Legendary actor James Earl Jones passes away at the age of 93.

 The Oscar nominee was famous for lending his voice to Darth Vader in "Star Wars."

Renowned actor James Earl Jones, celebrated for his countless film roles and the iconic voice of Darth Vader in the "Star Wars" franchise, has passed away, as confirmed by his representative to ABC News. 

He was 93 years old.

Jones died on Monday morning at his home in Dutchess County, New York, surrounded by family, according to his longtime agent, Barry McPherson.

The celebrated actor, whose rich, resonant voice brought the legendary villain Darth Vader to life, had a remarkable career spanning over six decades. He received three Tony Awards, including a lifetime achievement award in 2017, along with two Emmys and a Grammy. In 2011, he was honored with a lifetime achievement award by the Academy Awards. 

Born in 1931 in Mississippi, Jones famously overcame a severe stutter during his childhood.

“People would come to the house, and introductions would be made, but I couldn’t introduce myself,” he recounted to PBS in 2014, reflecting on the severity of his stutter at that time. Jones mentioned that he learned to remain silent for long periods.

“I discovered that silence can be very beneficial. It’s good to listen, and I learned to listen,” he shared with PBS.

It was his struggle with stuttering that ultimately guided Jones into acting, as a high school teacher introduced him to poetry to aid in his speech. Following his college years and service in the Army during the Korean War, he set his sights on Broadway as the launching point for his career in theater and the arts.

Throughout the 1950s and '60s, Jones became a prominent figure on Broadway. His performances in productions like "On Golden Pond" and "The Best Man" garnered him four Tony nominations, securing wins for "The Great White Hope" in 1969 and "Fences" in 1987.

At the same time, he was also receiving acclaim on television. The future two-time Emmy Award winner earned his first nomination in the 1960s for his performance in "East Side/West Side."

In 1991, he won both of his Primetime Emmys: one for Best Supporting Actor in the miniseries "Heat Wave" and another for Best Actor in the series "Gabriel's Fire." Additionally, he received a Daytime Emmy for the children's special "Summer's End" in 2000.

Jones earned his first Oscar nomination for his adaptation of "The Great White Hope" into a film in 1970, portraying the boxer Jack Jefferson. He became just the second Black actor, following Sidney Poitier, who was nominated in 1958 and 1963, to receive such recognition from the Academy.

Throughout much of the 1970s, Jones balanced his work across stage, television, and film. In 1977, he was cast as the voice of the iconic villain Darth Vader in "Star Wars: A New Hope."

While bodybuilder David Prowse physically portrayed the Sith Lord, it was Jones's powerful voice that delivered many memorable lines throughout the film and its sequels, including, “I find your lack of faith disturbing,” and the unforgettable reveal to Luke Skywalker in 1980's "The Empire Strikes Back": “No, I am your father.”

"I'm just special effects," he told the American Film Institute in 2009, reflecting on his role voicing a character physically portrayed by another actor. "George [Lucas] wanted, if I may say, a darker voice, so he hired a guy born in Mississippi, raised in Michigan, who stutters. That's the voice, that's me. I got lucky. Given all these so-called handicaps, I was fortunate to land a job that paid me $7,000, which I thought was great money."

In the 2004 documentary "Star Wars: Empire of Dreams," Jones shared his reaction when he first learned that Vader, the trilogy's primary antagonist, would reveal himself as the long-lost father of Skywalker, the central hero.

"I thought to myself, 'He's lying,'" Jones admitted. "I wondered how they would play out that lie."

But it turned out to be true. From 1977 to 1983, the original "Star Wars" trilogy became some of the most celebrated and innovative films of their era, renowned not only for their groundbreaking special effects but also for their unexpected plot twists and profound themes.

Following "Star Wars," Jones made memorable appearances in Eddie Murphy's 1988 film "Coming to America" and starred alongside Kevin Costner in "Field of Dreams" in 1989. A few years later, he lent his iconic voice to another beloved character, portraying Mufasa in Disney's animated classic "The Lion King."

According to IMDb, Jones had nearly 200 credits to his name, maintaining an active career for over 60 years. His filmography includes movies like "The Sandlot," renowned television shows such as "House" and "The Simpsons," and his return to a galaxy far, far away in 2004's "Revenge of the Sith." He also reprised his role as Darth Vader multiple times in recent years, voicing the character in the animated series "Rebels," as well as in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016), "The Rise of Skywalker" (2019), and the 2022 Disney+ series "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Additionally, he returned for the sequel to "Coming to America," titled "Coming 2 America," released in 2021. 

In 2011, Jones received an honorary Academy Award in recognition of his extensive and celebrated career. 

While starring in the play "Driving Miss Daisy" in London that same year, he was taken by surprise when co-star Vanessa Redgrave revealed his honor to the audience at the end of the performance. A special ceremony was held on stage, where Sir Ben Kingsley presented Jones with his Oscar. 

"If an actor's nightmare is being onstage naked and not knowing his lines, what do you call this?" he said, reflecting on the unexpected honor. "How do I feel? More than flabbergasted... that's the only word I can think of for this improbable moment in my life."

In March 2022, it was announced that Broadway's Cort Theatre would be renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre. 

Jones was married twice, with his second wife, Cecilia Hart, passing away in 2016 after 34 years of marriage. They are survived by their son, Flynn Earl Jones.