Loading amazing content...
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
January 17, 1931
Died
September 9, 2024
Place of Birth
Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA
Also Known As
- James Earl Boggins Jones
- Todd Jones
James Earl Jones
1.7 Popularity
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
0.0
Self (archive footage)
BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy
2024
8.2
Guest Narrator (archive footage)
Butterfly in the Sky
2024
7.0
Darth Vader (voice)
Obi-Wan Kenobi
2022
7.5
Self (archive footage)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021
6.4
King Jaffe Joffer
Coming 2 America
2021
6.3
Darth Vader (voice)
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
2019
7.2
Self (archive footage)
The Movies That Made Us
2019
8.7
Self (archive footage)
On Broadway
2019
0.0
Self
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
2019
7.1
Mufasa (voice)
The Lion King
2019
Credits
BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy
as Self (archive footage)
2024
0.0
Butterfly in the Sky
as Guest Narrator (archive footage)
2024
8.2
Obi-Wan Kenobi
as Darth Vader (voice)
2022
7.0
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
as Self (archive footage)
2021
7.5
Coming 2 America
as King Jaffe Joffer
2021
6.4
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
as Darth Vader (voice)
2019
6.3
The Movies That Made Us
as Self (archive footage)
2019
7.2
On Broadway
as Self (archive footage)
2019
8.7
Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
as Self
2019
0.0
The Lion King
as Mufasa (voice)
2019
7.1
The Space: Theatre of Survival
as Narrator
2019
0.0
Words from a Bear
as Self
2019
0.0
Warning Shot
as Pendleton
2018
5.1
Broadway: The Next Generation
as Self
2017
10.0
The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands
as Mufasa (voice)
2017
2.0
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
as Darth Vader (voice)
2016
7.5
God Bless You, Mr Rosewater
as Kilgore Trout
2016
9.0
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
as Mufasa (voice)
2016
6.7
Driving Miss Daisy
as Hoke Colburn
2015
8.0
Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
as Darth Vader (voice)
2015
7.9
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
as Self
2015
0.0
Star Wars Rebels
as Darth Vader (voice)
2014
7.7
Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
as Darth Vader (voice)
2014
7.3
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
as Ruben
2014
5.6
Gimme Shelter
as Frank McCarthy
2013
6.6
Muse of Fire
as Self
2013
6.5
Blackfish
as Self (archive footage)
2013
7.8
Milius
as Self
2013
7.0
An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road
as Self
2012
6.0
Joe Papp in Five Acts
as Self
2012
4.5
Strange Septembers: The Hill Abduction & the Exeter Encounter
as Himself
2011
0.0
Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey
as Admiral (voice)
2010
6.3
Jack and the Beanstalk
as The Giant (voice)
2009
5.2
Waking Sleeping Beauty
as Self (archive footage)
2009
7.2
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
as Papa Jenkins
2008
6.0
Earth
as Narrator (voice)
2007
7.6
The Big Bang Theory
as Self
2007
7.9
🎬
Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson
as Self
2007
0.0
John, Paul, George and Ben
as Narrator
2007
5.0
Searching for Orson
as Self
2006
5.5
The One Show
as Self - Guest
2006
4.4
Click
as Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited)
2006
6.3
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
as Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences")
2006
0.0
Scary Movie 4
as Narrator (uncredited)
2006
5.5
The Benchwarmers
as Darth Vader (voice)
2006
5.8
Hollywood's Greatest Villains
as Self
2005
10.0
The Sandlot 2
as Mr. Mertle
2005
5.9
The Reading Room
as William
2005
7.3
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
as Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)
2005
7.5
Robots
as Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice)
2005
6.5
By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
as Narrator
2005
5.0
House
as Dibala
2004
8.6
No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
as Self
2004
5.0
Nine Dog Christmas
as Storyteller (voice)
2004
5.2
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
as Self
2004
7.7
The Story of Star Wars
as Darth Vader (archive footage)
2004
7.2
🎬
Black Indians: An American Story
as Narrator
2004
6.2
The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror
as Maggie Simpson (voice)
2003
6.0
Two and a Half Men
as Himself
2003
7.4
The Great Year
as Narrator
2003
9.0
Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October'
as Self
2003
5.4
Everwood
as Will Cleveland
2002
7.6
Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film
as Narrator
2002
0.0
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
as Self
2001
7.3
Feast of All Saints
as Older Marcel
2001
4.4
Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street
as Mister (voice)
2001
6.3
According to Jim
as Royal Flush Voice (voice)
2001
6.5
Finder's Fee
as Avery Phillips
2001
6.0
Disney's American Legends
as Narrator
2001
7.4
Antietam: A Documentary Film
as Narrator
2000
0.0
Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan'
as Self
2000
6.7
Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'
as Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg'
2000
5.6
Summer's End
as Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely
2000
7.2
The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove
as Self
2000
5.1
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
2000
6.0
Fantasia 2000
as Self - Host
2000
7.0
Santa and Pete
as James Earl Jones
1999
5.3
The Annihilation of Fish
as Fish
1999
6.2
Undercover Angel
as The Judge
1999
6.9
On the Q.T.
as Leo
1999
6.9
Our Friend, Martin
as Daddy King (voice)
1999
6.9
The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
as Mufasa (voice)
1998
6.9
Will & Grace
as Self
1998
6.8
Merlin
as Rock of Ages
1998
6.9
Primary Colors
as CNN Voiceover (voice)
1998
6.3
Alone
as Grey
1997
6.5
The Second Civil War
as Jim Kalla
1997
6.0
What the Deaf Man Heard
as Archibald Thacker
1997
6.2
Gang Related
as Arthur Baylor
1997
6.4
🎬
Hitler's Forgotten Victims
as Narrator (voice) (DVD version)
1997
10.0
Casper: A Spirited Beginning
as Kibosh (voice)
1997
5.4
Stargate SG-1
as Unas (Voice)
1997
8.3
Sports on the Silver Screen
as Self (archive footage)
1997
10.0
Good Luck
as James Bing
1997
4.5
Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
as Self
1997
0.0
Afro Promo
as Self (archive footage)
1997
0.0
Timepiece
as Lawrence
1996
7.0
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
as Dr. McDuffie
1996
7.1
Looking for Richard
as Self - Interviewee
1996
6.8
🎬
Corwin
as Self
1996
0.0
A Family Thing
as Ray Murdock
1996
6.4
3rd Rock from the Sun
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1996
7.5
Cry, the Beloved Country
as Rev. Stephen Kumalo
1995
6.7
Who's in Rabbit's House?
as Narrator (voice)
1995
0.0
Judge Dredd
as Narrator (uncredited)
1995
5.8
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
as Self
1995
7.8
The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
as Host
1995
7.3
Jefferson in Paris
as Madison Hemings
1995
5.0
🎬
Under One Roof
as Neb Langston
1995
0.0
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
as King Dakkar (voice)
1995
6.0
Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable
as Mufasa
1995
0.0
Signs and Wonders
as Diamond
1995
0.0
People: A Musical Celebration
as The Storyteller (voice)
1995
6.2
🎬
Bah, Humbug!: The Story of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'
as Narrator
1994
6.0
Touched by an Angel
as The Angel of Angels
1994
7.2
Clear and Present Danger
as Admiral James Greer
1994
6.6
The Making of the Lion King
as Self
1994
10.0
The Lion King
as Mufasa (voice)
1994
8.3
The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics
as Host
1994
6.6
Clean Slate
as John Dolby
1994
5.8
Africa: The Serengeti
as Narrator
1994
6.8
Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
as James Earl Jones (uncredited)
1994
6.5
Gangs: Turning the Corner
as Self
1994
0.0
Confessions: Two Faces of Evil
as Charles Lloyd
1994
5.0
The Vernon Johns Story
as Vernon Johns
1994
8.5
🎬
Hallelujah
as Old Man Taylor
1993
6.0
Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films
as Self (voice) (uncredited)
1993
8.2
Frasier
as Norman Royster
1993
7.7
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
as Franklin Stern
1993
6.9
Percy & Thunder
as Percy Banks
1993
0.0
The Meteor Man
as Earnest Moses
1993
5.8
Dreamrider
as Bill Perry
1993
7.0
Excessive Force
as Jake
1993
4.8
The Sandlot
as Mr. Mertle
1993
7.5
Sommersby
as Judge Barry Conrad Issacs
1993
6.3
Homicide: Life on the Street
1993
8.1
🎬
Lincoln
as Narrator (voice)
1992
6.8
Picket Fences
as Bryant Thomas
1992
7.4
Sneakers
as Mr. Bernard Abbott
1992
6.9
Patriot Games
as Adm. James Greer
1992
6.7
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
as Narrator (voice)
1992
10.0
The JFK Conspiracy
as Self - Host
1992
6.0
Pros and Cons
as Gabriel Bird
1991
6.0
True Identity
as James Earl Jones
1991
5.5
When It Was a Game
as (voice)
1991
0.0
Scorchers
as Bear
1991
4.2
🎬
Portrait of Castro's Cuba
as Host/Narrator
1991
0.0
Visitors from the Unknown
as Narrator (voice)
1991
6.0
Convicts
as Ben Johnson
1991
5.5
Grim Prairie Tales
as Morrison
1990
5.7
Law & Order
as Defense Attorney Horace McCoy
1990
7.4
Gabriel's Fire
as Gabriel Bird
1990
6.8
Ivory Hunters
as Inspector Nkuru
1990
4.2
Heat Wave
as Junius Johnson
1990
6.2
🎬
Last Flight Out
as Al Topping
1990
0.0
By Dawn's Early Light
as Alice
1990
6.5
The Ambulance
as Lt. Spencer
1990
5.8
The Hunt for Red October
as Vice ADM James Greer
1990
7.4
Teach 109
as Dr. Winston
1990
7.0
Terrorgram
as Retribution (voice)
1990
3.9
The Simpsons
as Narrator (voice)
1989
8.0
The Simpsons
as Moving Man / Serak the Preparer / Narrator (voice)
1989
8.0
The Simpsons
as Maggie Simpson (voice)
1989
8.0
11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried
as Narrator
1989
0.0
Best of the Best
as Frank Couzo
1989
6.5
Field of Dreams
as Terrence Mann
1989
7.1
🎬
Long Ago and Far Away
as Host
1989
9.0
Three Fugitives
as Dugan
1989
6.6
The Hunting of the Snark
as Narrator (voice)
1989
0.0
Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark
as Narrator
1989
5.5
Garfield and Friends
as Diablo
1988
7.3
Coming to America
as King Jaffe Joffer
1988
6.9
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
as Narrator (voice)
1988
7.2
Matewan
as 'Few Clothes' Johnson
1987
7.4
Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
as Emperor of the Night (voice)
1987
5.4
Gardens of Stone
as Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson
1987
6.2
🎬
A House Divided
1987
0.0
Mathnet
as Chief Thad Green
1987
7.0
Mathnet
as Chief Thad Green (voice)
1987
7.0
Mathnet
as Chief Thad Greene
1987
7.0
Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
as Umslopogaas
1986
4.8
Soul Man
as Professor Banks
1986
5.3
L.A. Law
as Lee Atkins
1986
7.0
My Little Girl
as Ike Bailey
1986
4.3
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
as Genie / Narrator
1986
5.8
The Lone Star Kid
as Holmes
1986
5.5
🎬
Moses
as Pharaoh
1985
0.0
City Limits
as Albert
1985
2.6
🎬
Me & Mom
1985
5.0
Night of 100 Stars II
as Self
1985
8.0
The Atlanta Child Murders
as Major Walker
1985
5.6
Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates
1985
0.0
The Vegas Strip War
as Jack Madrid
1984
2.7
Highway to Heaven
as Gabe Wilson
1984
7.4
CBS Schoolbreak Special
as Detective Robb
1984
5.5
Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears
as Narrator
1984
0.0
Reading Rainbow
as Self - Narrator (voice)
1983
8.3
Return of the Jedi
as Darth Vader (voice)
1983
7.9
Blood Tide
as Frye
1982
4.8
Amy and the Angel
as Gabriel
1982
5.5
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Genie / Narrator (voice)
1982
8.1
The Flight of Dragons
as Ommadon (voice)
1982
6.7
Conan the Barbarian
as Thulsa Doom
1982
6.8
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
1982
6.7
Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast
as Narrator (voice)
1981
0.0
🎬
The Creation
as Narrator (voice)
1981
6.5
The Bushido Blade
as The Prisoner
1981
5.4
There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues
as himself, voice
1981
0.0
🎬
Beauty and the Beast
as Narrator (voice)
1981
4.0
God's Trombones
as Narrator (voice)
1981
0.0
The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story
as Dane Oliver
1980
0.0
The Empire Strikes Back
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
1980
8.4
The Me Nobody Knows
as Self
1980
0.0
Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
as Father Divine
1980
7.2
Paris
as Woody Paris
1979
5.0
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
as Self - Host
1979
0.0
Roots: The Next Generations
as Alex Haley
1979
7.5
Paul Robeson
as Paul Robeson
1979
0.0
Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement
as Self
1978
0.0
The Kennedy Center Honors
as Self
1978
7.4
The Star Wars Holiday Special
as Darth Vader (voice)
1978
3.4
The Story of the Faithful Wookiee
as Darth Vader (voice)
1978
6.0
The Magic of David Copperfield
1978
7.0
The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened
as Morris Bird, Jr.
1977
0.0
A Piece of the Action
as Joshua Burke
1977
5.6
The Making of Star Wars
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
1977
7.0
Exorcist II: The Heretic
as Older Kokumo
1977
4.5
The Last Remake of Beau Geste
as Sheikh
1977
5.5
Star Wars
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
1977
8.2
The Greatest
as Malcolm X
1977
5.4
Jesus of Nazareth
as Balthazar
1977
7.8
Swashbuckler
as Nick Debrett
1976
6.1
The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
as Leon
1976
5.9
The River Niger
as Johnny Williams
1976
6.8
Deadly Hero
as Rabbit Shazam
1975
5.7
The UFO Incident
as Barney Hill
1975
6.7
Vegetable Soup
as Long John Spoilsport
1975
0.0
Dinah!
as Self
1974
6.7
The Cay
as Timothy
1974
6.5
Claudine
as Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall
1974
7.1
King Lear
as King Lear
1974
0.0
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
as Self
1973
6.3
Black Omnibus
as Self - Host
1973
0.0
The Man
as Douglass Dilman
1972
6.3
Malcolm X
as Biographical Narration (voice)
1972
6.6
Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream
as Narrator
1971
0.0
Great Performances
as King Lear
1971
5.8
The Great White Hope
as Jack Jefferson
1970
6.2
King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
as Self (archive footage)
1970
7.1
End of the Road
as Doctor D
1970
4.6
Sesame Street
1969
7.1
The Dick Cavett Show
as Self - Guest
1968
6.8
The Comedians
as Dr. Magiot
1967
6.1
Tarzan
1966
6.7
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
as Lt. Lothar Zogg
1964
8.1
East Side/West Side
1963
7.8
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
7.5
The Merv Griffin Show
as Self
1962
6.2
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self
1961
5.4
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self - Co-Host
1961
5.4
Dr. Kildare
as Dr. Lou Rush
1961
5.5
The Defenders
as Lieutenant Andrews
1961
5.9
The Defenders
as Reverend Harris Bonham
1961
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Presenter
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner/ Performer
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee/Presenter
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self (archive footage)
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner/Performer
1956
5.9
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Archibald Thacker
1951
8.6
🎬
Lamp Unto My Feet
1948
0.0
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee / Presenter
1944
7.2