James Earl Jones was a legend. The actor who was best-known for his striking deep voice and unforgettable performances in films like “Star Wars” passed away this week at the age of 93, but his memory lives on in his many beloved roles. It also lives on in the form of interviews he gave over the years, some of which are a lot funnier than expected coming from the guy who played what may have been the most infamous movie villain of all time.
In a 2014 interview with the New York Times, Jones spoke about his Darth Vader voice (David Prowse played Vader’s body), which is recognizable worldwide and has been lovingly parodied countless times over the years. Asked when he realized his voice would be his golden ticket, the actor — who grew up with a stutter — noted that he “didn’t want it to be.” As he explained, “I don’t hear the voice you hear. I’m not party to the Darth Vader tone. All I’m doing is using the voice I have to try to be as clear as I can with the language I’m using.”
That lack of awareness about his own talent and uniqueness seemed to be purposeful, as Jones told the outlet that the voice teacher who helped him overcome his stutter advised him against getting caught up in the sound of his own voice. “When I learned how to talk, the best advice my teacher gave me was: Don’t listen to yourself,” he told the Times. “Don’t listen to the tones you make, because you might be impressed by it. If you start listening to yourself, nobody else will.” To that end, Jones said he never really played around with the Darth Vader voice outside of movie sets, with one key exception: when he was on the CB radio.
Some truck drivers got to meet Darth Vader
Citizens Band (or CB) radios are typically used by people in the shipping business to communicate, particularly long-haul truckers. Back in the day, it was common for truckers to chat over CB, to give themselves and each other nicknames, and no doubt to sometimes get silly on the mic with an impersonation or two. Jones, unsurprisingly, was aces at his Darth Vader impression. When asked if he’d ever had the urge to pretend to be Vader over the phone, he admitted, “I did that once when I was traveling cross-country. I used Darth as my handle on the CB radio.” The name wasn’t false advertising, as Jones naturally had the voice to match.
“The truck drivers would really freak out — for them, it was Darth Vader. I had to stop doing that,” Jones noted. I can imagine why; it’s one thing to have to keep your eyes peeled for animals crossing the road on a slow night, but it’s another to try to keep your focus on the multi-ton vehicle you’re driving when Darth-freaking-Vader shows up on the radio. It’s unclear from this anecdote whether or not Jones let the drivers in on the secret that he really was the actor from “Star Wars,” and I can’t decide which version of the story would be better. It’s fun to picture the drivers befriending the actor, but it’s also fun to imagine them left in disbelief, wondering who, if anyone, could really do such a spot-on impression of the Sith lord.
According to Jones, he was never one to bust out the Darth Vader voice at parties, so this was pretty much the extent of his getting playful with it. It’s still a joy of a story, though, and I doubt I’ll be the only one who thinks about it the next time I watch “The Empire Strikes Back” and hear that much-impersonated phrase, “No, I am your father!”
