony Awards between 1969 and 2012, winning two, as well as a special Tony for his career in 2017. In 2012, the cinema distinguished him with an honorary Oscar for his entire work. Other prominent roles include that of King Jaffe Joffer in A Prince in New Yorkand the villain Thulsa Doom in Conan the Barbarian, in which he faces Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But his most iconic role would never see him appear on screen. George Lucas, the creator of Star Warschose him, after considering Orson Welles, to play the voice of the man who would become the most famous villain in the history of cinema, Darth Vader. “George wanted a darker voice. So he hired a guy who was born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, and stutters, and that voice is me.”James Earl Jones said in a 2009 interview with the American Film Institute.
The actor initially did not want his name to appear in the credits of the first episodes of Star Warsbelieving that his work was more akin to special effects, preferring that the recognition go to the actor behind the mask, David Prowse, according to the specialist magazine. Far Out.
“You gave us the best of yourself”
His death drew widespread tributes in Hollywood on Monday. “Thank you to dear James Earl Jones for everything. A master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders.”wrote, on X, the African-American actor Colman Domingo (Rustin, Sing Sing). “Rest now. You have given us your best.”
Filmmaker Barry Jenkins, who directed Mufasa: The Lion King – The film will be released in December and traces the beginnings of the feline monarch and his rival Scar – also expressed his emotion. “Forever and ever”he posted on X, accompanying his publication with a photo of a young James Earl Jones.
“Thank you for revealing us to ourselves”shared director Ava DuVernay (Selma, Middle of Nowhere). The filmmaker advised her fans to rewatch Claudinea 1974 romantic comedy in which James Earl Jones plays a garbage man who falls in love with a black cleaning lady and mother of six children. “This is one of my favorite movies. James Earl Jones is perfect.”she explains.
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