| James Earl Jones | |
| Nocollapse: | no |
| Wins: | 6 |
| Nominations: | 18 |
This article is a List of awards and nominations received by James Earl Jones.
James Earl Jones is an American actor known for his roles on stage and screen. Jones is known as one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Jones has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award and three Tony Awards. While Jones has yet to win a competitive Oscar, he was presented with the Honorary Academy Award in 2011 by Sir Ben Kingsley.[1] [2]
Jones received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for The Great White Hope (1970). He was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Claudine (1974), the Screen Actors Guild Award for his role in Cry, the Beloved Country (1995) and the Independent Spirit Award for Matewan (1987). He gained worldwide recognition for voicing Darth Vader in the George Lucas space opera Star Wars films (1977–present) and for Mufasa in the Walt Disney animated film The Lion King (1994). He also acted in films such as Dr. Strangelove (1964), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Coming to America (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Sandlot (1990), Patriot Games (1992), and Sneakers (1992).
For his work in the theatre, he received four competitive Tony Award nominations for Best Actor in a Play winning twice for his performances as Jack Jefferson in The Great White Hope in 1969 and as Troy Maxson in August Wilson's Fences in 1987. In 2017 he received a Special Tony Award at the 71st Tony Awards. He also won six Drama Desk Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, and a Theater World Award.
For his work in television he received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations winning twice for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Heat Wave and for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel's Fire both in 1991. He was Emmy-nominated for his roles in East Side West Side (1963), By Dawn's Early Light (1990), Picket Fences (1994), Under One Roof (1995), Frasier (1997), and Everwood (2004). He also has been nominated for three Grammy Awards winning in 1977 for Best Spoken Word Album for Great American Documents.
Over his career he has received several honorary awards including the National Medal of the Arts in 1992, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2002, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2009, and the Academy Honorary Awards in 2011.
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Best Actor | The Great White Hope | [3] | |
| 2011 | Lifetime Achievement | [4] | ||
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Best Spoken Word | The Great White Hope | [14] | |
| 1977 | Great American Documents | [15] | ||
| 2001 | The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey | [16] | ||
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role | Cry, the Beloved Country | [17] | |
| 2009 | [18] | |||
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | The Great White Hope | [19] | ||
| 1987 | Fences | [20] | ||
| 2005 | On Golden Pond | [21] | ||
| 2012 | The Best Man | [22] | ||
| Lifetime Achievement Award | [23] | |||
| Organizations | Year | Category | Work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama Desk Awards | 1965 | Vernon Rice Award | Othello | [24] | |
| 1969 | Distinguished Performance | The Great White Hope | [25] | ||
| 1971 | Les Blancs | [26] | |||
| 1973 | The Cherry Orchard | [27] | |||
| Hamlet | [28] | ||||
| 1978 | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Paul Robeson | [29] | ||
| 1987 | Fences | [30] | |||
| 2008 | Special Award | [31] | |||
| Outer Critics Circle Awards | 1987 | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Fences | ||
| 2005 | Outstanding Actor in a Play | On Golden Pond | |||
| 2008 | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | |||
| 2012 | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | The Best Man | |||
| Theatre World Awards | 1962 | Distinguished Performance | Moon on a Rainbow Shawl | ||
| Organizations | Year | Category | Work | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Reel Award | 2000 | Best Supporting Actor - Network or Cable | Santa and Pete | ||
| 2016 | Best Actor - Limited Series or TV Movie | Driving Miss Daisy | |||
| 2020 | Best Voice Performance | The Lion King | |||
| CableACE Awards | 1987 | Actor in a Comedy Series | Faerie Tale Theatre | ||
| 1991 | Actor in a Dramatic Series | American Playwrights Theater | |||
| Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie | Heat Wave | ||||
| Critics' Choice Television Awards | 2014 | Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series | The Big Bang Theory | ||
| Independent Spirit Award | 1987 | Matewan | |||
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle | 1995 | Best Actor | Cry My Beloved Country | ||
| 1975 | Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | Claudine | |||
| 1989 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | Field of Dreams | |||
| 1993 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Gabriel's Fire | |||
| 1996 | Outstanding Performance in a Children's Special | Happily Ever After | |||
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture | Cry My Beloved Country | ||||
| 1998 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | Frasier | |||
| 2020 | Outstanding Character Voice Performance | The Lion King | |||
| Organizations | Year | Notes | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Medal | [32] | ||
| National Board of Review | 1995 | Carer Achievement Award | ||
| Kennedy Center Honors | 2002 | Medal | [33] | |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2009 | [34] | ||
| 2011 | Oscar Micheaux Award | |||
| 2011 | Academy Honorary Award | [35] | ||