This Legendary Actor Revealed Why He Didn’t Get A Credit For His Huge Star Wars Role

James Earl Jones lent his iconic voice to the evil Darth Vader – and created the greatest villain in Hollywood history. Seriously, this Star Wars bad guy wouldn’t be half as cool without Jones’ menacing tones. Yet the veteran actor’s name didn’t actually appear in the credits for the first two Star Wars movies. Crazy, right? So was this just an oversight – or is it another sign of the curse that has seemingly followed the role around for decades?

It’s no surprise, of course, that so much discussion is focused on this iconic Star Wars villain. He is everybody’s favorite love-to-hate bad guy, after all. But did you know that, in the movies, Darth Vader was actually played by three different actors? Each player was responsible for different aspects of the role – but Jones provided arguably the most defining feature. So where was his credit?

He was a prominent member of the cast, too. At the time, you see, Jones was an Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-winning actor, thanks to the play The Great White Hope – which had also been adapted for film. He trod the boards on Broadway throughout the ’70s, too, and – following Star Wars – would star in films such as Coming To America, The Hunt For Red October and Conan The Barbarian. He also voiced Mufasa in Disney’s beloved animated classic The Lion King.

But before Jones came along Dave Prowse was the man chosen to inhabit the intimidating Vader costume on-set. At 6 feet 6 inches and a former bodybuilder, Prowse was responsible for giving Vader his considerable physical presence. He gets credit in the finished film, too. Lucas had watched Prowse in A Clockwork Orange and had known he’d wanted the actor in Star Wars.

Amazingly, though, Lucas initially offered Prowse one of two roles: Vader or Chewbacca. In a 2013 BBC interview, Prowse joked, “I said, ‘What the hell is Chewbacca? It’s like a hairy gorilla.’” When he found out Vader was the film’s villain, he said, “Don’t say any more, George. I’ll have the villain’s part. You always remember the bad guy.” And he was right, wasn’t he? Yet only Prowse got a credit – and Jones didn’t.