How Darth Vader Originally Sounded in Star Wars (Video)
By Joe Prescott
As you may or may not be aware, the role of Darth Vader in Star Wars has been performed by many actors throughout the Saga, starting chronologically with the chronic young Anakin Skywalker all the way to the giant terrifying figure we know so well. The man responsible for the movements and actions in the Original Trilogy is 6’6″ former British bodybuilder Dave Prowse, but while on set his voice was hindered by the mask so Vader’s booming voice was eventually overdubbed by American actor James Earl Jones. So while the character suffered somewhat from conflicting personalities his iconic image remains one of the most recognisable in the world of pop culture. But what if his voice been provided by Prowse himself?
A recent video by Welsh musician Jayce Lewis details the movements in modern recording studios and specifically overdubbing technology for Voice Over work. He asked his friend Dave Prowse to provide a quick VO for the video, and in doing so he couldn’t help but ask him a few questions of his career, to which Prowse answered with some interesting facts. The video is available below, and why it may seem like a bit of a plug for particular studio hardware and software, it’s still interesting to hear Prowse still speak so fondly of working on the Saga and his own opinions about the eventual overdub.
Some cool stories regarding the Vader voice, and while his opinions aren’t too revelatory they’re still interesting. While we now associate Earl Jones with the resonant delivery of Vader’s classic lines, surely that last piece of the video shows that with some studio fiddling any voice can be transformed into those sinister Sith tones.
Some fun facts for you: His accent is not dissimilar to my own, being from the Westcountry myself. His work for the Green Cross Code (a brand created by the National Road Safety Committee to help prevent road traffic accidents in the UK) is fondly remembered by many 80’s kids (myself included) and my own sister was present when he visited her school on the tour he mentions in the video! I was quite excited when she got home that day I can tell you! Here he is in his road safety guise.
COLLECT PICTURE – David Prowse as The Green cross Code Man
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