James Earl Jones

American actor

James Earl Jones was an American actor and EGOT winner. He provided the voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise and Mufasa in The Lion King and appeared in the films The Hunt for Red October,Patriot Games, and Clear and Present Danger within the Jack Ryan franchise, as well as the films Field of Dreams, Coming to America, Coming 2 America, and Sommersby. He received a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor for The Great White Hope and an honorary Academy Award in 2011 for his career contributions.

Jones received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Special for Summer's End and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel's Fire and another for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Heat Wave.

On Broadway, his roles in The Great White Hope (1969) and Fences (1987) earned him two Tony Awards, both for Best Leading Actor in a Play. Jones also received a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Great American Documents. He passed away in 2024.