The first time James Earl Jones met Carrie Fisher wasn't on Star Wars
Despite voicing the iconic Star Wars villain Darth Vader, the late actor didn't meet his onscreen daughter until decades later
James Earl Jones has died aged 93, it was announced on Monday 9 September, and the actor leaves behind an impressive legacy of work including Star Wars and The Lion King.
The actor is perhaps best known for his role as the voice of Darth Vader, the iconic villain of the Star Wars franchise. Darth Vader is revealed to be the father of protagonists Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), but while he had such an important role in their lives Jones and his onscreen daughter Fisher only met for the first time decades later.
Jones and Fisher met each other under quite unexpected circumstances, on the set of The Big Bang Theory where they played themselves.
The Big Bang Theory became one of the biggest shows of its time, and thanks to its focus on geek culture it gave actors like Jones and Fisher the chance to play a fun version of themselves onscreen. In an episode of the sitcom's seventh season, Jones meets Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and takes him to visit Fisher's home in order to play a prank on her.
Read more: Mark Hamill’s ‘tearful’ tribute to James Earl Jones leaves Star Wars fans ‘heartbroken’ (The Independent, 3-min read)
Jones and Cooper jokingly ring Fisher's doorbell before running off, with Fisher coming outside and telling her onscreen father that he needs to stop pranking her because it's "not funny anymore". Jones joked that if the prank wasn't funny then why was he still laughing about it, much to the amusement of the show's studio audience.
Steven Molaro, an executive producer on the show, shared insight into the special episode in a behind-the-scenes featurette. Molaro revealed that The Big Bang Theory gave Jones and Fisher their first chance to meet in person.
Watch: The moment Carrie Fisher and James Earl Jones met for the first time
"She showed up and we learned that Carrie and James Earl Jones have never met in real life because, in Star Wars, James was in a sound booth doing Darth Vader and had never been to the set," he explained.
"As they were approaching each other Carrie says 'dad!' which was hilarious because Darth Vader is her father in Star Wars."
Jones enjoyed the encounter too, sharing in the featurette that they "had a very little scene that we bounced off each other" and that getting to work together, in the same room, "was sweet" and that "it was finally good to meet her."
Jones voiced Darth Vader in the original Star Wars movies —A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi— when he was drafted into the movie to dub over actor David Prowse, who played the character on set.
The actor went on to voice the character in prequel movie Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and in sequel The Rise of Skywalker. Jones was also credited in the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, which used archival recordings from the original films to recreate his voice using AI.
