On September 9, 2024, James Earl Jones passed away at his home in New York. Throughout his decades-long Hollywood career, he starred in a host of big-name films. What’s more, he also leant his voice to cinema’s most iconic characters. Arguably his most famous role in this capacity was as Darth Vader in 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
While you might think Jones was paid a boat load to voice Luke Skywalker’s father, you’d be wrong. In fact, his salary was just a few thousand dollars.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
The first in what would become science fiction’s most popular film franchise, Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope introduced the world to the Death Star, Jedis, the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. It follows young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), who embarks on a mission to save Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), who’s been abducted by the Empire. Along the way, he’s taught about the “Force” from Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness).
From the mind of George Lucas, the release was an immediate hit, going on to gross over $775 million at the box office. On top of this, it was the catalyst for a franchise that’s not only come to encompass several more movies, but also (many) television series, a LEGO collection and amusement park rides.
For many of the actors who appeared in A New Hope, the characters they portrayed in the film and subsequent releases came to define their careers. Among them was James Earl Jones, who, while not physically playing Darth Vader, leant his iconic voice to the character.
Who physically portrayed Darth Vader?
You might be wondering: why would George Lucas cast someone to portray Darth Vader, but not voice the character? The answer lies in who they cast to don the iconic costume: David Prowse.
Born in Bristol, United Kingdom, Prowse was a bodybuilder and heavyweight champion who’d opened up numerous gyms across the country. It wasn’t long before he started appearing in commercials, which led to acting jobs and, ultimately, the production of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
While Prowse certainly had the physical figure to play such an ominous and powerful character, his voice didn’t necessarily match his physique. He had a British accent, and his voice was nasally and high-pitched – not necessarily what you’d expect someone like Darth Vader to sound like.
This opened up an opportunity for James Earl Jones.
James Earl Jones was only paid $7,000
In an interview with the American Film Institute (AFI), James Earl Jones opened up about his work on Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, explaining how he landed the part of Darth Vader. “George wanted, pardon the expression, a dark voice,” he revealed. “So he hires a guy born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters. And that’s the voice. That’s me.”
Jones later told Conan O’Brien that it took only two and a half hours to record his lines, with him being paid $7,000 for his work. While you might be shocked by that total, given how much money A New Hope made, the actor was quite happy with his payday.
“I lucked out to get a job that paid me $7,000,” he told AFI. “I thought that was good money. And I got to be a voice on a movie. It was great fun to be part of that.”
Going on to voice Darth Vader several more times
James Earl Jones went on to voice Darth Vader is subsequent Star Wars films, with his final appearance as the character coming in 2016 with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Having become more comfortable with the role, the actor had hoped to add a bit more to his voice for Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), but George Lucas was against this.
“He said, ‘We don’t know what we did right, so let’s just try what we did,'” Jones recalled when speaking with the American Film Institute. “Naturally, I wanted to make Darth Vader more interesting, more subtle, more psychologically oriented, and he said, ‘No, no. What we’re finding out is you need to keep his voice on a very narrow band of inflection because he ain’t human, really.'”
More from us: Looking Back On James Earl Jones’s Best Movies
Want articles by The Vintage News delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter!
While Jones may be gone, his voice will continue to make an appearance in the Star Wars franchise, thanks to the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The technology was recently used to bring the actor’s voice to the Disney+ miniseries, Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).