The voice of Darth Vader was mute for 8 years when he was a kid!

Not many an actor can boast as fantastic a voice as James Earl Jones whose booming voicebox has become a characteristic feature of box office hits The Lion King (he played Mufasa), Star Wars films (Darth Vader) just to mention two of the most popular ones. It would thus come as no surprise that James Earl Jones has won the Golden Globes Awards and Tony Awards.

Who many know as Vader was born in the 1930s in Mississippi to an actor, boxer and chauffeur going by the name Robert Earl Jones and a Ruth Jones – mother, maid, teacher. His dad took off just after James was born, and he was raised by his grandma.

But what’s most surprising is that the one voice we all know as Vader’s couldn’t have come to be had James’ condition carried on into his adult years. After he moved to his grandparent’s farm in Michigan, the transition was so difficult for him that he developed a stutter and went mute for an entire 8 years! Not until he got to high school that a teacher took interest in the boy and worked together with him to overcome the stutter. After being exposed to poetry and showing a natural penchant for the same, his voice came back. Thanks be to that teacher!