Renowned voice actor James Earl Jones passed away last Monday at age 93, leaving fans grieving.

For those who are not hard-core pop culture fans, however, it may be easy to forget Jones’ discography until someone mentions Darth Vader or Mufasa.

But with his iconic voice, Jones’ had a unique and successful career beyond Lucasfilm and Disney. 

The late actor will surely be missed, so how is campus feeling about Jones’ passing? 

Makayla Roberts, a senior human development and family sciences major, and Khardell Phelps, a junior political science major, feel Jones’ voice and talent will live on through his work.

Q: “What did you like about him as an actor and voice actor?”

Roberts, A: “I think for me one thing I liked about his voice was how he can command a room. And I think because, and I wouldn’t even say necessarily because he has that, he has that dark voice. But it’s like, it’s one of those things like, when you open up your mouth, it’s like you automatically just want to listen to what he’s saying.”

Phelps, A: “I kind of agree, and I think just the level of creativity, I think not all voice actors can reach that level. And the fact that he did, he’s a legend.”

Even without being super familiar with his work, watching fans commemorate Jones on TikTok brought tears to freshman biochemistry major Maya Al-Massad’s eyes!

Q: “What is your favorite thing about James Earl Jones?”

A: “I just saw a bunch of like, videos on TikTok about, like, how he’s voicing, like, this really important character in the Lion King movie, and like all those videos were so sad, like they made me cry!”

Ashton Froehle, a junior communications major, was a fan of Jones’ work in Star and sad to learn the news of his passing. 

Q: “James Earl Jones, do you know who he is?”

A: “He is the voice actor for Darth Vader from ‘Star Wars’.”

Q: “Did you know he recently passed away just this last Monday?”

A: “No! That’s terrible! My condolences, I’m very sorry to hear.”

Q: “What was your favorite thing about James Earl Jones?”

A: “My favorite thing about James Earl Jones was he had such gravitas with his voice, he really sold his role. The only thing I can think of right now is his ‘Star Wars’ with Darth Vader, but he did a lot of really excellent stuff, and nothing but the best for him.”