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.
Known For
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
The Simpsons
1989
The Simpsons
1989
The Simpsons
1989
Law & Order
1990
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
House
2004
Two and a Half Men
2003
Sesame Street
1969
Stargate SG-1
1997
Frasier
1993
Filmography
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self · 1962
The Simpsons
as Narrator (voice) · 1989
The Simpsons
as Moving Man / Serak the Preparer / Narrator (voice) · 1989
The Simpsons
as Maggie Simpson (voice) · 1989
Law & Order
as Defense Attorney Horace McCoy · 1990
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self · 1961
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self - Co-Host · 1961
House
as Dibala · 2004
Two and a Half Men
as James Earl Jones · 2003
Sesame Street
· 1969
Stargate SG-1
as Unas (Voice) · 1997
Frasier
as Norman Royster · 1993
The Merv Griffin Show
as Self · 1962
The One Show
as Self - Guest · 2006
Great Performances
as King Lear · 1971
Will & Grace
as James Earl Jones · 1998
The Dick Cavett Show
as Self - Guest · 1968
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner / Performer · 1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Presenter · 1956
Tony Awards
as Self (archive footage) · 1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee / Presenter · 1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee · 1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner · 1956
The Big Bang Theory
as James Earl Jones · 2007
Garfield and Friends
as Diablo · 1988
L.A. Law
as Lee Atkins · 1986
Everwood
as Will Cleveland · 2002
Touched by an Angel
as The Angel of Angels · 1994
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee / Presenter · 1944
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
as Franklin Stern · 1993
3rd Rock from the Sun
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited) · 1996
Homicide: Life on the Street
as Felix Wilson · 1993
American Playhouse
as Dr. Winston (segment 'Teach 109') · 1982
American Playhouse
as Old Man Taylor · 1982
Dr. Kildare
as Dr. Lou Rush · 1961
According to Jim
as Royal Flush Voice (voice) · 2001
Highway to Heaven
as Gabe Wilson · 1984
Star Wars Rebels
as Darth Vader (voice) · 2014
The Defenders
as Lieutenant Andrews · 1961
The Defenders
as Reverend Harris Bonham · 1961
The Lion King
as Mufasa (voice) · 1994
Dinah!
as Self · 1974
Star Wars
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) · 1977
The Lion King
as Mufasa (voice) · 2019
Reading Rainbow
as Self - Narrator (voice) · 1983
Picket Fences
as Bryant Thomas · 1992
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
as Darth Vader (voice) · 2019
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
as Darth Vader (voice - uncredited) · 2005
The Empire Strikes Back
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) · 1980
Return of the Jedi
as Darth Vader (voice) · 1983
Tarzan
· 1966
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
as Mufasa (voice) · 1998
Obi-Wan Kenobi
as Darth Vader (voice) · 2022
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as King Dakkar (voice) · 1995
The Kennedy Center Honors
as Self · 1978
Click
as Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited) · 2006
Robots
as Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice) · 2005
Scary Movie 4
as Narrator (uncredited) · 2006
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
as Lt. Lothar Zogg · 1964
The Movies That Made Us
as Self (archive footage) · 2019
The Hunt for Red October
as Vice ADM James Greer · 1990
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
as Darth Vader (voice) · 2016
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Genie / Narrator (voice) · 1982
Conan the Barbarian
as Thulsa Doom · 1982
Coming to America
as King Jaffe Joffer · 1988
CBS Schoolbreak Special
as Detective Robb · 1984
Jesus of Nazareth
as Balthazar · 1977
Sneakers
as Mr. Bernard Abbott · 1992
Judge Dredd
as Narrator (uncredited) · 1995
Roots: The Next Generations
as Alex Haley · 1979
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
as James Earl Jones (uncredited) · 1994
Clear and Present Danger
as Admiral James Greer · 1994
Merlin
as Rock of Ages · 1998
Field of Dreams
as Terrence Mann · 1989
The Sandlot
as Mr. Mertle · 1993
Coming 2 America
as King Jaffe Joffer · 2021
Fantasia 2000
as Self - Host · 2000
Patriot Games
as Adm. James Greer · 1992
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
as Self · 1973
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
as Ruben · 2014
Exorcist II: The Heretic
as Older Kokumo · 1977
Best of the Best
as Frank Couzo · 1989
The Benchwarmers
as Darth Vader (voice) · 2006
Lamp Unto My Feet
· 1948
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
as Papa Jenkins · 2008
Primary Colors
as CNN Voiceover (voice) · 1998
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
as Narrator (voice) · 1992
Mathnet
as Chief Thad Green · 1987
Mathnet
as Chief Thad Green (voice) · 1987
Mathnet
as Chief Thad Greene · 1987
The Magic of David Copperfield
· 1978
Gabriel's Fire
as Gabriel Bird · 1990
The Sandlot 2
as Mr. Mertle · 2005
East Side/West Side
· 1963
Three Fugitives
as Dugan · 1989
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
as Mufasa (voice) · 2016
Casper: A Spirited Beginning
as Kibosh (voice) · 1997
Vegetable Soup
as Long John Spoilsport · 1975
Paris
as Woody Paris · 1979
Sommersby
as Judge Barry Conrad Issacs · 1993
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
as Father Divine · 1980
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
as Umslopogaas · 1986
The Atlanta Child Murders
as Major Walker · 1985
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Archibald Thacker · 1951
The Star Wars Holiday Special
as Darth Vader (voice) · 1978
Gang Related
as Arthur Baylor · 1997
Clean Slate
as John Dolby · 1994
The Ambulance
as Lt. Spencer · 1990
The Flight of Dragons
as Ommadon (voice) · 1982
Long Ago and Far Away
as Host · 1989
Gardens of Stone
as Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson · 1987
The Meteor Man
as Earnest Moses · 1993
Blackfish
as Self (archive footage) · 2013
Soul Man
as Professor Banks · 1986
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
as Self · 2004
Signs and Wonders
as Diamond · 1995
Pros and Cons
as Gabriel Bird · 1991
Under One Roof
as Neb Langston · 1995
The Bushido Blade
as The Prisoner · 1981
Finder's Fee
as Avery Phillips · 2001
Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
as Darth Vader (voice) · 2014
Matewan
as 'Few Clothes' Johnson · 1987
Looking for Richard
as Self - Interviewee · 1996
Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street
as Mister (voice) · 2001
Muse of Fire
as Self · 2013
By Dawn's Early Light
as Alice · 1990
Jack and the Beanstalk
as The Giant (voice) · 2009
Swashbuckler
as Nick Debrett · 1976
The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics
as Host · 1994
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
as Emperor of the Night (voice) · 1987
Cry, the Beloved Country
as Rev. Stephen Kumalo · 1995
The Second Civil War
as Jim Kalla · 1997
The Story of the Faithful Wookiee
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) · 1978
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
as Sheikh · 1977
Gimme Shelter
as Frank McCarthy · 2013
Feast of All Saints
as Older Marcel · 2001
Waking Sleeping Beauty
as Self (archive footage) · 2010
A Family Thing
as Ray Murdock · 1996
Our Friend, Martin
as Daddy King (voice) · 1999
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
as Dr. McDuffie · 1996
What the Deaf Man Heard
as Archibald Thacker · 1997
The Greatest
as Malcolm X · 1977
Jefferson in Paris
as Madison Hemings · 1995
Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films
as Self (voice) (uncredited) · 1993
Night of 100 Stars
as Self · 1982
Disney's American Legends
as Narrator · 2001
True Identity
as James Earl Jones · 1991
11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried
as Narrator · 1989
Black Omnibus
as Self - Host · 1973
Earth
as Narrator (voice) · 2007
Broadway: The Next Generation
as Self
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
as Self (archive footage) · 2021
The Great White Hope
as Jack Jefferson · 1970
Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
as Darth Vader (voice) · 2015
The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
as Host · 1995
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey
as Admiral (voice) · 2010
A Piece of the Action
as Joshua Burke · 1977
When It Was a Game
as (voice) · 1991
Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement
as Self · 1978
Night of 100 Stars II
as Self · 1985
Undercover Angel
as The Judge · 1999
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
as Self · 2000
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror
as Maggie Simpson (voice) · 2003
On Broadway
as Self (archive footage) · 2019
Excessive Force
as Jake · 1993
The Vegas Strip War
as Jack Madrid · 1984
Sports on the Silver Screen
as Self (archive footage) · 1997
The Making of Star Wars
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) · 1977
Joe Papp in Five Acts
as Self · 2012
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
as Self · 1997
Grim Prairie Tales
as Morrison · 1990
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
as Leon · 1976
The Annihilation of Fish
as Fish · 1999
End of the Road
as Doctor D · 1970
Me & Mom
· 1985
Visitors from the Unknown
as Narrator (voice) · 1991
Diamonds on the Silver Screen
as Self
Nine Dog Christmas
as Storyteller (voice) · 2004
Paul Robeson
as Paul Robeson · 1979
Confessions: Two Faces of Evil
as Charles Lloyd · 1994
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
as Self · 2019
Hollywood's Greatest Villains
as Self · 2005
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
as Self (archive footage) · 1970
Africa: The Serengeti
as Narrator · 1994
Amy and the Angel
as Gabriel · 1982
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
as Self · 1995
Warning Shot
as Pendleton · 2018
Ennis' Gift
as Self · 2000
The Vernon Johns Story
as Vernon Johns · 1994
On the Q.T.
as Leo · 1999
The Story of Star Wars
as Darth Vader (archive footage) · 2004
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
as Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences") · 2006
Claudine
as Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall · 1974
The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story
as Dane Oliver · 1980
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
as Narrator · 2005
Scorchers
as Bear · 1991
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
as Self · 2015
Driving Miss Daisy
as Hoke Colburn · 2015
Santa and Pete
as Grandpa Nicholas · 1999
The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened
as Morris Bird, Jr. · 1977
The Cay
as Timothy · 1974
The Me Nobody Knows
as Self · 1980
Last Flight Out
as Al Topping · 1990
City Limits
as Albert · 1985
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
· 2000
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable
as Mufasa · 1995
Butterfly in the Sky
as Guest Narrator (archive footage) · 2024
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
as Narrator (voice) · 1988
People: A Musical Celebration
as The Storyteller (voice) · 1995
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
as Genie / Narrator · 1986
Milius
as Self · 2013
The Comedians
as Dr. Magiot · 1967
The Reading Room
as William · 2005
Heat Wave
as Junius Johnson · 1990
The UFO Incident
as Barney Hill · 1975
Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October'
as Self · 2003
The River Niger
as Johnny Williams · 1976
Hitler's Forgotten Victims
as Narrator (voice) (DVD version) · 1997
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
as Self · 2001
The Man
as Douglass Dilman · 1972
Blood Tide
as Frye · 1982
Deadly Hero
as Rabbit Shazam · 1975
Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'
as Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg' · 2000
Convicts
as Ben Johnson · 1991
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
as Self · 2004
Gangs: Turning the Corner
as Self · 1994
Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates
· 1985
The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove
as Self · 2000
Lincoln
as Narrator (voice) · 1992
The Lone Star Kid
as Holmes · 1986
Alone
as Grey · 1997
The Hunting of the Snark
as Narrator (voice) · 1989
King Lear
as King Lear · 1974
Beauty and the Beast
as Narrator (voice) · 1981
An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road
as Self · 2012
Words from a Bear
as Self · 2019
The Making of the Lion King
as Self · 1994
There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues
as himself, voice · 1981
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
as Self - Host · 1979
Percy & Thunder
as Percy Banks · 1993
Bah, Humbug!: The Story of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'
as Narrator · 1994
Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson
as Self · 2007
Strange Septembers: The Hill Abduction & the Exeter Encounter
as Himself · 2011
Antietam: A Documentary Film
as Narrator · 2000
Ivory Hunters
as Inspector Nkuru · 1990
Malcolm X
as Biographical Narration (voice) · 1972
Black Indians: An American Story
as Narrator · 2004
The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands
as Mufasa (voice) · 2017
God's Trombones
as Narrator (voice) · 1981
Hallelujah
as Old Man Taylor · 1993
The Space: Theatre of Survival
as Narrator · 2019
Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast
as Narrator (voice) · 1981
Summer's End
as Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely · 1999
Portrait of Castro's Cuba
as Host/Narrator · 1991
Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark
as Narrator · 1989
Terrorgram
as Retribution (voice) · 1990
Searching for Orson
as Self · 2006
Teach 109
as Dr. Winston · 1990
My Little Girl
as Ike Bailey · 1986
Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film
as Narrator · 2002
The Trail Of Tears: Cherokee Legacy
as Narrator · 2006
Good Luck
as James Bing · 1997
Timepiece
as Lawrence · 1996
Corwin
as Self · 1996
The Great Year
as Narrator · 2003
The JFK Conspiracy
as Self - Host · 1992
Moses
as Pharaoh · 1985
BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy
as Self (archive footage) · 2024
Afro Promo
as Self (archive footage) · 1997
Indiana Jones Adventure | Disneyland Resort
as Mara (voice) · 2025
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream
as Narrator · 1971
Dreamrider
as Bill Perry · 1993
John, Paul, George and Ben
as Narrator · 2007
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
as Narrator · 1984
The Creation
as Narrator (voice) · 1981
A House Divided
· 1987
Who's in Rabbit's House?
as Narrator (voice) · 1995