Denzel Washington paid a heartfelt tribute to the late James Earl Jones, known for voicing Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King.
“He’s my hero. My college theatre career started because of The Emperor Jones and Othello with James Earl Jones," Washington told Variety. He went on to add, “I wasn’t going to be as big as him. I wanted to sound like him. He was everything to me as a budding actor. He was who I wanted to be.”
Washington's admiration for Earl Jones is not new. In an interview dating back to 1998, he stated, “There weren’t a lot of serious Black actors for us to emulate, to follow, to admire. There was Sidney [Poitier]; it was James Earl Jones on stage. That’s what I remember.”
Besides his nearly 200 screen credits, Earl Jones was known for his performances in theatre, including his starring roles in the two aforementioned stage adaptations. His baritone voice made him instantly recognisable, especially as the iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader and the legendary The Lion King character King Mufasa.
Washington and Jones never collaborated on a feature film or TV show, but they share spiritually similar legacies. One of the best performances of Jones came in the Broadway production of August Wilson’s play Fences that earned him a Tony Award. Washington starred in, produced, and directed the feature adaptation of Fences, and it earned him Best Actor and Best Picture Oscar nominations.
