The Power Of The Dark Side: James Earl Jones Was Star Wars’ Scariest Actor
Today, the voices of millions of sci-fi fans suddenly cried out in terror, and it had nothing to do with the destruction of Alderaan. Instead, it had everything to do with the passing of James Earl Jones, the legendary Star Wars actor whose deep voice transformed Darth Vader into one of Hollywood’s scariest icons. While other writers have been focusing on his historic career, I thought it was important to take a few moments and celebrate everything that Jones brought to this popular sci-fi franchise.
The Iconic Voice Of Vader
Like many fans, I fell in love with James Earl Jones as an actor in the first Star Wars film long before I saw the man himself. As soon as Darth Vader began speaking in A New Hope, his deep and angry voice held me transfixed. In retrospect, it’s a real testament to Jones’ talents that I witnessed a giant goth robot man choking people out, and the most pants-wetting terrifying thing about him was how he sounded.
Power Behind Every Word
As I grew older, I learned the fascinating truth that the man in the suit and the man behind the voice were separate people: the late bodybuilder David Prowse was in the Vader suit while James Earl Jones later dubbed over this fearsome Star Wars character. I discovered that Prowse himself was really miffed at this arrangement and surprised at getting dubbed even though his accent led the crew to nickname him “Darth Farmer.”
I felt for the guy, but looking back, I literally can’t imagine anyone else giving Vader’s lines such palpable power and dread behind every single syllable.
Forever Vader
The voice is so iconic, in fact, that I am now grateful that James Earl Jones signed the rights over to Disney to digitally recreate his voice using AI for future Star Wars. Generally, I think AI use in Hollywood is creepy, mostly because it is used to ghoulishly reanimate the bodies of those long-dead (like Peter Cushing in Rogue One) who should have simply been recast.
As a fan, though, I don’t want anyone else doing some poor imitation of Jones’ voice, and I feel better about this use of AI because he gave Disney his blessing to use it this way before he passed.
James Earl Jones Gave An Acting Tour De Force With His Voice
Of course, part of what makes James Earl Jones so inimitable as Darth Vader is the surprising amount of range he gives to the voice of this Sith Lord across the Star Wars Original Trilogy. In the first movie alone, we hear his rage as he searches for Princess Leia, which is contrasted by his smooth anger (like lava trapped in an icy avalanche) when discussing the power of The Force.
During Luke Skywalker’s trench run attack on the Death Star, we hear a blend of both…a villain who is very cool and modulating when closing in on his target but who loses all that coolness when Han Solo arrives.
Jones Held Onto Vader’s Humanity
The nuances of James Earl Jones’ performance as Darth Vader also serve to reinforce the character’s redemptive arc in the original Star Wars films. After all, Obi-Wan Kenobi insists that his former pupil is “more machine now than man,” nothing more than a malevolent evil force for Luke Skywalker to strike down.
But Luke insists that his father can still be saved, and thanks to Jones, we can hear the humanity beneath every tinny line…the man seeking escape from the machine that has consumed his entire existence.
One Of The Greatest Performances In History
James Earl Jones had the kind of career that would take a lifetime to properly appreciate, but he will always be best remembered as the voice of Star Wars villain Darth Vader. It’s the kind of legacy that would have horrified his Original Trilogy colleague Sir Alec Guinness, but Jones always seemed to appreciate the franchise more, including getting a kick out of people recognizing his voice.
He ultimately played Hollywood’s greatest villain turned into its greatest hero, and like his onscreen antagonist, he will live on far beyond his death in the minds and hearts of his millions of fans.
