Mark Hamill Pays Tribute to James Earl Jones With Touching Message

Mark Hamill is mourning the loss of his Star Wars co-star James Earl Jones. The prolific actor, who voiced Darth Vader in the George Lucas-created franchise opposite Hamill’s Luke Skywalker, died on Sept. 9 at the age of 93, with Hamill leading the wave of tributes from fellow Hollywood stars.

In a short but poignant message shared to X (formerly Twitter), Hamill reacted to the news Jones’ passing by writing, “RIP dad.” He added a broken-heart emoji. The comment was a notable and loving reference to one of Jones’ most iconic Hollywood lines when Darth Vader told Luke in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the second film in the Star Wars film series, “I am your father.”

Hamill continued his tribute on Instagram, where he shared a throwback photo of himself and Jones, who he remembered as “one of the world’s finest actors whose contributions to Star Wars were immeasurable. He’ll be greatly missed.”

While Jones’ acting career began years earlier when he made his Broadway debut in 1958 in Sunrise at Campobello, his role as the voice of Darth Vader has remained one of the most iconic performances of his decades-long career. Jones first voiced the cybernetically-enhanced Sith Lord in 1977’s Star Wars after Lucas, who was searching for a bass voice for Darth Vader, called the actor’s agent and asked if Jones would like a day’s work, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jones did not acknowledge that he was the voice of Darth Vader until the third film, 1983’s Return of the Jedi, and ultimately voiced the characterin more than a dozen Star Wars properties, including TV series like Star Wars Rebels and Obi-Wan Kenobi and theme park attractions.

“James was an incredible actor, a most unique voice both in art and spirit,” Lucas said in a statement shared to a memorial page for Jones on the Star Wars website. “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.”

Jones passed away Monday at his home in Dutchess County, New York surrounded by his family, his rep confirmed. He was 93. In addition to Star Wars, the actor is well-remembered for voicing Mufasa in the 1994 and 2019 Lion King films, as well as for his roles in The Great White Hope, Field of Dreams, and The Sandlot.