May the 4th be with you. And also with you. As Star Wars fans the world over celebrate their favourite galaxy far, far away today, lots of amusing anecdotes and photos of the actors from the original trilogy are floating around. While the new trailer for Obi-Wan Kenobi features a tiny glimpse of Hayden Christensen’s Darth Vader, we must remember the iconic voice that brought him to fame 45 years ago – provided by none other than James Earl Jones.
Jones has one of the most well-known and loved voices in Hollywood, which has since been used for Mufasa in The Lion King, of course. Appearing on the Dick Cavett Show in 1995, via Uproxx, Jones was asked if he ever used the Vader voice in public, maybe as a scare tactic. Jones confessed that he did try it once.
“I was driving across the country with a CB radio and I used Darth Vader as my handle,” the actor explained. “It freaked a lot of people out. When I got to the truck stop, there was a buzz about it. So, I decided not to do that anymore.”
In the same interview, Jones said that he used to struggle with a stutter, so has complicated feelings towards his voice. Considering that his deep tones have become Jones’ most widely recognised and celebrated feature, that is surprising to hear.
Darth Vader has become an enduring character who we are endlessly fascinated by, with him getting his own complicated back story in the prequels of course, and then popping up in 2016’s Rogue One for an already-iconic lightsaber-and-force battle in a corridor.
Star Wars fans will be highly anticipating Hayden Christensen’s return to the character in the Disney Plus Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Find out if Vader made our list of the 10 best Star Wars characters.