James Earl Jones
Actor
Born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA
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.
Filmography
Broadway: The Next Generation
Self
Indiana Jones Adventure | Disneyland Resort
Mara (voice)
Mufasa: The Lion King
BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy
Self (archive footage)
Butterfly in the Sky
Guest Narrator (archive footage)
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Darth Vader (voice)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Self (archive footage)
Coming 2 America
King Jaffe Joffer
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Darth Vader (voice)
The Movies That Made Us
Self (archive footage)
On Broadway
Self (archive footage)
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
Self
The Lion King
Mufasa (voice)
The Space: Theatre of Survival
Narrator
Words from a Bear
Self
Warning Shot
Pendleton
The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands
Mufasa (voice)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Darth Vader (voice)
God Bless You, Mr Rosewater
Kilgore Trout
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
Mufasa (voice)
Driving Miss Daisy
Hoke Colburn
Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
Darth Vader (voice)
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Self
Star Wars Rebels
Darth Vader (voice)
Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
Darth Vader (voice)
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
Ruben
Gimme Shelter
Frank McCarthy
Muse of Fire
Self
Blackfish
Self (archive footage)
Milius
Self
An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road
Self
Joe Papp in Five Acts
Self
Strange Septembers: The Hill Abduction & the Exeter Encounter
Himself
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey
Admiral (voice)
Jack and the Beanstalk
The Giant (voice)
Waking Sleeping Beauty
Self (archive footage)
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
Papa Jenkins
Earth
Narrator (voice)
The Big Bang Theory
James Earl Jones
John, Paul, George and Ben
Narrator
Searching for Orson
Self
The One Show
Self - Guest
Click
Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited)
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences")
Scary Movie 4
Narrator (uncredited)
The Benchwarmers
Darth Vader (voice)
The Trail Of Tears: Cherokee Legacy
Narrator
Hollywood's Greatest Villains
Self
The Sandlot 2
Mr. Mertle
The Reading Room
William
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)
Robots
Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice)
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
Narrator
House
Dibala
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
Self
Nine Dog Christmas
Storyteller (voice)
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
Self
The Story of Star Wars
Darth Vader (archive footage)
Black Indians: An American Story
Narrator
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror
Maggie Simpson (voice)
Two and a Half Men
James Earl Jones
The Great Year
Narrator
Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October'
Self
Everwood
Will Cleveland
Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film
Narrator
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
Self
Feast of All Saints
Older Marcel
Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street
Mister (voice)
According to Jim
Royal Flush Voice (voice)
Finder's Fee
Avery Phillips
Disney's American Legends
Narrator
Antietam: A Documentary Film
Narrator
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
Self
Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'
Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg'
The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove
Self
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
Fantasia 2000
Self - Host
Santa and Pete
Grandpa Nicholas
The Annihilation of Fish
Fish
Undercover Angel
The Judge
On the Q.T.
Leo
Summer's End
Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely
Our Friend, Martin
Daddy King (voice)
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
Mufasa (voice)
Will & Grace
James Earl Jones
Merlin
Rock of Ages
Primary Colors
CNN Voiceover (voice)
Alone
Grey
The Second Civil War
Jim Kalla
What the Deaf Man Heard
Archibald Thacker
Gang Related
Arthur Baylor
Casper: A Spirited Beginning
Kibosh (voice)
Stargate SG-1
Unas (Voice)
Sports on the Silver Screen
Self (archive footage)
Good Luck
James Bing
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
Self
Afro Promo
Self (archive footage)
Timepiece
Lawrence
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
Dr. McDuffie
Looking for Richard
Self - Interviewee
A Family Thing
Ray Murdock
3rd Rock from the Sun
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Cry, the Beloved Country
Rev. Stephen Kumalo
Who's in Rabbit's House?
Narrator (voice)
Judge Dredd
Narrator (uncredited)
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self
The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
Host
Jefferson in Paris
Madison Hemings
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
King Dakkar (voice)
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable
Mufasa
Signs and Wonders
Diamond
People: A Musical Celebration
The Storyteller (voice)
Touched by an Angel
The Angel of Angels
Clear and Present Danger
Admiral James Greer
The Making of the Lion King
Self
The Lion King
Mufasa (voice)
The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics
Host
Clean Slate
John Dolby
Africa: The Serengeti
Narrator
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
James Earl Jones (uncredited)
Gangs: Turning the Corner
Self
Confessions: Two Faces of Evil
Charles Lloyd
The Vernon Johns Story
Vernon Johns
Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films
Self (voice) (uncredited)
Frasier
Norman Royster
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Franklin Stern
Percy & Thunder
Percy Banks
The Meteor Man
Earnest Moses
Dreamrider
Bill Perry
Excessive Force
Jake
The Sandlot
Mr. Mertle
Sommersby
Judge Barry Conrad Issacs
Homicide: Life on the Street
Felix Wilson
Picket Fences
Bryant Thomas
Sneakers
Mr. Bernard Abbott
Patriot Games
Adm. James Greer
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
Narrator (voice)
The JFK Conspiracy
Self - Host
Pros and Cons
Gabriel Bird
True Identity
James Earl Jones
When It Was a Game
(voice)
Scorchers
Bear
Visitors from the Unknown
Narrator (voice)
Convicts
Ben Johnson
Grim Prairie Tales
Morrison
Law & Order
Defense Attorney Horace McCoy
Gabriel's Fire
Gabriel Bird
Ivory Hunters
Inspector Nkuru
Heat Wave
Junius Johnson
By Dawn's Early Light
Alice
The Ambulance
Lt. Spencer
The Hunt for Red October
Vice ADM James Greer
Teach 109
Dr. Winston
Terrorgram
Retribution (voice)
The Simpsons
Narrator (voice)
11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried
Narrator
Best of the Best
Frank Couzo
Field of Dreams
Terrence Mann
Three Fugitives
Dugan
The Hunting of the Snark
Narrator (voice)
Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark
Narrator
Garfield and Friends
Diablo
Coming to America
King Jaffe Joffer
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
Narrator (voice)
Matewan
'Few Clothes' Johnson
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
Emperor of the Night (voice)
Gardens of Stone
Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson
Mathnet
Chief Thad Green
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
Umslopogaas
Soul Man
Professor Banks
L.A. Law
Lee Atkins
My Little Girl
Ike Bailey
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
Genie / Narrator
The Lone Star Kid
Holmes
City Limits
Albert
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
The Atlanta Child Murders
Major Walker
Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates
The Vegas Strip War
Jack Madrid
Highway to Heaven
Gabe Wilson
CBS Schoolbreak Special
Detective Robb
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
Narrator
Reading Rainbow
Self - Narrator (voice)
Return of the Jedi
Darth Vader (voice)
Blood Tide
Frye
Amy and the Angel
Gabriel
Faerie Tale Theatre
Genie / Narrator (voice)
The Flight of Dragons
Ommadon (voice)
Conan the Barbarian
Thulsa Doom
Night of 100 Stars
Self
American Playhouse
Dr. Winston (segment 'Teach 109')
Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast
Narrator (voice)
The Bushido Blade
The Prisoner
There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues
himself, voice
God's Trombones
Narrator (voice)
The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story
Dane Oliver
The Empire Strikes Back
Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
The Me Nobody Knows
Self
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
Father Divine
Paris
Woody Paris
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
Self - Host
Roots: The Next Generations
Alex Haley
Paul Robeson
Paul Robeson
Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement
Self
The Kennedy Center Honors
Self
The Star Wars Holiday Special
Darth Vader (voice)
The Magic of David Copperfield
The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened
Morris Bird, Jr.
A Piece of the Action
Joshua Burke
The Making of Star Wars
Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
Exorcist II: The Heretic
Older Kokumo
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
Sheikh
Star Wars
Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
The Greatest
Malcolm X
Jesus of Nazareth
Balthazar
Swashbuckler
Nick Debrett
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
Leon
The River Niger
Johnny Williams
Deadly Hero
Rabbit Shazam
The UFO Incident
Barney Hill
Vegetable Soup
Long John Spoilsport
The Cay
Timothy
Dinah!
Self
Claudine
Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall
King Lear
King Lear
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
Black Omnibus
Self - Host
The Man
Douglass Dilman
Malcolm X
Biographical Narration (voice)
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream
Narrator
Great Performances
King Lear
The Great White Hope
Jack Jefferson
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
Self (archive footage)
End of the Road
Doctor D
Sesame Street
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
The Comedians
Dr. Magiot
Tarzan
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Lt. Lothar Zogg
East Side/West Side
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
Dr. Kildare
Dr. Lou Rush
The Defenders
Lieutenant Andrews
Tony Awards
Self - Winner / Performer
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Archibald Thacker
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee / Presenter