| Movie | 1977 | Star Wars | Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1964 | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | Lt. Lothar Zogg | |
| Movie | 1993 | Sommersby | Judge Barry Conrad Issacs | |
| Movie | 1990 | The Hunt for Red October | Vice ADM James Greer | |
| Movie | 1992 | Sneakers | Mr. Bernard Abbott | |
| Movie | 1989 | Field of Dreams | Terrence Mann | |
| Movie | 1980 | The Empire Strikes Back | Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Darth Vader (voice) | |
| Movie | 1993 | Dreamrider | Bill Perry | |
| Movie | 1982 | Amy and the Angel | Gabriel | |
| Movie | 2007 | Earth | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 2001 | Finder's Fee | Avery Phillips | |
| Movie | 1990 | By Dawn's Early Light | Alice | |
| Movie | 1993 | The Meteor Man | Earnest Moses | |
| Movie | 1993 | The Sandlot | Mr. Mertle | |
| Movie | 1993 | Excessive Force | Jake | |
| Movie | 1987 | Matewan | 'Few Clothes' Johnson | |
| Movie | 1989 | Three Fugitives | Dugan | |
| Movie | 2001 | Disney's American Legends | Narrator | |
| Movie | 2010 | Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey | Admiral (voice) | |
| Movie | 1994 | The Lion King | Mufasa (voice) | |
| Movie | 1986 | Soul Man | Professor Banks | |
| Movie | 1986 | Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold | Umslopogaas | |
| Movie | 1998 | The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | Mufasa (voice) | |
| Movie | 1994 | Clear and Present Danger | Admiral James Greer | |
| Movie | 1988 | Coming to America | King Jaffe Joffer | |
| Movie | 1982 | Conan the Barbarian | Thulsa Doom | |
| Movie | 1997 | Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery | Self | |
| Movie | 1982 | The Flight of Dragons | Ommadon (voice) | |
| Movie | 1992 | Patriot Games | Adm. James Greer | |
| Movie | 1995 | Cry, the Beloved Country | Rev. Stephen Kumalo | |
| Movie | 2008 | Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | Papa Jenkins | |
| Movie | 1994 | Africa: The Serengeti | Narrator | |
| Movie | 1987 | Gardens of Stone | Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson | |
| Movie | 1997 | Gang Related | Arthur Baylor | |
| Movie | 2009 | Jack and the Beanstalk | The Giant (voice) | |
| Movie | 1976 | Swashbuckler | Nick Debrett | |
| Movie | 1976 | The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings | Leon | |
| Movie | 1994 | The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics | Host | |
| Movie | 1996 | Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault | Dr. McDuffie | |
| Movie | 1996 | A Family Thing | Ray Murdock | |
| Movie | 1977 | A Piece of the Action | Joshua Burke | |
| Movie | 1999 | Undercover Angel | The Judge | |
| Movie | 1991 | Scorchers | Bear | |
| Movie | 1987 | Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night | Emperor of the Night (voice) | |
| Movie | 2005 | The Reading Room | William | |
| Movie | 2005 | The Sandlot 2 | Mr. Mertle | |
| Movie | 2004 | Nine Dog Christmas | Storyteller (voice) | |
| Movie | 1990 | Grim Prairie Tales | Morrison | |
| Movie | 1994 | Clean Slate | John Dolby | |
| Movie | 2000 | Fantasia 2000 | Self - Host | |
| Movie | 1995 | People: A Musical Celebration | The Storyteller (voice) | |
| Movie | 1996 | Timepiece | Lawrence | |
| Movie | 1995 | Who's in Rabbit's House? | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 1991 | Convicts | Ben Johnson | |
| Movie | 1974 | Claudine | Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall | |
| Movie | 2001 | Feast of All Saints | Older Marcel | |
| Movie | 1999 | Santa and Pete | James Earl Jones | |
| Movie | 1975 | Deadly Hero | Rabbit Shazam | |
| Movie | 1977 | The Last Remake of Beau Geste | Sheikh | |
| Movie | 1991 | True Identity | James Earl Jones | |
| Movie | 1978 | The Star Wars Holiday Special | Darth Vader (voice) | |
| Movie | 1976 | The River Niger | Johnny Williams | |
| Movie | 2019 | On Broadway | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1997 | What the Deaf Man Heard | Archibald Thacker | |
| Movie | 1975 | The UFO Incident | Barney Hill | |
| Movie | 1967 | The Comedians | Dr. Magiot | |
| Movie | 1982 | Blood Tide | Frye | |
| Movie | 2019 | The Space: Theatre of Survival | Narrator | |
| Movie | 2021 | Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1990 | The Ambulance | Lt. Spencer | |
| Movie | 1981 | Beauty and the Beast | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 2000 | Summer's End | Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely | |
| Movie | 1989 | 11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried | Narrator | |
| Movie | 1995 | The Making of 'Jurassic Park' | Host | |
| Movie | 1986 | My Little Girl | Ike Bailey | |
| Movie | 2000 | Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' | Self | |
| Movie | 1970 | End of the Road | Doctor D | |
| Movie | 2014 | The Angriest Man in Brooklyn | Ruben | |
| Movie | 1981 | The Bushido Blade | The Prisoner | |
| Movie | 1994 | Gangs: Turning the Corner | Self | |
| Movie | 2003 | The Great Year | Narrator | |
| Movie | 1987 | A House Divided | | |
| Movie | 2004 | Black Indians: An American Story | Narrator | |
| Movie | 2012 | Joe Papp in Five Acts | Self | |
| Movie | 1984 | The Vegas Strip War | Jack Madrid | |
| Movie | 1974 | The Cay | Timothy | |
| Movie | 1994 | The Vernon Johns Story | Vernon Johns | |
| Movie | 1972 | The Man | Douglass Dilman | |
| Movie | 2013 | Gimme Shelter | Frank McCarthy | |
| Movie | 1989 | Best of the Best | Frank Couzo | |
| Movie | 1981 | The Creation | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 1995 | The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies | Self | |
| Movie | 1970 | The Great White Hope | Jack Jefferson | |
| Movie | 2009 | Waking Sleeping Beauty | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1996 | Looking for Richard | Self - Interviewee | |
| Movie | 1977 | Exorcist II: The Heretic | Older Kokumo | |
| Movie | 1993 | Dangerous: The Short Films | Self (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1989 | The Hunting of the Snark | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 2013 | Blackfish | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1997 | Sports on the Silver Screen | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1997 | The Second Civil War | Jim Kalla | |
| Movie | 1997 | Hitler's Forgotten Victims | Narrator (voice) (DVD version) | |
| Movie | 1985 | City Limits | Albert | |
| Movie | 2015 | Driving Miss Daisy | Hoke Colburn | |
| Movie | 1994 | Bah, Humbug!: The Story of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' | Narrator | |
| Movie | 1993 | Percy & Thunder | Percy Banks | |
| Movie | 2005 | By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X' | Narrator | |
| Movie | 1990 | Ivory Hunters | Inspector Nkuru | |
| Movie | 1990 | Heat Wave | Junius Johnson | |
| Movie | 2003 | The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror | Maggie Simpson (voice) | |
| Movie | 1995 | Jefferson in Paris | Madison Hemings | |
| Movie | 1977 | The Greatest | Malcolm X | |
| Movie | 1971 | Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream | Narrator | |
| Movie | 1999 | Our Friend, Martin | Daddy King (voice) | |
| Movie | 1997 | Alone | Grey | |
| Movie | 1989 | Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark | Narrator | |
| Movie | 2019 | Words from a Bear | Self | |
| Movie | 1988 | Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 2013 | Milius | Self | |
| Movie | 2015 | Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal | Darth Vader (voice) | |
| Movie | 1990 | Teach 109 | Dr. Winston | |
| Movie | 1992 | Lincoln | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 1999 | The Annihilation of Fish | Fish | |
| Movie | 2017 | Broadway: The Next Generation | Self | |
| Movie | 1990 | Last Flight Out | Al Topping | |
| Movie | 2016 | The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar | Mufasa (voice) | |
| Movie | 2016 | God Bless You, Mr Rosewater | Kilgore Trout | |
| Movie | 1980 | The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story | Dane Oliver | |
| Movie | 2014 | Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion | Darth Vader (voice) | |
| Movie | 1985 | Night of 100 Stars II | Self | |
| Movie | 2004 | Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy | Self | |
| Movie | 1981 | Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 2001 | Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World | Self | |
| Movie | 2024 | Butterfly in the Sky | Guest Narrator (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2015 | August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand | Self | |
| Movie | 1970 | King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1994 | Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | James Earl Jones (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1994 | Confessions: Two Faces of Evil | Charles Lloyd | |
| Movie | 1972 | Malcolm X | Biographical Narration (voice) | |
| Movie | 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Darth Vader (voice) | |
| Movie | 1990 | Terrorgram | Retribution (voice) | |
| Movie | 2003 | Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October' | Self | |
| Movie | 2005 | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | Darth Vader (voice - uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1997 | Afro Promo | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2004 | The Story of Star Wars | Darth Vader (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 2005 | Robots | Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice) | |
| Movie | 2013 | Muse of Fire | Self | |
| Movie | 2019 | The Lion King | Mufasa (voice) | |
| Movie | 1977 | The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened | Morris Bird, Jr. | |
| Movie | 2018 | Warning Shot | Pendleton | |
| Movie | 2006 | Click | Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1977 | The Making of Star Wars | Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1986 | Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp | Genie / Narrator | |
| Movie | 1974 | King Lear | King Lear | |
| Movie | 2017 | The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands | Mufasa (voice) | |
| Movie | 1991 | Visitors from the Unknown | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 1986 | The Lone Star Kid | Holmes | |
| Movie | 2006 | The Benchwarmers | Darth Vader (voice) | |
| Movie | 1995 | Judge Dredd | Narrator (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1999 | On the Q.T. | Leo | |
| Movie | 2007 | John, Paul, George and Ben | Narrator | |
| Movie | 2006 | The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays | Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences") | |
| Movie | 1981 | God's Trombones | Narrator (voice) | |
| Movie | 2005 | Hollywood's Greatest Villains | Self | |
| Movie | 1985 | Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates | | |
| Movie | 1979 | Paul Robeson | Paul Robeson | |
| Movie | 2021 | Coming 2 America | King Jaffe Joffer | |
| Movie | 2019 | Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage | Self | |
| Movie | 1997 | Casper: A Spirited Beginning | Kibosh (voice) | |
| Movie | 2000 | Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' | Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg' | |
| Movie | 2004 | No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat | Self | |
| Movie | 2000 | The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove | Self | |
| Movie | 1981 | There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues | himself, voice | |
| Movie | 2019 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Darth Vader (voice) | |
| Movie | 2006 | Scary Movie 4 | Narrator (uncredited) | |
| Movie | 1980 | The Me Nobody Knows | Self | |
| Movie | 2001 | Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street | Mister (voice) | |
| Movie | 2006 | Searching for Orson | Self | |
| Movie | 1978 | Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement | Self | |
| Movie | 2012 | An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road | Self | |
| Movie | 1984 | Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears | Narrator | |
| Movie | 1993 | Hallelujah | Old Man Taylor | |
| Movie | 2000 | Antietam: A Documentary Film | Narrator | |
| Movie | 2002 | Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film | Narrator | |
| Movie | 2007 | Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson | Self | |
| Movie | 2000 | Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light | | |
| Movie | 1994 | The Making of the Lion King | Self | |
| Movie | 1991 | Portrait of Castro's Cuba | Host/Narrator | |
| Movie | 1982 | Night of 100 Stars | Self | |
| Movie | 1979 | A Walking Tour of Sesame Street | Self - Host | |
| Movie | 1998 | Primary Colors | CNN Voiceover (voice) | |
| Movie | 2024 | BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy | Self (archive footage) | |
| Movie | 1996 | Corwin | Self | |
| Movie | 1991 | When It Was a Game | (voice) | |
| Movie | 1985 | Moses | Pharaoh | |
| TV Show | 1986 | L.A. Law | Lee Atkins | 1 |
| TV Show | 1969 | Sesame Street | | 1 |
| TV Show | 1989 | The Simpsons | Narrator (voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1990 | Law & Order | Defense Attorney Horace McCoy | 1 |
| TV Show | 2004 | House | Dibala | 1 |
| TV Show | 1990 | Gabriel's Fire | Gabriel Bird | 22 |
| TV Show | 2006 | The One Show | Self - Guest | 1 |
| TV Show | 2001 | According to Jim | Royal Flush Voice (voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 2002 | Everwood | Will Cleveland | 3 |
| TV Show | 2003 | Two and a Half Men | Himself | 1 |
| TV Show | 1993 | Frasier | Norman Royster | 1 |
| TV Show | 1993 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Franklin Stern | 1 |
| TV Show | 1997 | Stargate SG-1 | Unas (Voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1998 | Will & Grace | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1993 | Homicide: Life on the Street | | 3 |
| TV Show | 1951 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Archibald Thacker | 1 |
| TV Show | 1987 | Mathnet | Chief Thad Green (voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1987 | Mathnet | Chief Thad Green | 3 |
| TV Show | 1963 | East Side/West Side | | 1 |
| TV Show | 1995 | Under One Roof | Neb Langston | 6 |
| TV Show | 1975 | Vegetable Soup | Long John Spoilsport | 57 |
| TV Show | 1961 | The Defenders | Lieutenant Andrews | 1 |
| TV Show | 1966 | Tarzan | | 2 |
| TV Show | 1979 | Roots: The Next Generations | Alex Haley | 7 |
| TV Show | 1979 | Paris | Woody Paris | 13 |
| TV Show | 1973 | The American Film Institute Salute to ... | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1977 | Jesus of Nazareth | Balthazar | 4 |
| TV Show | 1961 | Dr. Kildare | Dr. Lou Rush | 3 |
| TV Show | 1961 | The Defenders | Reverend Harris Bonham | 1 |
| TV Show | 1978 | The Kennedy Center Honors | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1985 | Me & Mom | | 6 |
| TV Show | 1991 | Pros and Cons | Gabriel Bird | 12 |
| TV Show | 1998 | Merlin | Rock of Ages | 2 |
| TV Show | 2007 | The Big Bang Theory | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 2022 | Obi-Wan Kenobi | Darth Vader (voice) | 4 |
| TV Show | 1978 | The Magic of David Copperfield | | 1 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Presenter | 9 |
| TV Show | 2014 | Star Wars Rebels | Darth Vader (voice) | 2 |
| TV Show | 1989 | Long Ago and Far Away | Host | 35 |
| TV Show | 1984 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Detective Robb | 1 |
| TV Show | 1982 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Genie / Narrator (voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1983 | Reading Rainbow | Himself - Narrator (voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1948 | Lamp Unto My Feet | | 1 |
| TV Show | 1995 | Signs and Wonders | Diamond | 4 |
| TV Show | 1985 | The Atlanta Child Murders | Major Walker | 2 |
| TV Show | 1980 | Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones | Father Divine | 2 |
| TV Show | 1989 | The Simpsons | Moving Man / Serak the Preparer / Narrator (voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1989 | The Simpsons | Maggie Simpson (voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1995 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | King Dakkar (voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 2019 | The Movies That Made Us | Self (archive footage) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1973 | Black Omnibus | Self - Host | 13 |
| TV Show | 1992 | Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories | Narrator (Voice) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Winner/ Performer | 1 |
| TV Show | 1968 | The Dick Cavett Show | Self - Guest | 2 |
| TV Show | 1994 | Touched by an Angel | The Angel of Angels | 1 |
| TV Show | 1971 | Great Performances | King Lear | 1 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Winner | 1 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Nominee | 1 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Nominee/Presenter | 1 |
| TV Show | 1996 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Narrator (voice) (uncredited) | 19 |
| TV Show | 1984 | Highway to Heaven | Gabe Wilson | 1 |
| TV Show | 1974 | Dinah! | Self | 1 |
| TV Show | 1962 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Self | 6 |
| TV Show | 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self | 11 |
| TV Show | 1961 | The Mike Douglas Show | Self - Co-Host | 1 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Tony Awards | Self (archive footage) | 1 |
| TV Show | 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Nominee / Presenter | 1 |
| TV Show | 1987 | Mathnet | Chief Thad Greene | 1 |
| TV Show | 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Winner/Performer | 1 |
| TV Show | 1962 | The Merv Griffin Show | Self | 1 |
