James Earl Jones on stammering

Monday 4th May 2020

A man smiling for the camera and a person in a Darth Vader costume

James Earl Jones & Darth Vader

The legendary actor James Earl Jones, the voice behind Darth Vader, refused to speak as a child because of his stammer. This Star Wars Day, (May 4th, think about it), here are some quotes from the multi-award winner himself explaining how his voice became one of the most recognisable in cinema.

*To mark his passing in September 2024, read our news article about the death of James Earl Jones.

Jones started stammering in early childhood. "People would come to the house and there'd be introductions made and I just couldn't introduce myself," he told PBS News.

"I did communicate with the animals quite freely," Jones told the Daily Mail in 2010."They don't care how you sound, they just want to hear your voice."

'I became a non-verbal person, I became a writer. I enjoyed being quiet – a lot of people didn't bother me or probe me, it was a nice place to be.' He said in an interview with the American Academy of Achievement.

You become a good listener — it's all one-way. You appreciate the written word. You appreciate the sound.

Get help for stammering

Describing the turning point on the Dick Cavett Show, he said, 'I had an English teacher in high school who discovered that when I read my own poetry I didn't stutter, because I wasn't in confrontation with other peoples' feelings or thoughts, but my own... so I practised reading poetry for a while and I think that's what got me into a feeling for reading dramatic interpretations'.

Jones went on to study acting and got his first role in Broadway in 1958, in the play Sunrise at Campobello. 'I had a scene in which I had to say, "Mrs Roosevelt, supper is served". Well I got as far as "Mrs". We're often hung on the M word, us stutterers. I think the audience knew what was happening. It was a play, they had bought tickets and I was up there acting and I couldn't talk.' (PBS)

Become a STAMMA member for free and join our community

Jones has gone on to win three Emmy awards, two Tony Awards, a Grammy and an honorary Academy award. His most famous vocal performances include one the best villains in film history, Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King.

"I'm still a stutterer. Sometimes I guess our vocabulary might be a little larger than it would ordinarily have been, because we have to find the word we won't trip on, or that begins with the right consonant." (American Academy of Achievement)

Now 89 and looking back on his childhood, he said, 'When you are mute, you become a good listener — it's all one-way. You appreciate the written word. You appreciate the sound.' (Daily Mail)

In 2017, James Earl Jones received an honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Harvard University and concluded his acceptance speech with the words, "May the Force be with you." (Wikipedia)