When New York\u2019s Cort Theatre was\u00a0renamed after James Earl Jones\u00a0in 2022,\u00a0Samuel L. Jackson said, \u201cIf you are an actor or you aspired to be an actor or you pounded the pavement in these streets looking for jobs and doing things \u2014 one of the standards that we always had was to be a James Earl Jones.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jones was the \u201cstandard\u201d for actors. He died Monday at age 93.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the wake of his death, actors have shared poignant messages about Jones\u2019 influence, calling him a path-blazer for actors like Denzel Washington and others who came after him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThank you dear James Earl Jones for everything,\u201d the Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo wrote Monday in\u00a0a post on X. \u201cA master of our craft. We stand on your shoulders. Rest now. You gave us your best.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jones is best known for voicing the iconic characters Darth Vader and Mufasa, and for his roles in movies like \u201cComing to America.\u201d Initially a stage actor, he began his film career with \u201cDr. Strangelove\u201d in 1964 and most recently reprised his role as King Joffer in \u201cComing 2 America,\u201d the 2021 sequel. Although he wasn\u2019t a leading movie star in his early years, like\u00a0Sidney Poitier\u00a0or\u00a0Harry Belafonte, Jones had a lengthy acting career that served as a touchstone for later generations.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the 55th NAACP Image Awards in March, \u201cRebel Ridge\u201d actor Aaron Pierre praised Jones during an interview on the red carpet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJames Earl Jones is one of my greatest inspirations,\u201d Pierre\u00a0told a reporter. Pierre is set to voice Mufasa in \u201cMufasa: The Lion King,\u201d a prequel to the 2019 photorealistic remake of \u201cThe Lion King.\u201d \u201cHe is a phenomenal artist and I pray to God that I get to meet him someday. Did you ever see him in \u2018Fences\u2019? That\u2019s the man right there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jones is an EGOT performer, with two Emmys, two Tonys, an honorary Academy Award and a Grammy. He commanded the stage in productions like \u201cOthello,\u201d \u201cFences\u201d and \u201cThe Great White Hope,\u201d and the screen in movies like the 1974 dramedy \u201cClaudine,\u201d \u201cConan the Barbarian\u201d in 1982, and many others. He boasts dozens of television credits, including \u201cRoots,\u201d L.A. Law,\u201d \u201cGabriel\u2019s Fire,\u201d and \u201cThe Simpsons.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jones was known for his booming, baritone voice, but the actors he influenced always knew he was much more than that. Wendell Pierce wrote in a post on X that \u201cJames Earl Jones is the sole reason I became an actor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis man was the living embodiment of artistry, integrity, creativity, and dignity,\u201d Pierce, of “The Wire” and “Treme,”\u00a0wrote Monday. \u201cHe stirred a vocation in me that gave voice to my unsung heart songs. By example, he led me on the exploration of my own personal humanity and the study of human behavior in others and the intangible, ever-present soul. He was a once in a generation talent that has left an enormous legacy in American culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Rev. Bernice King, daughter of Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr.,\u00a0wrote on social media\u00a0that Jones supported the Civil Rights Movement and lent his voice to the 1970 documentary, \u201cKing: A Filmed Record … From Montgomery to Memphis.\u201d King wrote that her parents admired Jones\u2019 \u201ccommitment to justice.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although Jones was not active in the movement, he said he considered his roles dealing with racial issues as his contribution to civil rights, according to The\u00a0New York Times. He said early in his career that he admired Malcolm X and might have been a revolutionary if he had not become an actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1969, Jones became the first Black actor to win a Tony award for\u00a0a leading role in a play\u00a0for \u201cThe Great White Hope,\u201d in which he portrayed Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight boxing champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Great White Hope” came out the year after King\u2019s assassination, “and there were riots in the streets of the United States,\u201d Dominic Taylor, a professor of African American theater at UCLA, previously\u00a0told NBC News. \u201cAnd here is this Black man who wins for this role in which he\u2019s Jack Johnson, basically. I don\u2019t think people today are aware of how earthshaking that was.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taylor added, \u201cHe was a gargantuan presence but such a fine, precise, attuned actor onstage. It was beautiful to watch him work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When New York\u2019s Cort Theatre was\u00a0renamed after James Earl Jones\u00a0in 2022,\u00a0Samuel L. Jackson said, \u201cIf you are an actor or you aspired to be an actor or you pounded the pavement in these streets looking for jobs and doing things \u2014 one of the standards that we always had was to be a James Earl […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,12,2],"tags":[7,30,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-39638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-entertainment","9":"category-featured","10":"tag-apie-project","11":"tag-culture","12":"tag-entertainment"},"yoast_head":"\n