James Earl Jones will always be known as Vader, perhaps first above all. Which is sad, because he did so many other things. He was never a full blown star, but an exceptional, generational actor. Even where he plays the villain in Conan, you cannot help but be captured by his presence.

But one cannot also deny the power of his voice. Vader is played by some guy in a suit. Every word Jones does is off camera. But his voice acting makes you believe he’s everywhere. I was thinking about this earlier today. If you want to know what menace sounds like, this is it:

“Perhaps you think you’re being treated unfairly?“

Jones was also a noted and absolutely brilliant master of Shakespeare. Here is another example of how he owns the room. In this case, him reading poetry at the White House. I get it that many people aren’t into Shakespeare, but I’m a nut for it. This is a short clip, five minutes or so. Even if you’re not into this kind of thing, quick watch, it’s enthralling.