CNN
—

President Joe Biden remembers the late brave actor James Earl Jones.

In a statement released Tuesday, Biden wrote about the last time he saw Jones, when the actor accepted the Lincoln Medal for his “exemplary character and achievements on screen and stage.”

“I also admired him for something else, something we both had in common: overcoming a childhood stuttering disorder to find our voice for something bigger than ourselves,” added Biden, who has been open about his lifelong battle with a stutter.

Biden went on to write that Jones’ “legendary voice rang out everywhere it was heard, an instrument and an imprint that resonated in the hearts of audiences around the world.”

Jones died Monday, his agent said. He was 93.

Before Jones’ convincing voice came to life in beloved film characters like Darth Vader in “Star Wars” and Mufasa in “The Lion King” – as well as the voice of CNN – a traumatic event he experienced as a child left him with a stutter.

His fear of speaking left him almost speechless until his high school poetry teacher encouraged him to read his poems aloud, which helped him overcome his disability.

Once he found his voice, it became one of the most recognizable voices in pop culture.

Jones had a decades-long career in Hollywood, starring in films such as “The Sandlot,” “Field of Dreams” and “Coming to America,” among many others.

“Through iconic characters, film, stage, commercials, radio and more, his voice carried a sense of grace and dignity that commanded respect and demanded to be heard,” Biden’s statement Tuesday said.

His roles, Biden wrote, “made us pause, stayed with us and inspired us to reflect on everything from race and power, good and evil, to our place in the world.”