James Earl Jones was paid a shockingly low amount of money to voice Darth Vader in Star Wars.
David Prowse portrayed Darth Vader on set, while wearing the unmistakable black costume and the director George Lucas thought his voice was not right for the role.
During a 2010 Daily Mail interview, Jones himself revealed that Lucas “realized he might be too recognizable, so he hired me to do the voice, by just reading the words off the page. I did it in a couple of hours.”
In this regard, he added in a 2009 interview with the American Film Institute that he was paid just $7,000 for his voice work that turned Darth Vader into an iconic villain.
Moreover, Jones was uncredited in both 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV, A New Hope and 1980’s Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Although, his name did go on 1983’s Star Wars: Episode IV Return of the Jedi.
In regards to this, James revealed, “George wanted… pardon the expression… a darker voice, so he hires a guy who was born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters, and that’s the voice.”
According to Daily Mail, Jones added, “I lucked out, from all those so-called handicaps, I lucked out to get a job that paid me $7,000, and 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.”
Additionally, James later revealed that when he met with Lucas, who was producing the film while handing the directorial reins to Irvin Kershner, Jones wanted to make Vader, “more interesting.”
Furthermore, Jones also referred to his voice work as “special effects,” in that interview, and revealed in a 2008 why he was uncredited in the first two films, as per the outlet.
According to the publication, Jones retired from acting in 2021 after reprising his role as King Jaffe Joffer in Coming 2 America.
