# List of awards and nominations received by James Earl Jones

This article is a List of awards and nominations received by James Earl Jones.
James Earl Jones was an American actor known for his roles on stage and screen. Jones was known as one of the few entertainers to have won the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). Jones received two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award and three Tony Awards. While Jones never won a competitive Oscar, he was presented with the Honorary Academy Award in 2011 by Ben Kingsley.
Jones received an 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 originating the roles of boxer Jack Jefferson in Howard Sackler's The Great White Hope in 1969 and as a working class father Troy Maxson in August Wilson's Fences in 1987. He was Tony-nominated for playing part of an aging couple in a revival of the Ernest Thompson play On Golden Pond (2005), and an Ex-President in the Gore Vidal revival The Best Man (2012). In 2017 he received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre 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 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.

## Major awards
### Academy Awards

| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 1970 | Best Actor | The Great White Hope | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Honorary Award | Lifetime Achievement | Won | |

### Emmy Awards

| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| Primetime Emmy Awards |||||
| 1963 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | East Side/West Side | Nominated |
| 1990 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries | By Dawn's Early Light | Nominated |
| 1991 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries | Heat Wave | Won |
| 1991 | Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series | Gabriel's Fire | Won |
| 1994 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Picket Fences | Nominated |
| 1995 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Under One Roof | Nominated |
| 1997 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | Frasier | Nominated |
| 2004 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series | Everwood | Nominated |
| Daytime Emmy Awards |||||
| 1988 | Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Nominated |
| 2000 | Outstanding Performer in Children's Special | Summer's End | Won |

### Golden Globe Awards

| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1970 | Most Promising Newcomer - Male | The Great White Hope | Won |
| 1970 | Best Actor in a Drama Film | The Great White Hope | Nominated |
| 1974 | Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Film | Claudine | Nominated |
| 1990 | Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama | Gabriel's Fire | Nominated |
| 1991 | Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama | Pros and Cons | Nominated |

### Grammy Awards

| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1970 | Best Spoken Word | The Great White Hope | Nominated |
| 1977 | Best Spoken Word | Great American Documents | Won |
| 2001 | Best Spoken Word for Children | The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey | Nominated |

### Screen Actors Guild Awards

| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
| 1995 | Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role | Cry, the Beloved Country | Nominated | |
| 2009 | Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Won | |

### Tony Awards

| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1969 | Best Actor in a Play | The Great White Hope | Won |
| 1987 | Best Actor in a Play | Fences | Won |
| 2005 | Best Actor in a Play | On Golden Pond | Nominated |
| 2012 | Best Actor in a Play | The Best Man | Nominated |
| 2017 | Special Tony Award | Lifetime Achievement Award | Won |

## Other theatre awards

| Organizations | Year | Category | Work | Result |
| Drama Desk Awards | 1965 | Vernon Rice Award | Othello | Won |
| Drama Desk Awards | 1969 | Distinguished Performance | The Great White Hope | Won |
| Drama Desk Awards | 1971 | Distinguished Performance | Les Blancs | Won |
| Drama Desk Awards | 1973 | Distinguished Performance | The Cherry Orchard | Won |
| Drama Desk Awards | 1973 | Distinguished Performance | Hamlet | Won |
| Drama Desk Awards | 1978 | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Paul Robeson | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Awards | 1987 | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Fences | Won |
| Drama Desk Awards | 2008 | Special Award | Special Award | Honored |
| Outer Critics Circle Awards | 1987 | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Fences | Won |
| Outer Critics Circle Awards | 2005 | Outstanding Actor in a Play | On Golden Pond | Nominated |
| Outer Critics Circle Awards | 2008 | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Won |
| Outer Critics Circle Awards | 2012 | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | The Best Man | Won |
| Theatre World Awards | 1962 | Distinguished Performance | Moon on a Rainbow Shawl | Won |

## Miscellaneous accolades

| Organizations | Year | Category | Work | Result |
| Black Reel Award | 2000 | Best Supporting Actor - Network or Cable | Santa and Pete | Nominated |
| Black Reel Award | 2016 | Best Actor - Limited Series or TV Movie | Driving Miss Daisy | Nominated |
| Black Reel Award | 2020 | Best Voice Performance | The Lion King | Nominated |
| CableACE Awards | 1987 | Actor in a Comedy Series | Faerie Tale Theatre | Nominated |
| CableACE Awards | 1991 | Actor in a Dramatic Series | American Playwrights Theater | Won |
| CableACE Awards | 1991 | Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie | Heat Wave | Won |
| Critics' Choice Television Awards | 2014 | Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series | The Big Bang Theory | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Award | 1987 | Best Supporting Actor | Matewan | Nominated |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle | 1995 | Best Actor | Cry My Beloved Country | Won |
| NAACP Image Award | 1975 | Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture | Claudine | Won |
| NAACP Image Award | 1989 | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture | Field of Dreams | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Award | 1993 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Gabriel's Fire | Won |
| NAACP Image Award | 1996 | Outstanding Performance in a Children's Special | Happily Ever After | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Award | 1996 | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture | Cry My Beloved Country | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Award | 1998 | Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series | Frasier | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Award | 2020 | Outstanding Character Voice Performance | The Lion King | Nominated |

## Honorary awards

| Organizations | Year | Notes | Result |
| National Medal of Arts | 1992 | Medal | Honored |
| National Board of Review | 1995 | Carer Achievement Award | Honored |
| Kennedy Center Honors | 2002 | Medal | Honored |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | 2009 | Life Achievement Award | Honored |
| Chicago Film Critics Association | 2011 | Oscar Micheaux Award | Honored |
| Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences | 2011 | Academy Honorary Award | Honored |