
James Earl Jones
Known for Acting · 261 credits
- Born
- 1931-01-17
- Died
- 2024-09-09
- Place of birth
- Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA
- Also known as
- James Earl Boggins Jones · Todd 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

Law & Order
1990
as Defense Attorney Horace McCoy

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self

The Simpsons
1989
as Narrator (voice) / Moving Man / Serak the Preparer / Narrator (voice) / Maggie Simpson (voice)

House
2004
as Dibala

Stargate SG-1
1997
as Unas (Voice)

Two and a Half Men
2003
as James Earl Jones
TV Shows (60)

Law & Order
1990
as Defense Attorney Horace McCoy

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self

The Simpsons
1989
as Narrator (voice) / Moving Man / Serak the Preparer / Narrator (voice) / Maggie Simpson (voice)

House
2004
as Dibala

Stargate SG-1
1997
as Unas (Voice)

Two and a Half Men
2003
as James Earl Jones

Frasier
1993
as Norman Royster

The Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self / Self - Co-Host

Sesame Street
1969

The Big Bang Theory
2007
as James Earl Jones

Golden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Nominee / Presenter

Will & Grace
1998
as James Earl Jones

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
1993
as Franklin Stern

The One Show
2006
as Self - Guest

Garfield and Friends
1988
as Diablo

Great Performances
1971
as King Lear

L.A. Law
1986
as Lee Atkins

Everwood
2002
as Will Cleveland

Touched by an Angel
1994
as The Angel of Angels

The Merv Griffin Show
1962
as Self

Homicide: Life on the Street
1993
as Felix Wilson

3rd Rock from the Sun
1996
as Narrator (voice) (uncredited)

Dr. Kildare
1961
as Dr. Lou Rush

Star Wars Rebels
2014
as Darth Vader (voice)

Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Winner / Performer / Self - Presenter / Self (archive footage) / Self - Nominee / Presenter

The Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest

According to Jim
2001
as Royal Flush Voice (voice)

Highway to Heaven
1984
as Gabe Wilson

The Defenders
1961
as Lieutenant Andrews / Reverend Harris Bonham

Dinah!
1974
as Self

Faerie Tale Theatre
1982
as Genie / Narrator (voice)

Reading Rainbow
1983
as Self - Narrator (voice)

Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
as King Dakkar (voice)

Picket Fences
1992
as Bryant Thomas

Obi-Wan Kenobi
2022
as Darth Vader (voice)

Tarzan
1966

The Movies That Made Us
2019
as Self (archive footage)

Jesus of Nazareth
1977
as Balthazar

The Kennedy Center Honors
1978
as Self

Merlin
1998
as Rock of Ages

The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self

Roots: The Next Generations
1979
as Alex Haley

Paris
1979
as Woody Paris

CBS Schoolbreak Special
1984
as Detective Robb

East Side/West Side
1963

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Archibald Thacker

Gabriel's Fire
1990
as Gabriel Bird

Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones
1980
as Father Divine

Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992
as Narrator (voice)
Lamp Unto My Feet
1948

The Atlanta Child Murders
1985
as Major Walker

The Magic of David Copperfield
1978

Mathnet
1987
as Chief Thad Green / Chief Thad Green (voice) / Chief Thad Greene

Vegetable Soup
1975
as Long John Spoilsport

Signs and Wonders
1995
as Diamond

Pros and Cons
1991
as Gabriel Bird
Under One Roof
1995
as Neb Langston
Long Ago and Far Away
1989
as Host

Black Omnibus
1973
as Self - Host
Me & Mom
1985
Movies (201)

Star Wars
1977
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

The Lion King
1994
as Mufasa (voice)

The Empire Strikes Back
1980
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

The Lion King
2019
as Mufasa (voice)

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
2005
as Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
2019
as Darth Vader (voice)

Return of the Jedi
1983
as Darth Vader (voice)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
2016
as Darth Vader (voice)

Scary Movie 4
2006
as Narrator (uncredited)

Robots
2005
as Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice)

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride
1998
as Mufasa (voice)

Click
2006
as Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited)

Judge Dredd
1995
as Narrator (uncredited)

Sneakers
1992
as Mr. Bernard Abbott

The Hunt for Red October
1990
as Vice ADM James Greer

Coming to America
1988
as King Jaffe Joffer

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1964
as Lt. Lothar Zogg

Conan the Barbarian
1982
as Thulsa Doom

Clear and Present Danger
1994
as Admiral James Greer

The Sandlot
1993
as Mr. Mertle

Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult
1994
as James Earl Jones (uncredited)

Patriot Games
1992
as Adm. James Greer

Coming 2 America
2021
as King Jaffe Joffer

Field of Dreams
1989
as Terrence Mann

Fantasia 2000
2000
as Self - Host

The Benchwarmers
2006
as Darth Vader (voice)

Sommersby
1993
as Judge Barry Conrad Issacs

The Sandlot 2
2005
as Mr. Mertle

Primary Colors
1998
as CNN Voiceover (voice)

Exorcist II: The Heretic
1977
as Older Kokumo

Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins
2008
as Papa Jenkins

Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold
1986
as Umslopogaas

Three Fugitives
1989
as Dugan

Best of the Best
1989
as Frank Couzo

The Meteor Man
1993
as Earnest Moses

Night of 100 Stars II
1985
as Self

Gang Related
1997
as Arthur Baylor

The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar
2016
as Mufasa (voice)

Soul Man
1986
as Professor Banks

Blackfish
2013
as Self (archive footage)

Casper: A Spirited Beginning
1997
as Kibosh (voice)

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
2014
as Ruben

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
2004
as Self

The Ambulance
1990
as Lt. Spencer

Matewan
1987
as 'Few Clothes' Johnson

Night of 100 Stars
1982
as Self

The Star Wars Holiday Special
1978
as Darth Vader (voice)

Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery
1997
as Self

The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995
as Self

Jack and the Beanstalk
2009
as The Giant (voice)

Waking Sleeping Beauty
2009
as Self (archive footage)

The Bushido Blade
1981
as The Prisoner

Gimme Shelter
2013
as Frank McCarthy

Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion
2014
as Darth Vader (voice)

Earth
2007
as Narrator (voice)

The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
2006
as Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences")

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings
1976
as Leon

The Second Civil War
1997
as Jim Kalla

The Cay
1974
as Timothy

Clean Slate
1994
as John Dolby

The Flight of Dragons
1982
as Ommadon (voice)

Jefferson in Paris
1995
as Madison Hemings

Looking for Richard
1996
as Self - Interviewee

By Dawn's Early Light
1990
as Alice

Our Friend, Martin
1999
as Daddy King (voice)

King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis
1970
as Self (archive footage)

Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey
2010
as Admiral (voice)

Timepiece
1996
as Lawrence

Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault
1996
as Dr. McDuffie

Swashbuckler
1976
as Nick Debrett

Claudine
1974
as Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall

Feast of All Saints
2001
as Older Marcel

Broadway: The Next Generation
as Self

Scorchers
1991
as Bear

The Last Remake of Beau Geste
1977
as Sheikh
The Creation
1981
as Narrator (voice)

Gardens of Stone
1987
as Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson

On Broadway
2019
as Self (archive footage)

City Limits
1985
as Albert

Milius
2013
as Self

The Greatest
1977
as Malcolm X

Finder's Fee
2001
as Avery Phillips

Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal
2015
as Darth Vader (voice)

Convicts
1991
as Ben Johnson

Muse of Fire
2013
as Self

The Making of 'Jurassic Park'
1995
as Host

Alone
1997
as Grey

Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
1988
as Narrator (voice)

The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story
1980
as Dane Oliver

Cry, the Beloved Country
1995
as Rev. Stephen Kumalo

Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films
1993
as Self (voice) (uncredited)

The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics
1994
as Host

Heat Wave
1990
as Junius Johnson

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021
as Self (archive footage)

The Story of Star Wars
2004
as Darth Vader (archive footage)

True Identity
1991
as James Earl Jones

Deadly Hero
1975
as Rabbit Shazam

Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage
2019
as Self

Blood Tide
1982
as Frye

The Man
1972
as Douglass Dilman

The Making of Star Wars
1977
as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)

Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street
2001
as Mister (voice)

Undercover Angel
1999
as The Judge

Disney's American Legends
2001
as Narrator

A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1979
as Self - Host

A Family Thing
1996
as Ray Murdock

Excessive Force
1993
as Jake

The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror
2003
as Maggie Simpson (voice)

Warning Shot
2018
as Pendleton

Grim Prairie Tales
1990
as Morrison
Hitler's Forgotten Victims
1997
as Narrator (voice) (DVD version)

By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X'
2005
as Narrator

The Vegas Strip War
1984
as Jack Madrid

A Piece of the Action
1977
as Joshua Burke

The River Niger
1976
as Johnny Williams

Sports on the Silver Screen
1997
as Self (archive footage)

An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road
2012
as Self

Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night
1987
as Emperor of the Night (voice)

Good Luck
1997
as James Bing
Lincoln
1992
as Narrator (voice)
About James Earl Jones
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 a… With 261 credits spanning from 1944 to 2024, James Earl Jones has appeared in 201 films and 60 TV shows.
Fans searching for James Earl Jones movies, James Earl Jones filmography, or the latest projects starring James Earl Jones can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular James Earl Jones Movies
- Star Wars (1977) — as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
- The Lion King (1994) — as Mufasa (voice)
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980) — as Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
- The Lion King (2019) — as Mufasa (voice)
- Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005) — as Darth Vader (voice - uncredited)
Where to Watch James Earl Jones Films
Most James Earl Jones movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring James Earl Jones, check our movies catalogue and browse page.