James Earl Jones

CrewActor Jan 17 (died age 93) Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA 1944–2024 (80 year career)

6.5 avg rating

Biography

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 Scr…

Known For

Film

The Empire Strikes Back

Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

Film

Star Wars

Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

Film

The Lion King

Mufasa (voice)

Film

Return of the Jedi

Darth Vader (voice)

Film

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Darth Vader (voice)

Film

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)

Film

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Lt. Lothar Zogg

Film

The Lion King

Mufasa (voice)

Filmography

Acting (265)

Movies (202)

Butterfly in the Sky

2024

as Guest Narrator (archive footage)

8.2

BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy

2024

as Self (archive footage)

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

2021

as Self (archive footage)

7.5

Coming 2 America

2021

as King Jaffe Joffer

6.3

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

2019

as Darth Vader (voice)

6.3

The Lion King

2019

as Mufasa (voice)

7.1

The Space: Theatre of Survival

2019

as Narrator

On Broadway

2019

as Self (archive footage)

8.7

Words from a Bear

2019

as Self

Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage

2019

as Self

Warning Shot

2018

as Pendleton

5.1

The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands

2017

as Mufasa (voice)

2.0

Broadway: The Next Generation

2017

as Self

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

2016

as Darth Vader (voice)

7.5

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

2016

as Mufasa (voice)

6.7

God Bless You, Mr Rosewater

2016

as Kilgore Trout

9.0

Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal

2015

as Darth Vader (voice)

7.9

Driving Miss Daisy

2015

as Hoke Colburn

8.0

August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand

2015

as Self

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn

2014

as Ruben

5.6

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion

2014

as Darth Vader (voice)

Milius

as Self

Blackfish

as Self (archive footage)

Gimme Shelter

as Frank McCarthy

Muse of Fire

as Self

Joe Papp in Five Acts

2012

as Self

4.5

An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road

2012

as Self

6.0

Strange Septembers: The Hill Abduction & the Exeter Encounter

2011

as Himself

Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey

2010

as Admiral (voice)

6.3

Jack and the Beanstalk

2009

as The Giant (voice)

5.2

Waking Sleeping Beauty

2009

as Self (archive footage)

7.2

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

2008

as Papa Jenkins

6.0

John, Paul, George and Ben

as Narrator

Earth

as Narrator (voice)

Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson

2007

as Self

Scary Movie 4

2006

as Narrator (uncredited)

5.5

Click

2006

as Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited)

6.3

The Benchwarmers

2006

as Darth Vader (voice)

5.8

Searching for Orson

2006

as Self

5.5

The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays

2006

as Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences")

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

2005

as Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)

7.5

Robots

2005

as Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice)

The Sandlot 2

as Mr. Mertle

The Reading Room

as William

Hollywood's Greatest Villains

2005

as Self

10.0

By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'

2005

as Narrator

5.0

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

2004

as Self

7.8

The Story of Star Wars

2004

as Darth Vader (archive footage)

7.2

Nine Dog Christmas

2004

as Storyteller (voice)

5.2

Black Indians: An American Story

2004

as Narrator

6.2

No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat

2004

as Self

5.0

The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror

2003

as Maggie Simpson (voice)

6.0

The Great Year

2003

as Narrator

9.0

Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October'

2003

as Self

5.4

Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film

2002

as Narrator

Disney's American Legends

2001

as Narrator

7.4

Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street

as Mister (voice)

Finder's Fee

as Avery Phillips

Feast of All Saints

as Older Marcel

Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World

as Self

Fantasia 2000

as Self - Host

Antietam: A Documentary Film

2000

as Narrator

Summer's End

2000

as Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely

7.2

Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'

2000

as Self

6.7

Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light

2000

6.0

The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove

2000

as Self

5.1

Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'

2000

as Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg'

5.6

Our Friend, Martin

1999

as Daddy King (voice)

Undercover Angel

as The Judge

On the Q.T.

as Leo

Santa and Pete

as James Earl Jones

The Annihilation of Fish

1999

as Fish

6.3

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

1998

as Mufasa (voice)

6.9

Primary Colors

1998

as CNN Voiceover (voice)

Gang Related

as Arthur Baylor

Alone

as Grey

Casper: A Spirited Beginning

as Kibosh (voice)

Good Luck

as James Bing

The Second Civil War

as Jim Kalla

Hitler's Forgotten Victims

1997

as Narrator (voice) (DVD version)

10.0

What the Deaf Man Heard

1997

as Archibald Thacker

6.2

Sports on the Silver Screen

1997

as Self (archive footage)

10.0

Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery

1997

as Self

Afro Promo

1997

as Self (archive footage)

Timepiece

as Lawrence

A Family Thing

as Ray Murdock

Looking for Richard

as Self - Interviewee

6.8

Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault

1996

as Dr. McDuffie

7.1

Corwin

1996

as Self

Judge Dredd

1995

as Narrator (uncredited)

5.8

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable

1995

as Mufasa

Jefferson in Paris

1995

as Madison Hemings

5.0

Who's in Rabbit's House?

1995

as Narrator (voice)

The Making of 'Jurassic Park'

1995

as Host

7.3

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

1995

as Self

7.8

Cry, the Beloved Country

1995

as Rev. Stephen Kumalo

6.7

People: A Musical Celebration

1995

as The Storyteller (voice)

6.2

The Lion King

1994

as Mufasa (voice)

8.3

Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult

1994

as James Earl Jones (uncredited)

6.5

Clear and Present Danger

1994

as Admiral James Greer

6.6

Confessions: Two Faces of Evil

1994

as Charles Lloyd

5.0

Gangs: Turning the Corner

1994

as Self

Clean Slate

1994

as John Dolby

5.8

Africa: The Serengeti

1994

as Narrator

6.8

The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics

1994

as Host

6.6

The Making of the Lion King

1994

as Self

10.0

The Vernon Johns Story

1994

as Vernon Johns

8.5

Bah, Humbug!: The Story of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'

as Narrator

The Sandlot

as Mr. Mertle

Sommersby

as Judge Barry Conrad Issacs

6.3

Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films

1993

as Self (voice) (uncredited)

Hallelujah

as Old Man Taylor

The Meteor Man

as Earnest Moses

Percy & Thunder

as Percy Banks

Dreamrider

as Bill Perry

Excessive Force

as Jake

Sneakers

as Mr. Bernard Abbott

Patriot Games

as Adm. James Greer

Lincoln

as Narrator (voice)

The JFK Conspiracy

as Self - Host

Visitors from the Unknown

as Narrator (voice)

Convicts

as Ben Johnson

Portrait of Castro's Cuba

1991

as Host/Narrator

True Identity

as James Earl Jones

Scorchers

as Bear

When It Was a Game

as (voice)

The Hunt for Red October

1990

as Vice ADM James Greer

7.4

By Dawn's Early Light

as Alice

Heat Wave

as Junius Johnson

The Ambulance

as Lt. Spencer

Teach 109

as Dr. Winston

Grim Prairie Tales

as Morrison

Last Flight Out

as Al Topping

Ivory Hunters

1990

as Inspector Nkuru

4.2

Terrorgram

1990

as Retribution (voice)

Field of Dreams

as Terrence Mann

Best of the Best

as Frank Couzo

Three Fugitives

as Dugan

11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried

1989

as Narrator

Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark

1989

as Narrator

5.5

The Hunting of the Snark

1989

as Narrator (voice)

Coming to America

1988

as King Jaffe Joffer

6.9

Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues

1988

as Narrator (voice)

7.2

Matewan

1987

as 'Few Clothes' Johnson

7.4

Gardens of Stone

1987

as Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson

6.2

Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night

1987

as Emperor of the Night (voice)

A House Divided

Soul Man

as Professor Banks

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

as Umslopogaas

My Little Girl

as Ike Bailey

Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp

as Genie / Narrator

The Lone Star Kid

as Holmes

City Limits

as Albert

Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates

1985

Night of 100 Stars II

1985

as Self

8.0

Moses

1985

as Pharaoh

The Vegas Strip War

1984

as Jack Madrid

2.7

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

1984

as Narrator

Return of the Jedi

1983

as Darth Vader (voice)

7.9

Conan the Barbarian

1982

as Thulsa Doom

6.8

The Flight of Dragons

as Ommadon (voice)

Night of 100 Stars

as Self

Blood Tide

as Frye

Amy and the Angel

as Gabriel

Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast

1981

as Narrator (voice)

The Creation

as Narrator (voice)

The Bushido Blade

as The Prisoner

God's Trombones

as Narrator (voice)

Beauty and the Beast

1981

as Narrator (voice)

4.0

There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues

1981

as himself, voice

The Empire Strikes Back

1980

as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

8.4

The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story

1980

as Dane Oliver

The Me Nobody Knows

1980

as Self

Paul Robeson

1979

as Paul Robeson

A Walking Tour of Sesame Street

1979

as Self - Host

The Star Wars Holiday Special

1978

as Darth Vader (voice)

3.4

Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement

1978

as Self

The Story of the Faithful Wookiee

1978

as Darth Vader (voice)

6.0

The Story of the Faithful Wookiee

1978

as Darth Vader(voice) (uncredited)

Star Wars

1977

as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

8.2

The Greatest

1977

as Malcolm X

5.4

Exorcist II: The Heretic

1977

as Older Kokumo

4.5

The Last Remake of Beau Geste

1977

as Sheikh

5.5

A Piece of the Action

1977

as Joshua Burke

5.7

The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened

1977

as Morris Bird, Jr.

The Making of Star Wars

1977

as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

The River Niger

as Johnny Williams

Swashbuckler

as Nick Debrett

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings

as Leon

The UFO Incident

as Barney Hill

Deadly Hero

as Rabbit Shazam

Claudine

as Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall

The Cay

as Timothy

King Lear

as King Lear

The Man

1972

as Douglass Dilman

6.3

Malcolm X

1972

as Biographical Narration (voice)

6.6

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream

1971

as Narrator

End of the Road

as Doctor D

The Great White Hope

as Jack Jefferson

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

1970

as Self (archive footage)

7.1

The Comedians

1967

as Dr. Magiot

6.1

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

1964

as Lt. Lothar Zogg

8.1

Television (63)

Obi-Wan Kenobi

2022

as Darth Vader (voice)

7.0

The Movies That Made Us

2019

as Self (archive footage)

7.2

Star Wars Rebels

2014

as Darth Vader (voice)

The Big Bang Theory

as James Earl Jones

The One Show

as Self - Guest

House

as Dibala

Two and a Half Men

as James Earl Jones

Everwood

as Will Cleveland

According to Jim

as Royal Flush Voice (voice)

Will & Grace

as James Earl Jones

Merlin

as Rock of Ages

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies

as Self

Stargate SG-1

as Unas (Voice)

3rd Rock from the Sun

1996

as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

7.5

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child

1995

as King Dakkar (voice)

6.0

Under One Roof

1995

as Neb Langston

Signs and Wonders

1995

as Diamond

Touched by an Angel

1994

as The Angel of Angels

7.2

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

as Franklin Stern

Frasier

as Norman Royster

Homicide: Life on the Street

as Felix Wilson

Picket Fences

as Bryant Thomas

Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories

as Narrator (voice)

Pros and Cons

as Gabriel Bird

Law & Order

as Defense Attorney Horace McCoy

Gabriel's Fire

as Gabriel Bird

The Simpsons

as Moving Man / Serak the Preparer / Narrator (voice)

8.0

Long Ago and Far Away

as Host

Garfield and Friends

as Diablo

Mathnet

as Chief Thad Green

L.A. Law

as Lee Atkins

The Atlanta Child Murders

as Major Walker

Me & Mom

Highway to Heaven

as Gabe Wilson

CBS Schoolbreak Special

1984

as Detective Robb

5.5

Reading Rainbow

1983

as Self - Narrator (voice)

8.4

Faerie Tale Theatre

1982

as Genie / Narrator (voice)

8.1

Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones

1980

as Father Divine

7.2

Roots: The Next Generations

1979

as Alex Haley

7.5

Roots: The Next Generations

as Alex Haley

Paris

as Woody Paris

The Kennedy Center Honors

1978

as Self

7.4

The Magic of David Copperfield

Jesus of Nazareth

as Balthazar

Vegetable Soup

as Long John Spoilsport

Dinah!

1974

as Self

6.7

The American Film Institute Salute to ...

1973

as Self

6.3

Black Omnibus

1973

as Self - Host

Great Performances

as King Lear

Sesame Street

The Dick Cavett Show

as Self - Guest

Film Night

Tarzan

East Side/West Side

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

as Self

7.5

The Merv Griffin Show

1962

as Self

6.2

The Mike Douglas Show

as Self - Co-Host

Dr. Kildare

as Dr. Lou Rush

The Defenders

as Lieutenant Andrews

5.9

Tony Awards

1956

as Self - Winner/ Performer

5.9

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Archibald Thacker

Lamp Unto My Feet

Golden Globe Awards

as Self - Nominee / Presenter

7.2

Crew (1)

Movies (1)

Mufasa: The Lion King

2024

In Memory Of

7.3