List of awards and nominations received by James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones awards and nominations

Awards and nominations Award Wins Nominations Academy Awards 1 2 Emmy Awards 3 10 Golden Globe Awards 1 5 Grammy Awards 1 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards 1 2 Tony Awards 3 5
Totals [lower-alpha 1]
Wins	6
Nominations	18
Note Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They recognize several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.

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 Sir Ben Kingsley. ^{[1] [2]}

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 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 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	[3]
2011	Honorary Award	Lifetime Achievement	Won	[4]

Emmy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
Primetime Emmy Awards
1963	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	East Side/West Side	Nominated	[5]
1990	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries	By Dawn's Early Light	Nominated	[6]
1991		Heat Wave	Won	[7]
	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Gabriel's Fire	Won
1994	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Picket Fences	Nominated	[8]
1995	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Under One Roof	Nominated	[9]
1997	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Frasier	Nominated	[10]
2004	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series	Everwood	Nominated	[11]
Daytime Emmy Awards
1988	Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Nominated	[12]
2000	Outstanding Performer in Children's Special	Summer's End	Won

Golden Globe Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1970	Most Promising Newcomer - Male	The Great White Hope	Won	[13]
	Best Actor in a Drama Film		Nominated	[13]
1974	Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Film	Claudine	Nominated	[13]
1990	Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama	Gabriel's Fire	Nominated	[13]
1991		Pros and Cons	Nominated	[13]

Grammy Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1970	Best Spoken Word	The Great White Hope	Nominated	[14]
1977		Great American Documents	Won	[15]
2001	Best Spoken Word for Children	The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey	Nominated	[16]

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1995	Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role	Cry, the Beloved Country	Nominated	[17]
2009	Lifetime Achievement Award	—	Won	[18]

Tony Awards

Year	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
1969	Best Actor in a Play	The Great White Hope	Won	[19]
1987		Fences	Won	[20]
2005		On Golden Pond	Nominated	[21]
2012		The Best Man	Nominated	[22]
2017	Special Tony Award	Lifetime Achievement Award	Won	[23]

Other theatre awards

Organizations	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
Drama Desk Awards	1965	Vernon Rice Award	Othello	Won	[24]
	1969	Distinguished Performance	The Great White Hope	Won	[25]
	1971		Les Blancs	Won	[26]
	1973		The Cherry Orchard	Won	[27]
			Hamlet	Won	[28]
	1978	Outstanding Actor in a Play	Paul Robeson	Nominated	[29]
	1987		Fences	Won	[30]
	2008	Special Award		Honored	[31]
Outer Critics Circle Awards	1987	Outstanding Actor in a Play	Fences	Won
	2005	Outstanding Actor in a Play	On Golden Pond	Nominated
	2008	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Won
	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	Ref.
Black Reel Award	2000	Best Supporting Actor - Network or Cable	Santa and Pete	Nominated
	2016	Best Actor - Limited Series or TV Movie	Driving Miss Daisy	Nominated
	2020	Best Voice Performance	The Lion King	Nominated
CableACE Awards	1987	Actor in a Comedy Series	Faerie Tale Theatre	Nominated
	1991	Actor in a Dramatic Series	American Playwrights Theater	Won
		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
	1989	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Field of Dreams	Nominated
	1993	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Gabriel's Fire	Won
	1996	Outstanding Performance in a Children's Special	Happily Ever After	Nominated
		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture	Cry My Beloved Country	Nominated
	1998	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Frasier	Nominated
	2020	Outstanding Character Voice Performance	The Lion King	Nominated

Honorary awards

Organizations	Year	Notes	Result	Ref.
National Medal of Arts	1992	Medal	Honored	[32]
National Board of Review	1995	Carer Achievement Award	Honored
Kennedy Center Honors	2002	Medal	Honored	[33]
Screen Actors Guild Awards	2009	Life Achievement Award	Honored	[34]
Chicago Film Critics Association	2011	Oscar Micheaux Award	Honored
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences	2011	Academy Honorary Award	Honored	[35]

References

1. "Why James Earl Jones' honorary Oscar doesn't get him an EGOT". Los Angeles Times. 4 August 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
2. "Actor James Earl Jones receives Oscar in London". BBC News. 13 November 2011. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
3. "43rd Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
4. "Actor James Earl Jones receives Oscar in London". BBC News. 13 November 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
5. "1963 Nominees / Winners Emmy Awards". Television Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
6. "1990 Nominees / Winners Emmy Awards". Television Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
7. "1991 Nominees / Winners Emmy Awards". Television Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
8. "1994 Nominees / Winners Emmy Awards". Television Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
9. "1995 Nominees / Winners Emmy Awards". Television Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
10. "1997 Nominees / Winners Emmy Awards". Television Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
11. "2004 Nominees / Winners Emmy Awards". Television Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
12. "James Earl Jones - Awards". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
13. "James Earl Jones - Golden Globes". Golden Globe Awards . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
14. "12th Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
15. "19th Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
16. "43rd Annual Grammy Awards". Recording Academy . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
17. "2nd Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
18. "SAG to honor James Earl Jones". The Hollywood Reporter. 2 October 2008. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
19. "The 1969 Tony Award Nominations". American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
20. "The 1987 Tony Award Nominations". American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
21. "The 2005 Tony Award Nominations". American Theatre Wing . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
22. "2012 Tony Awards Nominations Announced; Once Earns 11 Nominations". Playbill.com. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
23. "Tony Awards: James Earl Jones to Receive Lifetime Achievement Honor". The Hollywood Reporter. 27 April 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
24. "1965 Drama Desk Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
25. "1969 Drama Desk Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
26. "1971 Drama Desk Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
27. "1973 Drama Desk Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
28. "1973 Drama Desk Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
29. "1978 Drama Desk Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
30. "1987 Drama Desk Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
31. "2008 Drama Desk Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
32. "James Earl Jones". National Medal of the Arts . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
33. "James Earl Jones". Kennedy Center . Retrieved August 18, 2024.
34. "James Earl Jones to Be Honored with 2008 SAG Life Achievement Award". Playbill. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
35. "Actor James Earl Jones receives Oscar in London". BBC News . Retrieved August 18, 2024.