James Earl Jones' Blackface Controversies: How 'Star Wars' Actor Went to War With Hollywood Racists... Before Starring in Outrageous 'Blacking Up' Comedy

James Earl Jones' outspoken views on blackface sparked a big-money Hollywood movie to be abandoned, RadarOnline.com can reveal

The Star Wars actor passed away on Monday at the age of 93 following a distinguished career on the big screen.

But as well as being remembered for voicing iconic villain Darth Vader in the sci-fi series, plus Mufasa in the Disney animated hit The Lion King, Jones was also a key figure in the casting debate surrounding blackface, where white actors would wear dark make-up to play black roles.

During an appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in 1972, Jones was asked his thoughts on Anthony Quinn's plans to play the Haitian emperor Henri Christophe and his measured and thoughtful response led to the US actor quitting the project at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Jones said: "In this case the black man was real, and of history, and I can't condemn Tony Quinn for playing that, only Tony Quinn can condemn himself if he does not achieve several things, he has to evoke and project a black man in appearance and behavior to the extent that we are different from white people.

“He as an actor has to achieve that and he also has to achieve the essence of a Haitian and all the other problems of playing an emperor with that great ambition, and if Tony Quinn fails at any of these things, he will condemn himself but that's an actor problem, not a cultural one.”

Asked unequivocally if it was wrong for Quinn to play the part, Jones added: "He's made one implication which I don't agree with which is that black actors who are available to play the part have failed to do so because they feel they're not qualified.

The furor triggered by Jones' objection, albeit moderately expressed, forced Quinn to abandon the project and lose his personal investment of half a million dollars.

However, despite his stance on blackface, Jones surprisingly signed up to star in the controversial 1986 comedy movie Soul Man, a comedy about a pampered teenage college student who tints his skin to pose as a young black man in order to achieve a scholarship.

He played a professor in the film, which was blasted by director Spike Lee, now 67, at the time of release.

Jones said: "It was special.

"I saw and read the script in privacy and found myself laughing out loud. They asked me if I found it offensive, and I said it treads a line – but satire must tread a line. You cannot please everybody."

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