Hollywood is in mourning after information of James Earl Jones‘ loss of life at 93.
Jones, the long-lasting voice actor behind legendary display screen characters like Star Wars‘ Darth Vader and The Lion King‘s Mufasa, died on Monday, Sept. 9, at his house in Dutchess County, New York, his agent confirmed to PEOPLE.
As information of Jones’ loss of life unfold across the web, a number of celebrities — those that labored with him and those that admired his work — shared on social media to grieve the late actor. Mark Hamill, who famously portrayed Luke Skywalker reverse Jones’ voice work as Darth Vader, rapidly shared a easy message by way of X with a damaged coronary heart emoji: “#RIP dad 💔,” he wrote.
Hamill, 72, then shared an Instagram picture of himself embracing Jones and wrote in a caption, “One of many world’s most interesting actors whose contributions to Star Wars have been immeasurable. He’ll be drastically missed. #RIP dad 💔”
In The Empire Strikes Again, Vader famously revealed he was Skywalker’s father Anakin by way of the well-known line, “I’m your father.”
Rob Minkoff, the co-director of The Lion King, wrote: “I used to be blessed to get to work with him. His portrayal of Mufasa was perfection. What a robust man and actor. Gone however won’t ever be forgotten. Relaxation in energy.”
“From the mild knowledge of Mufasa to the menacing menace of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones gave voice to among the biggest characters in cinema historical past. A celebrated stage actor with practically 200 movie and tv credit to his identify, the tales he dropped at life with a uniquely commanding presence and a real richness of spirit have left an indelible mark on generations of audiences,” mentioned Disney CEO Bob Iger, in an announcement. Disney obtained the rights to Star Wars in 2012 after buying Lucasfilm.
Kevin Costner paid tribute to his Subject of Goals costar, posting on Instagram: “That booming voice. That quiet energy. The kindness that he radiated. A lot could be mentioned about his legacy, so I’ll simply say how grateful I’m that a part of it contains Subject of Goals.”
LeVar Burton additionally posted on X, sharing a brief put up because the information broke, writing, “There’ll by no means be one other of his specific mixture of graces.” Jones starred within the spin-off sequence Roots: The Subsequent Generations.
“RIP to a King,” Prime Video shared on X, alongside a photograph of Jones in Coming 2 America.
Josh Gad shared an undated picture of himself, Nikki M. James and Andrew Rannells posing with Jones on Instagram and wrote he was “shattered” by Jones’ loss of life. “For thus many people, you outlined our childhoods from Star Wars to Lion King, from Subject of Goals to The Sandlot, from Coming to America to Dr. Strangelove,” Gad wrote. “Thanks James for giving your life to artwork and filling our lifetimes with among the finest performances of any resume ever. It was an honor to know you and and a good larger honor to get carry out in a theater together with your namesake.”
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Colman Domingo uploaded a photograph of a younger Jones on X and wrote, “Thanks expensive James Earl Jones for every thing. A grasp of our craft. We stand in your shoulders. Relaxation now. You gave us your finest.”
“Legendary doesn’t even start to explain his iconic roles and influence on cinema without end. His voice and expertise will likely be remembered all the time. Sending like to his household, associates and numerous followers in all of the galaxies, far, far-off,” added actor Octavia Spencer on Instagram.
Jones was famously introduced in to voice Star Wars villain Darth Vader versus using the voice of actor David Prowse, who bodily embodied the character in his go well with on display screen, for the sequence’ authentic 1977 film. He went on to voice Vader throughout quite a few types of media for many years together with latest releases like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and the miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022).
He retired from voicing the character in 2022 and reportedly gave Disney permission to proceed utilizing digital recreations of his voice for Darth Vader appearances to return sooner or later.