James Earl Jones Met A Fellow Star Wars Legend On The Big Bang Theory Set

While appearing on “The Big Bang Theory,” the late James Earl Jones met one of his “Star Wars” castmates … for the first time. How did that happen, and who was it?

I know it sounds wild, but the truth is that Jones and Carrie Fisher didn’t actually perform together during the original “Star Wars” movies, because Jones only voiced the trilogy’s main villain Darth Vader; the antagonist was physically portrayed by David Prowse, a British actor and bodybuilder who passed away in 2020. Prowse also said Darth Vader’s lines on set, and ultimately, Fisher’s lead character Princess Leia Organa only had a handful of scenes with the big bad — plus, as it turns out, the two never ended up meeting while doing press for the films. (Fisher tragically and quite unexpectedly passed away back in 2016 at the age of 60.)

This all changed in 2014 when both Fisher and Jones appeared on “The Big Bang Theory” during season 7. In episode 14, “The Convention Conundrum,” Jones, playing himself, instantly bonds with huge “Star Wars” fan Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons), leading to a wild night out … which leads them directly to Fisher (also playing an exaggerated take on her real-life persona). So what happens in the episode that allowed two of the biggest actors from “Star Wars” to meet for the first time?

At first, “The Convention Conundrum” seems like a pretty typical episode of Chuck Lorre’s nerd-centric CBS sitcom — but it goes on to feature two of the biggest cameos in the entire series. After trying and failing to get tickets to San Diego Comic-Con, Sheldon and his friends Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki), Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg), and Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) try different tactics to see some of their favorite celebrities. While Leonard, Howard, and Raj try to buy tickets from scalpers, Sheldon decides to create his own convention, but after remembering that multiple celebrities — including Leonard Nimoy, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Stan Lee — have restraining orders against him, he tells Leonard to deal with those guys and goes looking for people for his own take on Comic-Con.

It’s then that Sheldon happens to meet James Earl Jones at a local sushi restaurant, and the two bond unexpectedly. In fact, they bond a little too well for Sheldon’s comfort. After sharing “Star Wars” secrets with Sheldon, Jones decides that they should have a wild night out — something that’s completely out of Sheldon’s comfort zone — and after they get ice cream, sing karaoke, go to a strip club, and hit a carnival, they decide to play “ding dong ditch” at Carrie Fisher’s door. (She answers holding a bat, which feels true to form for the famously acerbic Fisher.) It all ends happily, though; when Sheldon tells Jones that he and his friends couldn’t get tickets to Comic-Con, he brings the gang along as his personal guests.

The entertainment industry and the world at large were both left devastated when it was revealed that James Earl Jones passed away at the age of 93 at his home in upstate New York.

The word “iconic” is often thrown around a bit too liberally, but in Jones’ case, it’s definitely appropriate. His instantly recognizable deep voice brought Darth Vader to life in the “Star Wars” movies — and was also a perfect fit for the regal Mufasa in the original Disney animated movie “The Lion King” and its 2019 live-action remake — and he was also known for projects like “Field of Dreams,” “Coming to America,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “The Sandlot,” and many, many more. During his long and illustrious career, Jones won two competitive Tonys and one for his lifetime achievement, a lifetime achievement Academy Award in 2011, and a Grammy for his spoken-word album “Great American Documents.”

Jones was also, quite famously, afflicted with a stutter during his early childhood — and at a certain point, he stopped speaking in public. Thankfully, reading poetry aloud gave him his voice back, and ultimately, he went on to deliver some of the most memorable lines in movie history (“Luke, I am your father” and “Everything the light touches is our kingdom” both come to mind pretty quickly). Jones lived an incredible life and had an absolutely amazing career — and his passing is certainly an enormous loss for Hollywood.

You can watch Jones’ episode of “The Big Bang Theory” on Max now.