James Earl Jones, the legendary American actor who voiced the villain Darth Vader in the “Star Wars” sagadied at the age of 93, his representatives reported.
Jones, who also portrayed King Mufasa in Disney’s animated film “The Lion King,” had a prolific and diverse career spanning six decades.
His first film role was in “Dr. Strangelove”by Stanley Kubrick, where he played Lieutenant Zogg aboard a B-52 bomber.
Military themes would recur frequently in his filmography, such as his role as Admiral Greer in the “Jack Ryan” film series (“The Hunt for Red October,” “Patriot Games,” “Clear and Present Danger”), and as a sergeant major in Francis Ford Coppola’s “Gardens of Stone” in 1987.
But his most emblematic role would not lead him to appear on the big screen. George Lucasthe creator of “Star Wars”, chose him because “I wanted a darker voice” for the one who would become the most famous villain in the history of cinema, Darth Vader, Jones recalled in a 2009 interview with the American Film Institute. “So he hired a guy who was born in Mississippi, grew up in Michigan, stutters, and that voice is me.”he said at the time.
The actor initially did not want his name to appear in the credits of the first episodes of “Star Wars”, considering that his work was more suited to special effects, and preferred that the recognition go to the actor behind the mask, David Prowse, according to the specialist magazine Far Out.
But it was Jones with his lapidary phrase “I am your father,” to reveal himself before Luke Skywalker, played by Mark Hamill, who delivered one of his most memorable lines in cinema.
“#RIP Dad,” Hamill himself wrote on social media with a broken heart.
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
