James Earl Jones has one hell of a credit list. The films he has been in and the characters he has played have been nothing short of iconic. The Empire State building being bathed in a Darth Vader light show gives a small bit of perspective into the impact his career had. From featuring in film culture classics like Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove as Lt. Lothar Zogg, to becoming the essence of the aforementioned patriarchal villain from the massive Star Wars universe (even though he was uncredited in the first film), to the far more fatherly figure of Mufasa in the Lion King, James Earl Jones completely owned his roles.
To the generations who grew up from the 1990’s onward, his voice may have been more familiar than his face. The lines spoken by Darth Vader and Mufasa were imbued with a gravitas from his aural performances. These characters came to life through his voice as much as they did the actor in the suit and the animator in the studio. The honeyed roughness of his vocals could capture attention and hold it in place while his characters, his performance, kept audiences enrapt in the experience.
But for those who spent time in the 1980’s and before, his on-screen performances were as impactful as his voice. More than a few folks on Reddit have mentioned his performance in Field of Dreams as his most memorable. I must admit I haven’t seen it yet but I’ll put it on the list. Baseball isn’t that big in Africa. But a performance I’ve heard of that intrigues me occurs in another movie where sports is a main theme, The Great White Hope.
This time it’s boxing (which is more popular in Africa) and the character of Jack Jefferson strikes clear resemblances to that heavyweight hero from the turn of the 20th century, Jack Johnson. Someone who Muhammad Ali said served as part of his inspiration. James Earl Jones also showed up in Ali’s self-starring biopic The Greatest. While the movie is a clear money grab while the champ was out of boxing work, Jones’ performance as Malcolm X once again lends a sense of gravitas to the entire production.
But not all of his work was serious, although it was sincere. Many of those 80’s kids remember him fondly as King Jaffe Joffer from Eddie Murphy’s comedy classic Coming to America. A role he reprised for the sequel release in 2021. Or in that emblematic sword and sorcery film Conan the Barbarian where he played Thulsa Doom alongside the Austrian bodybuilder who took the lead role. They may not all be Oscar-winning art pieces but many have left an indelible mark on the zeitgeist.
Rest in peace Mr Jones. Your career was quite incredible. During the 20th century when film reigned as the most popular form of media, he walked on screen with giants and became himself a titan of the medium. It may be quite some time before we see a talent like his at the top of the game again.
