James Earl Jones recorded Darth Vader lines in 2.5 hours for just $7,000: ‘I lucked out’
By Nickolas Vega
James Earl Jones’ line readings as the iconic “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader have gone down in film history, but for the late thespian it was less than a day’s work.
The actor, who died this week at the age of 93, revealed in a 1995 interview that the process of recording the lines for his now-iconic character barely took longer than the two-hour runtime of the film.
“We spent about two and a half hours to do Darth Vader,” he said on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. “We didn’t know what we had.”
On top of that, Jones considered himself lucky to be receiving what he considered to be a sizable paycheck for such a short workday. Indeed, because he was only providing Darth Vader’s voice while actor David Prowse wore the famous black costume, Jones asked to not be credited on the film.
"I lucked out to get a job that paid me $7,000,” he told the American Film Institute in 2009. “I thought that was good money. And I got to be a voice on a movie. It was great fun to be a part of that.”
Adjusted for inflation, his $7,000 payday in 1977 would be worth roughly $36,000 today.
The actor would go on to voice Darth Vader in six more films as well as on TV during a storied stage and screen career that also included hits like “The Lion King”, “Fences” and “Field of Dreams”.
Despite his iconic film and TV roles, Jones said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that his best work happened on the stage.
“Not much of what I’ve done — the best work that I’ve done — has been recorded, except in the memory of people who saw it,” he said. “I’m totally satisfied with that.”
James Earl Jones’ line readings as the iconic “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader have gone down in film history, but for the late thespian it was less than a day’s work.
The actor, who died this week at the age of 93, revealed in a 1995 interview that the process of recording the lines for his now-iconic character barely took longer than the two-hour runtime of the film.
“We spent about two and a half hours to do Darth Vader,” he said on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. “We didn’t know what we had.”
On top of that, Jones considered himself lucky to be receiving what he considered to be a sizable paycheck for such a short workday. Indeed, because he was only providing Darth Vader’s voice while actor David Prowse wore the famous black costume, Jones asked to not be credited on the film.
"I lucked out to get a job that paid me $7,000,” he told the American Film Institute in 2009. “I thought that was good money. And I got to be a voice on a movie. It was great fun to be a part of that.”
Adjusted for inflation, his $7,000 payday in 1977 would be worth roughly $36,000 today.
The actor would go on to voice Darth Vader in six more films as well as on TV during a storied stage and screen career that also included hits like “The Lion King”, “Fences” and “Field of Dreams”.
Despite his iconic film and TV roles, Jones said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that his best work happened on the stage.
“Not much of what I’ve done — the best work that I’ve done — has been recorded, except in the memory of people who saw it,” he said. “I’m totally satisfied with that.”
