George Lucas hired James Earl Jones to dub over Darth Vader's dialogue because the actor actually in the suit, David Prowse, had a high-pitched farmer's accent from the West Country of England.

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George Lucas hired James Earl Jones to dub over Darth Vader's dialogue because the actor actually in the suit, David Prowse, had a high-pitched farmer's accent from the West Country of England. Prowse spent the entire production of the original 1977 Star Wars film delivering his menacing Sith Lord lines in a voice that sounded remarkably like a friendly rural milkman offering you a block of cheddar cheese. The rest of the cast openly mocked him on set, affectionately referring to the dark enforcer of the Galactic Empire as 'Darth Farmer' behind his back. Lucas knew that intergalactic fascism simply wouldn't be terrifying if the main villain sounded like he was about to complain about tractor maintenance, so he paid Jones 7,000 dollars to record the iconic booming voice we know today. It is deeply comforting to know that the most intimidating cinematic villain of the twentieth century was just one bad casting decision away from sounding like a disgruntled British agricultural worker!