James Earl Jones

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Birthdate

1931-01-17

Day of Death

2024-09-09

Place of Birth

Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA

James Earl Jones

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 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 (200)

⭐ 0 Role: Self (archive footage)

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

⭐ 8.2 Role: Guest Narrator (archive footage)

Butterfly in the Sky

⭐ 7.4 Role: Self (archive footage)

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

⭐ 6.3 Role: King Jaffe Joffer

Coming 2 America

⭐ 6.3 Role: Darth Vader (voice)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

⭐ 8.7 Role: Self (archive footage)

On Broadway

⭐ 0 Role: Self

Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage

⭐ 7.1 Role: Mufasa (voice)

The Lion King

⭐ 0 Role: Narrator

The Space: Theatre of Survival

⭐ 0 Role: Self

Words from a Bear

⭐ 5.1 Role: Pendleton

Warning Shot

⭐ 2.0 Role: Mufasa (voice)

The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands

⭐ 7.5 Role: Darth Vader (voice)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

⭐ 9.0 Role: Kilgore Trout

God Bless You, Mr Rosewater

⭐ 6.7 Role: Mufasa (voice)

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar

⭐ 8.0 Role: Hoke Colburn

Driving Miss Daisy

⭐ 7.9 Role: Darth Vader (voice)

Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal

⭐ 0 Role: Self

August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand

⭐ 7.3 Role: Darth Vader (voice)

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion

⭐ 5.7 Role: Ruben

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn

⭐ 6.6 Role: Frank McCarthy

Gimme Shelter

⭐ 6.5 Role: Self

Muse of Fire

⭐ 7.8 Role: Self (archive footage)

Blackfish

⭐ 7.1 Role: Self

Milius

⭐ 6.0 Role: Self

An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road

⭐ 4.5 Role: Self

Joe Papp in Five Acts

⭐ 0 Role: Himself

Strange Septembers: The Hill Abduction & the Exeter Encounter

⭐ 6.4 Role: Admiral (voice)

Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey

⭐ 5.2 Role: The Giant (voice)

Jack and the Beanstalk

⭐ 7.2 Role: Self (archive footage)

Waking Sleeping Beauty

⭐ 6.0 Role: Papa Jenkins

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

⭐ 7.6 Role: Narrator (voice)

Earth

⭐ 0 Role: Self

Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson

⭐ 5.0 Role: Narrator

John, Paul, George and Ben

⭐ 5.5 Role: Self

Searching for Orson

⭐ 6.3 Role: Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited)

Click

⭐ 0 Role: Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences")

The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays

⭐ 5.5 Role: Narrator (uncredited)

Scary Movie 4

⭐ 5.9 Role: Darth Vader (voice)

The Benchwarmers

⭐ 4.5 Role: Narrator

The Trail Of Tears: Cherokee Legacy

⭐ 9.5 Role: Self

Hollywood's Greatest Villains

⭐ 5.9 Role: Mr. Mertle

The Sandlot 2

⭐ 7.5 Role: William

The Reading Room

⭐ 7.5 Role: Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

⭐ 6.5 Role: Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice)

Robots

⭐ 6.0 Role: Narrator

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

⭐ 5.8 Role: Self

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

⭐ 5.6 Role: Storyteller (voice)

Nine Dog Christmas

⭐ 7.8 Role: Self

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

⭐ 7.2 Role: Darth Vader (archive footage)

The Story of Star Wars

⭐ 6.4 Role: Narrator

Black Indians: An American Story

⭐ 6.0 Role: Maggie Simpson (voice)

The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror

⭐ 9.0 Role: Narrator

The Great Year

⭐ 5.4 Role: Self

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

⭐ 0 Role: Narrator

Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film

⭐ 8.0 Role: Self

Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World

⭐ 4.8 Role: Older Marcel

Feast of All Saints

⭐ 6.3 Role: Mister (voice)

Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street

⭐ 6.2 Role: Avery Phillips

Finder's Fee

⭐ 7.4 Role: Narrator

Disney's American Legends

⭐ 9.0 Role: Narrator

Antietam: A Documentary Film

⭐ 6.8 Role: Self

Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'

⭐ 5.8 Role: Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg'

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

⭐ 5.6 Role: Self

The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove

⭐ 6.7 Role: Unknown

Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light

⭐ 7.0 Role: Self - Host

Fantasia 2000

⭐ 5.8 Role: Grandpa Nicholas

Santa and Pete

⭐ 6.4 Role: Fish

The Annihilation of Fish

⭐ 7.0 Role: The Judge

Undercover Angel

⭐ 7.1 Role: Leo

On the Q.T.

⭐ 7.6 Role: Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely

Summer's End

⭐ 7.1 Role: Daddy King (voice)

Our Friend, Martin

⭐ 6.9 Role: Mufasa (voice)

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride

⭐ 6.3 Role: CNN Voiceover (voice)

Primary Colors

⭐ 6.7 Role: Grey

Alone

⭐ 6.1 Role: Jim Kalla

The Second Civil War

⭐ 6.4 Role: Archibald Thacker

What the Deaf Man Heard

⭐ 6.4 Role: Arthur Baylor

Gang Related

⭐ 10.0 Role: Narrator (voice) (DVD version)

Hitler's Forgotten Victims

⭐ 5.4 Role: Kibosh (voice)

Casper: A Spirited Beginning

⭐ 9.0 Role: Self (archive footage)

Sports on the Silver Screen

⭐ 4.9 Role: James Bing

Good Luck

⭐ 8.0 Role: Self

Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery

⭐ 8.0 Role: Self (archive footage)

Afro Promo

⭐ 7.0 Role: Lawrence

Timepiece

⭐ 7.2 Role: Dr. McDuffie

Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault

⭐ 6.8 Role: Self - Interviewee

Looking for Richard

⭐ 8.0 Role: Self

Corwin

⭐ 6.5 Role: Ray Murdock

A Family Thing

⭐ 6.8 Role: Rev. Stephen Kumalo

Cry, the Beloved Country

⭐ 0 Role: Narrator (voice)

Who's in Rabbit's House?

⭐ 5.9 Role: Narrator (uncredited)

Judge Dredd

⭐ 8.0 Role: Self

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies

⭐ 7.3 Role: Host

The Making of 'Jurassic Park'

⭐ 5.1 Role: Madison Hemings

Jefferson in Paris

⭐ 8.0 Role: Mufasa

Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable

⭐ 6.6 Role: The Storyteller (voice)

People: A Musical Celebration

⭐ 6.5 Role: Narrator

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

⭐ 6.6 Role: Admiral James Greer

Clear and Present Danger

⭐ 10.0 Role: Self

The Making of the Lion King

⭐ 8.3 Role: Mufasa (voice)

The Lion King

⭐ 6.8 Role: Host

The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics

⭐ 5.8 Role: John Dolby

Clean Slate

⭐ 7.0 Role: Narrator

Africa: The Serengeti

⭐ 6.5 Role: James Earl Jones (uncredited)

Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult

⭐ 0 Role: Self

Gangs: Turning the Corner

⭐ 5.4 Role: Charles Lloyd

Confessions: Two Faces of Evil

⭐ 9.0 Role: Vernon Johns

The Vernon Johns Story

⭐ 6.5 Role: Old Man Taylor

Hallelujah

⭐ 8.2 Role: Self (voice) (uncredited)

Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films

⭐ 8.0 Role: Percy Banks

Percy & Thunder

⭐ 5.8 Role: Earnest Moses

The Meteor Man

⭐ 7.2 Role: Bill Perry

Dreamrider

⭐ 4.9 Role: Jake

Excessive Force

⭐ 7.5 Role: Mr. Mertle

The Sandlot

⭐ 6.4 Role: Judge Barry Conrad Issacs

Sommersby

⭐ 7.3 Role: Narrator (voice)

Lincoln

⭐ 6.9 Role: Mr. Bernard Abbott

Sneakers

⭐ 6.7 Role: Adm. James Greer

Patriot Games

⭐ 7.3 Role: Self - Host

The JFK Conspiracy

⭐ 5.6 Role: James Earl Jones

True Identity

⭐ 10.0 Role: (voice)

When It Was a Game

⭐ 4.4 Role: Bear

Scorchers

⭐ 0 Role: Host/Narrator

Portrait of Castro's Cuba

⭐ 6.0 Role: Narrator (voice)

Visitors from the Unknown

⭐ 5.7 Role: Ben Johnson

Convicts

⭐ 5.8 Role: Morrison

Grim Prairie Tales

⭐ 4.9 Role: Inspector Nkuru

Ivory Hunters

⭐ 6.8 Role: Junius Johnson

Heat Wave

⭐ 0 Role: Al Topping

Last Flight Out

⭐ 6.5 Role: Alice

By Dawn's Early Light

⭐ 5.8 Role: Lt. Spencer

The Ambulance

⭐ 7.4 Role: Vice ADM James Greer

The Hunt for Red October

⭐ 8.0 Role: Dr. Winston

Teach 109

⭐ 4.5 Role: Retribution (voice)

Terrorgram

⭐ 8.0 Role: Narrator

11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried

⭐ 6.5 Role: Frank Couzo

Best of the Best

⭐ 7.1 Role: Terrence Mann

Field of Dreams

⭐ 6.7 Role: Dugan

Three Fugitives

⭐ 9.0 Role: Narrator (voice)

The Hunting of the Snark

⭐ 5.5 Role: Narrator

Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark

⭐ 6.9 Role: King Jaffe Joffer

Coming to America

⭐ 7.6 Role: Narrator (voice)

Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues

⭐ 7.4 Role: 'Few Clothes' Johnson

Matewan

⭐ 5.5 Role: Emperor of the Night (voice)

Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night

⭐ 6.2 Role: Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson

Gardens of Stone

⭐ 0 Role: Unknown

A House Divided

⭐ 4.8 Role: Umslopogaas

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold

⭐ 5.3 Role: Professor Banks

Soul Man

⭐ 4.6 Role: Ike Bailey

My Little Girl

⭐ 6.0 Role: Genie / Narrator

Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp

⭐ 6.3 Role: Holmes

The Lone Star Kid

⭐ 0 Role: Pharaoh

Moses

⭐ 2.8 Role: Albert

City Limits

⭐ 8.0 Role: Self

Night of 100 Stars II

⭐ 0 Role: Unknown

Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates

⭐ 4.0 Role: Jack Madrid

The Vegas Strip War

⭐ 0 Role: Narrator

Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears

⭐ 7.9 Role: Darth Vader (voice)

Return of the Jedi

⭐ 5.0 Role: Frye

Blood Tide

⭐ 6.7 Role: Gabriel

Amy and the Angel

⭐ 6.7 Role: Ommadon (voice)

The Flight of Dragons

⭐ 6.8 Role: Thulsa Doom

Conan the Barbarian

⭐ 6.8 Role: Self

Night of 100 Stars

⭐ 0 Role: Narrator (voice)

Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast

⭐ 6.9 Role: Narrator (voice)

The Creation

⭐ 5.8 Role: The Prisoner

The Bushido Blade

⭐ 0 Role: himself, voice

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

⭐ 4.0 Role: Narrator (voice)

Beauty and the Beast

⭐ 0 Role: Narrator (voice)

God's Trombones

⭐ 0 Role: Dane Oliver

The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story

⭐ 8.4 Role: Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

The Empire Strikes Back

⭐ 0 Role: Self

The Me Nobody Knows

⭐ 0 Role: Self - Host

A Walking Tour of Sesame Street

⭐ 8.0 Role: Paul Robeson

Paul Robeson

⭐ 9.0 Role: Self

Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement

⭐ 3.4 Role: Darth Vader (voice)

The Star Wars Holiday Special

⭐ 7.0 Role: Morris Bird, Jr.

The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened

⭐ 5.8 Role: Joshua Burke

A Piece of the Action

⭐ 7.1 Role: Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

The Making of Star Wars

⭐ 4.6 Role: Older Kokumo

Exorcist II: The Heretic

⭐ 5.6 Role: Sheikh

The Last Remake of Beau Geste

⭐ 8.2 Role: Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

Star Wars

⭐ 5.7 Role: Malcolm X

The Greatest

⭐ 6.1 Role: Nick Debrett

Swashbuckler

⭐ 6.0 Role: Leon

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings

⭐ 7.4 Role: Johnny Williams

The River Niger

⭐ 5.8 Role: Rabbit Shazam

Deadly Hero

⭐ 6.8 Role: Barney Hill

The UFO Incident

⭐ 6.9 Role: Timothy

The Cay

⭐ 7.1 Role: Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall

Claudine

⭐ 9.0 Role: King Lear

King Lear

⭐ 6.5 Role: Douglass Dilman

The Man

⭐ 6.7 Role: Biographical Narration (voice)

Malcolm X

⭐ 8.0 Role: Narrator

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream

⭐ 6.2 Role: Jack Jefferson

The Great White Hope

⭐ 7.3 Role: Self (archive footage)

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis

⭐ 5.1 Role: Doctor D

End of the Road

⭐ 6.1 Role: Dr. Magiot

The Comedians

⭐ 8.1 Role: Lt. Lothar Zogg

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