Star Wars: 7 Unforgettable Things James Earl Jones Brought To Darth Vader

The role of Darth Vader is so powerful and iconographic that it took two performers to bring the Sith Lord to life. David Prowse wore the suit and conveyed Vader’s intimidating physical presence, while James Earl Jones provided the character’s rich, unmistakable voice.

Although he was added to the credits in the Special Editions, Jones went uncredited in the theatrical cuts of Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Prowse contributed a lot to the character with his hulking physique, towering stature, and menacing body language, but Vader wouldn’t be the same without Jones’ voice.

7 Chillingly Casual Tone Of Voice

Thanks to Jones’ hauntingly chilled-out line deliveries, Vader speaks slowly and directly. He doesn’t hiss or pontificate like the hammed-up villains of other blockbusters because he doesn’t need to do that to strike fear into people – he already terrifies everybody he encounters with his power, reputation, and overbearing presence.

The tone of voice that Jones brought to the role is chillingly casual. Even when he’s furious, he tends to be calm and collected. Part of Adam Driver’s portrayal of Kylo Ren as the anti-Vader involved a polar opposite emotional state, constantly erupting into the kind of temper tantrum that the cool, cold-hearted Vader would avoid.

6 Enrapturing Deep Pitch

The reason why Jones’ voice is so memorable – not just as Vader, but as Mufasa in The Lion King and the announcer on CNN, too – is his “basso profondo” pitch. This is a rare bass voice subtype with the lowest vocal range.

According to Business Insider, Jones has a pitch of 85 Hz. The deeper the pitch of somebody’s voice is, the more pronounced and compelling their speech is. Jones’ portrayal of Vader is enrapturing, because his pitch is about as deep as a human voice can get.

5 Booming Volume

In raw footage from the set of Star Wars, Prowse can be heard delivering Vader’s lines as a placeholder to be dubbed with Jones’ own deliveries in post-production. In these clips, Prowse’s temporary line readings fail to match his larger-than-life on-screen appearance because of the normal volume of his voice.

Jones’ line readings have a booming volume that blares from the speakers. He has an unparalleled ability to project his voice and make sure everybody in the audience hears it. Jones’ commanding voice complements Prowse’s commanding screen presence.

4 Humanizing Vader

While Vader was introduced as the embodiment of pure villainy in the original Star Wars movie, he was slowly humanized over the course of the trilogy. The Empire Strikes Back briefly glimpsed the man under the mask before revealing that he has a son. Return of the Jedi brought the character’s surprising redemption as he makes the ultimate sacrifice to kill the Emperor and save Luke.

Sebastian Shaw handles Vader’s most human moment, playing an unmasked Anakin Skywalker at the climax of Jedi asking to see Luke with his own eyes before he dies. But Jones’ deep, emotionally engaging line readings – particularly in Vader’s interactions with his estranged son – reminded audiences that there was a human being in the suit long before he was unmasked.

3 Sinister Vocal Inflections

It’s a common misconception that voice acting is easier than live-action acting, because it only involves the actor’s voice. But delivering an entirely vocal performance is more difficult than one would expect, because the actor has to convey everything through their voice. They don’t get to complement the performance with body language and facial expressions.

Jones brought subtle but unmistakably sinister vocal inflections to his line readings as Vader. This is especially prevalent in Return of the Jedi when he’s trying to goad Luke into fighting him in the Emperor’s throne room. A great example is when he threatens to bring Leia into his dark web: “So, you have a twin sister… if you will not turn to the dark side… then perhaps she will!”

2 Dark Humor

When Star Wars fans think of quippy one-liners, characters like Han Solo and Leia Organa are sure to come to mind. But despite his usual menacing schtick, Darth Vader has a handful of one-liners of his own.

Vader’s one-liners have a decidedly dark sense of humor, and Jones leans into that spectacularly with dry deliveries of lines like, “No disintegrations,” his warning to Boba Fett to take it easy, and “Apology accepted, Captain Needa,” his sarcastic response to Needa’s frank, humble apology after Force-choking him to death for his error.

1 Selling The Gravity Of The “I Am Your Father” Twist

One of the most crucial scenes in the Star Wars saga sees Vader revealing to Luke that he’s his biological father. This twist reveal is conveyed through one bluntly worded line – “I am your father” – and Jones nails the delivery.

John Williams helps the tragedy to set in with a slow, somber reprisal of “The Imperial March,” but it’s really Jones who sells the gravity of the situation with his iconic line delivery. This paternal revelation is arguably still the greatest plot twist in movie history, largely thanks to Jones’ voice acting – and also Mark Hamill’s tortured “NOOOOO!!!” reaction.

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Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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