James Earl Jones recorded Darth Vader’s lines in 2 hours for only $7,000

James Earl Jones’ dialogues as the legendary Star Wars villain Darth Vader have gone down in film history, but for the late actor they amounted to less than a day’s work.

The actor, who died this week at the age of 93, revealed in a 1995 interview that recording the dialogue for his now iconic character took barely longer than the film’s two-hour running time.

“We spent about two and a half hours doing Darth Vader,” he said on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. “We didn’t know what we had.”

In addition, Jones considered it a stroke of luck to receive what he considered a handsome paycheck for such a short day of work. Since he only provided the voice of Darth Vader, while actor David Prowse wore the famous black costume, Jones asked not to be named in the film’s credits.

“I was lucky and got a job that paid $7,000,” he told the American Film Institute in 2009. “I thought it was good money. And I got to lend my voice to a film. It was a lot of fun to be a part of it.”

Adjusted for inflation, his $7,000 from 1977 would be worth about $36,000 today.

The actor would go on to lend his voice to Darth Vader in six more films and on television during his illustrious stage and film career, which included hits such as The Lion King, Fences and Field of Dreams.

Despite his legendary film and television roles, Jones said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that his best performances were on stage.

“Not much of what I did – my best work – has been recorded except in the memories of people who saw it,” he said. “I’m perfectly happy with that.”

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