James Earl Jones passed away on Monday at the age of 93, and while most know him as the voice of Darth Vader, the late actor has a huge portfolio of iconic roles.
Deadline reported the actor’s death on Monday afternoon, saying that Jones died in his home in Dutchess County, NY.
The entertainment publication said that Jones is widely regarded “among the world’s great stage and screen actors.”
He’s also an EGOT winner, meaning he has won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
While Jones rose to prominence in the 1970s for being the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars, he was credited in a wide variety of TV series beginning in the early 1960s.
His first major Hollywood role, and also his first film, was in the Stanley Kubrick picture Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Jones played Lt. Lothar Zogg.
Jones has also starred in a few treasured kids’ movies, including playing the role of Mr. Mertle in The Sandlot and, of course, the legendary Mufasa in The Lion King, who had epic quotes like this:
“Look at the stars; the great kings look down on us from those stars, and so will I.”
He was also in Field of Dreams, a film about baseball in which Jones played a pivotal role. Many will recognize the iconic line, “If you build it, he will come.”
Jones didn’t just have serious roles, either. He also starred in the hit 1980s Eddie Murphy comedy film Coming to America and its sequel, Coming 2 America.
Jones’ most recent prominent roles include reprising his role as Darth Vader in various Star Wars films and reprising the role of Mufasa in the 2019 remake of The Lion King.
Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, the son of Anakin aka Darth Vader, shared a heartbreaking post on X about Jones’ passing.
#RIP dad 💔 https://t.co/YXpFoBb2Ua
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) September 9, 2024
What’s your favourite Jones movie? Let us know in the comments.