Mark Hamill has led the tributes to his Star Wars co-star James Earl Jones, with a simple two-word message to the iconic actor, who has passed away aged 93.
Jones was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the mid-1990s, a fact he made public in 2016 but no cause of death has officially been announced. The actor was best known for voicing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy between 1977 and 1983 but had played the character more than a dozen times, most recently in the Disney + series Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Jones wasn’t just known for Star Wars and his distinguished career was also celebrated for his performances as Mufasa in The Lion King, as well as his live-action roles in the likes of Field of Dreams, Coming to America and Conan the Barbarian.
LeVar Burton, Octavia Spencer and Wendell Pierce were amongst the top names to pay tribute to Jones but Hamill’s touching words struck a chord with Star Wars fans in particular.
Hamill, who famously played Vader’s son Luke Skywalker in the franchise, shared Variety’s story on Jones’s death and said “RIP dad” in response.
72-year-old Hamill did post a slightly longer tribute on Instagram writing: “One of the world’s finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable. He’ll be greatly missed #RIP dad.”
Hamill has consistently called Jones ‘dad’ on social media over the years, especially when wishing him a happy birthday. It’s a touch that Hamill has also used for other actors who have played Darth Vader including David Prowse, Hayden Christensen, Jake Lloyd and Sebastian Shaw.
Unsurprisingly, Hamill’s tribute has tugged at the heartstrings of Star Wars with many thanking him and sharing their own heartache at the news of Jones’s passing.
One fan wrote: “This breaks my heart. This one hurts. He lived an amazing life and gave us all the voice of one of the most iconic characters for generations and generations to come.”
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Another said: “As if I wasn’t already shedding tears about James Earl’s death, now I see what Mark Hamill tweeted about him.”
A third added: “Dang it. That got me in the 10 year-old me.”
While a fourth proclaimed: “Cheers, everyone aged over 35’s crying. Nice one.”
Elsewhere, Star Wars creator George Lucas said in a statement: “For nearly half a century he was Darth Vader, but the secret to it all is he was a beautiful human being. He gave depth, sincerity and meaning to all his roles, amongst the most important being a devoted husband to the late Ceci and dad to Flynn.
“James will be missed by so many of us…friends and fans alike.”
Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy described Jones as “one of the most versatile and talented actors of our time, with an iconic body of work across film, stage and television”.