James Earl Jones, the prolific film, television and theater actor whose resonant, unmistakable baritone was best known as the voice of the “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader, died Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, New York, his spokesman confirmed to Variety. He was 93.

After overcoming a severe stutter as a child, Jones established himself as one of the groundbreaking Black actors of his generation, building a prolific and versatile career that has spanned more than 60 years, from his 1958 Broadway debut at the Cort Theatre — renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in 2022 — to his most recent performance in 2021’s “Coming 2 America.” For that film, Jones reprised his role as King Jaffe Joffer from the 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy “Coming to America” — one of several roles, along with Darth Vader, that Jones has reprised, including the voice of King Mufasa in Disney’s 1994 animated film “The Lion King,” its 1998 direct-to-video sequel and its 2019 remake, and CIA Rear Admiral James Greer in three Jack Ryan films, 1990’s “The Hunt for Red October,” 1992’s “Patriot Games” and 1994’s “Clear and Present Danger.”

Among his more than 80 film credits, Jones’ other notable films include as a B-52 bombardier in Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 Cold War satire “Dr. Strangelove” (his feature film debut), as the first black president of the United States in 1972’s “The Man,” as the terrifying villain in 1982’s “Conan the Barbarian,” as a reclusive author in 1989’s “Field of Dreams,” as a blind former baseball star in 1993’s “The Sandlot,” and as a government minister living in apartheid South Africa in 1995’s “Cry, the Beloved Country.”

Jones was nominated for four Tony Awards, winning two, in 1969 for his role as boxer Jack Johnson in “The Great White Hope” (which he adapted for the screen in 1970, earning his only Oscar nomination), and in 1987 for his role as Troy Maxson in August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Fences.” He was nominated for eight Primetime Emmy Awards, winning two in 1991, for Best Supporting Actor in the miniseries “Heat Wave,” about the 1965 Watts riots, and for Best Lead Actor in the drama series “Gabriel’s Fire,” about a wrongfully imprisoned ex-cop who becomes a private investigator. It was the first time an actor had won two Emmys in the same year.

Jones received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, an honorary Oscar in 2011, and a Lifetime Achievement Tony Award in 2017. His 1977 Grammy Award for spoken-word album makes Jones one of the few actors to have received an EGOT.

Jones’ brooding but ultimately friendly presence and rich voice made him a natural for Shakespeare, and he performed several of the major roles, such as Macbeth and Othello, for Joseph Papp’s American Shakespeare Festival. Jones has narrated several documentaries, from 1972’s “Malcom X” to the 2007 Disneynature documentary “Earth,” and famously sang the catchphrase “This is CNN” for the cable news channel.

His television credits, which number more than 70, include numerous films and miniseries such as “Roots” and “The Atlanta Child Murders,” recurring roles on “LA Law,” “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Everwood,” and guest roles on shows such as “The Simpsons,” “Picket Fences,” “Law & Order,” “Frasier” and “House.”

As for his most famous role, Jones was paid $7,000 to lend his voice to Darth Vader in 1977’s “Star Wars: A New Hope,” but he declined screen credits for that film and its 1980 sequel, “The Empire Strikes Back,” out of respect for the actor who played the role onscreen, David Prowse. By 1983’s “Return of the Jedi,” however, Jones had become fully synonymous with one of the most memorable and terrifying villains in cinematic history, and he was given credit for his work. He returned to voice Vader again for 2005’s “Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” and 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” but for the 2022 Disney+ series “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Jones gave Lucasfilm permission to use archival recordings and AI technology to re-create Vader’s voice.

When asked by the New York Times in 2014 how he’d kept his career alive for so long, Jones’ answer evoked the same kind of down-to-earth humility he so often displayed in his performances.

“The secret is to never forget that you’re a seasoned actor and nothing is your last thing, nothing is your biggest thing, nothing is your worst thing,” Jones said. “I still consider myself a beginner.”

James Earl Jones was born in 1931 on a farm in Arkabutla, Mississippi. His father, Robert Earl Jones, left home soon afterward to pursue his own acting career (the two reconciled when the younger Jones was in his 20s, and they even performed together). When Jones was 5, he moved to Michigan with his maternal grandparents. The shock of the move left him with a stutter so severe that he was often only able to communicate in writing. He did not begin to overcome his stutter until high school, when his English teacher, upon hearing that Jones was composing poetry, encouraged him to read his writings aloud in class.

As a student at the University of Michigan, Jones initially intended to study medicine, but eventually became more interested in drama. His first stage role was a small part in the 1957 Off Broadway production of “Wedding in Japan.” He took on part-time jobs to supplement his occasional theater work in Broadway’s “Sunrise at Campobello,” “The Cool World,” and “The Pretender.” He also appeared in summer stock.

In 1960, Jones joined Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival. The following year, he made his first serious impression in a landmark Off Broadway production of Jean Genet’s “The Blacks” as the titular character Deodatus. He then played Oberon for Papp in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” the first of many acclaimed Shakespearean roles. His masterful 1964 performance as Othello for Papp was transferred Off Broadway, where the production ran for almost a year.

Jones’ first big break in film came in Papp’s production of “The Merchant of Venice,” in which Jones played the Prince of Morocco in George C. Scott’s Shylock. When Stanley Kubrick came to see Scott, whom he was considering for one of the leads in “Dr. Strangelove,” the film director was so impressed that he cast Jones in the film as well. In 1966, Jones had the title role in “Macbeth” at the New York Shakespeare Festival, again to great success. He also had a recurring role on “As the World Turns” in 1966, marking the first time a black actor had a continuing role on a daytime soap opera.

Yet he was almost one of Broadway’s best-kept secrets until 1968 with his performance in Howard Sackler’s “The Great White Hope” as Jack Johnson, the first black man to win the world heavyweight boxing championship. The Tony, the accolades and the timing of it in the late ’60s thrust Jones into the spotlight at a time when it was difficult for black actors to land quality roles. The actor has said, however, that the accolades he received for both the play and its film adaptation did little for his career.

It wasn’t until 1977, when Jones’ voice first terrified audiences as Darth Vader, that things really began to change for him. That same year, Jones also appeared on ABC’s Roots, playing author Alex Haley, whose genealogical novel of the same name inspired the groundbreaking miniseries. He never quite became an outright star in the classic sense, but the successive seasons that year eventually made Jones a household name, whose presence brought a stature and gravitas to projects that might otherwise have been lacking.

Theater is where Jones has most often been a box office draw in his own right — well into his 80s. He returned to Broadway in 2005 for a production of “On Golden Pond” opposite Leslie Uggams, which earned him another Tony nomination. In 2008, he played Big Daddy in a production of Tennessee Williams’ “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” with an all-black cast that included Terrence Howard, Anika Noni Rose and Phylicia Rashad.

Two years later, he returned to Broadway in a revival of Driving Miss Daisy opposite Vanessa Redgrave; the production’s move to London in 2011 meant he had to miss the Honorary Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles. Instead, Sir Ben Kingsley personally surprised Jones with his statuette after he finished a matinee performance of the show.

Jones was first married to actress-singer Julienne Marie. His second wife of 34 years, actress Cecilia Hart, died in 2016. He is survived by his son, Flynn Earl Jones.