James Earl Jones

When a five-year-old James Earl Jones moved with his grandparents from rural Mississippi to frosty Michigan, he developed a stutter so severe that he refused to speak aloud, even in school. One day in high school, an understanding teacher, impressed by a poem Jones had written, dared him to recite it in front of the class. When he recited without faltering, teacher and students were amazed by the power of the voice Jones had kept bottled up inside him. Today that voice is one of the best known in the world. Through an arduous program of public speaking, James Earl Jones overcame his handicap, and today he is one of America's most celebrated actors, renowned for what critics have called "the voice of the century." His performance in the play and film The Great White Hope made him a star. He has won multiple Tony, Emmy and Grammy Awards for his stage, television and recording work. He has been heard by millions as the voice of Mustafa in The Lion King, and of Darth Vader in the Star Wars films. Throughout his career, he has regularly returned to the live theater, winning acclaim for his performances in Of Mice and Men, in Athol Fugard's Master Harold and the Boys, and as Shakespeare's Othello and King Lear for the New York Shakespeare Festival. Over the years he has received numerous honors for his work. He won a second Tony Award for his stunning performance in the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Fences by August Wilson. In 2010, he enjoyed another successful run on Broadway, starring with Vanessa Redgrave in Driving Miss Daisy. This triumphant star is the recipient of the National Medal of Arts, awarded in tribute to his outstanding contributions to the cultural life of the United States. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1996 Summit in Sun Valley, Idaho, Jones discusses his life as an actor, and extols the values of curiosity, accepting reality, and being at ease with yourself.