FrameThrower · Actors · James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
12 films · 794 frames · top-billed in 4 · 1964–2019
Born 17 January 1931 · Arkabutla, Mississippi, USA · died 9 September 2024
James Earl Jones was an American actor. He was described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances on stage and screen, and "one of the greatest actors in American history". Over his career, he received three Tony Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1985. He was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009 and the Honorary Academy Award in 2011. His deep voice has been praised as a "stirring basso profondo that has lent gravel and gravitas" to his projects.
Awards
On FrameThrower we have: 12 films · 794 frames · top-billed in 4 · 1964–2019
- Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actor1970
- Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie1991
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series1991
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play1987
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play1969
- National Medal of Arts
- Disney Legends2019
- honorary doctor of Harvard University2017
- Outer Critics Circle Award2012
- Paul Robeson Award2011
- Academy Honorary Award2011
How their films are shot
Measured across 794 frames from the 12 films we hold. This is the look of the work James takes, not a claim about any single frame — we index the cast of a film, never the people in a shot.
Across the 12 films we hold, 50% of their frames are night, 48% low key — the look of the work James takes.
Time of day
Lighting
Shot size
Camera angle
Mood
Films in the library
Every poster opens that film — stills, cinematography notes and colour palette.
The Annihilation of Fish
1999 · Fish
A Family Thing
1996 · Ray Murdock
Matewan
1987 · 'Few Clothes' Johnson
Conan The Barbarian
1982 · Thulsa Doom
The Lion King
2019 · Mufasa (voice)
Gang Related
1997 · Arthur Baylor
The Lion King
1994 · Mufasa (voice)
The Hunt for Red October
1990 · Vice ADM James Greer
Coming to America
1988 · King Jaffe Joffer
Return Of The Jedi
1983 · Darth Vader (voice)
Star Wars
1977 · Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
1964 · Lt. Lothar Zogg
Often with
Shared films in this library, not a full filmography.
A reference database for filmmakers
FrameThrower is a fully machine-searchable film database and visual reference library — all 794 frames from James Earl Jones's 12 films, and 5,000+ films besides, indexed frame by frame and readable by AI. Search it in plain language, from a reference image, or by colour; call it from an API, an MCP server or an SDK. It's the reference layer for making the next movie.