The actor who gave Darth Vader his iconic voice has passed away.
Everyone at Lucasfilm was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of James Earl Jones at the age of 93. For over four decades, the stage and screen actor lent his voice to the role of Darth Vader in the Star Wars saga.
“James Earl Jones is one of the most versatile and talented actors of our time, with an iconic body of work across film, stage and television,” says Kathleen Kennedy. “The menacing baritone he brought to Darth Vader will forever be beloved by fans and regarded as one of the great villainous performances in cinema. His commanding presence on screen, and warm personality off screen, will be greatly missed.”
“James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice both in art and spirit,” says George Lucas. “For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being. He gave depth, sincerity and meaning to all his roles, amongst the most important being devoted husband to the late Ceci and dad to Flynn. James will be missed by so many of us…friends and fans alike.”
James Earl Jones first crossed paths with Lucasfilm in early 1977 when he was cast to perform the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars: A New Hope. He’d already been an accomplished actor on stage and screen for decades, with appearances in such classics as Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), a film that influenced writer/director George Lucas.
Today, of course, it would be hard to imagine anyone else being cast as the voice of the first Star Wars villain. With his resonant bass register, Jones was uniquely suited for the role. “The technique about recording that voice was to keep it within very strict boundaries of inflection, and there was no way to enlighten the voice with awareness,” Jones would explain. “In fact, my job was to keep awareness out of Darth Vader’s voice – take all the humanity out of it.”
Darth Vader’s original variation was his first and most famous variation, which appeared in eleven separate sets, officially representing Darth Vader as a LEGO minifigure, until its redesign in 2008.
The minifigure has black legs, black arms, and black hands. His torso has a special design showcasing a control panel with red and blue buttons on his torso, with grey outlines around it. He has a cape, and a classic grey scarred Minifigure head, which represents his battle injuries due to his Battle with Kenobi. Under his head he wears a black cape and over his head he wears an exclusive mask that covers all of his head, representing a breathing mask that keeps him alive. He comes with a red lightsaber.
