| 2025 | Indiana Jones Adventure | Disneyland Resort | Mara (voice) |
| 2024 | BET News & ET Present James Earl Jones: Life and Legacy | Self (archive footage) |
| 2024 | Butterfly in the Sky | Guest Narrator (archive footage) |
| 2021 | Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street | Self (archive footage) |
| 2021 | Coming 2 America | King Jaffe Joffer |
| 2019 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Darth Vader (voice) |
| 2019 | On Broadway | Self (archive footage) |
| 2019 | Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage | Self |
| 2019 | The Lion King | Mufasa (voice) |
| 2019 | The Space: Theatre of Survival | Narrator |
| 2019 | Words from a Bear | Self |
| 2018 | Warning Shot | Pendleton |
| 2017 | The Lion Guard: Life In The Pride Lands | Mufasa (voice) |
| 2016 | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story | Darth Vader (voice) |
| 2016 | The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar | Mufasa (voice) |
| 2015 | Driving Miss Daisy | Hoke Colburn |
| 2015 | Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal | Darth Vader (voice) |
| 2015 | August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand | Self |
| 2014 | Star Wars Rebels: Spark of Rebellion | Darth Vader (voice) |
| 2014 | The Angriest Man in Brooklyn | Ruben |
| 2013 | Gimme Shelter | Frank McCarthy |
| 2013 | Muse of Fire | Self |
| 2013 | Blackfish | Self (archive footage) |
| 2013 | Milius | Self |
| 2012 | An Amazing Time: A Conversation About End of the Road | Self |
| 2012 | Joe Papp in Five Acts | Self |
| 2011 | Strange Septembers: The Hill Abduction & the Exeter Encounter | Himself |
| 2010 | Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey | Admiral (voice) |
| 2010 | Waking Sleeping Beauty | Self (archive footage) |
| 2009 | Jack and the Beanstalk | The Giant (voice) |
| 2008 | Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | Papa Jenkins |
| 2007 | Earth | Narrator (voice) |
| 2007 | Our Paul: Remembering Paul Robeson | Self |
| 2007 | John, Paul, George and Ben | Narrator |
| 2006 | Searching for Orson | Self |
| 2006 | Click | Narrator of Michael's Past (voice) (uncredited) |
| 2006 | The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays | Jack Jefferson (segment "The Great White Hope") / Troy Maxson (segment "Fences") |
| 2006 | Scary Movie 4 | Narrator (uncredited) |
| 2006 | The Benchwarmers | Darth Vader (voice) |
| 2006 | The Trail Of Tears: Cherokee Legacy | Narrator |
| 2005 | Hollywood's Greatest Villains | Self |
| 2005 | The Sandlot 2 | Mr. Mertle |
| 2005 | The Reading Room | William |
| 2005 | Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith | Darth Vader (voice - uncredited) |
| 2005 | Robots | Voice Box at Hardware Store (voice) |
| 2005 | By Any Means Necessary: The Making of 'Malcolm X' | Narrator |
| 2004 | No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat | Self |
| 2004 | Nine Dog Christmas | Storyteller (voice) |
| 2004 | Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy | Self |
| 2004 | The Story of Star Wars | Darth Vader (archive footage) |
| 2004 | Black Indians: An American Story | Narrator |
| 2003 | The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horror | Maggie Simpson (voice) |
| 2003 | The Great Year | Narrator |
| 2003 | Beneath the Surface: The Making of 'The Hunt for Red October' | Self |
| 2002 | Fredericksburg: A Documentary Film | Narrator |
| 2001 | Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World | Self |
| 2001 | Feast of All Saints | Older Marcel |
| 2001 | Recess Christmas: Miracle On Third Street | Mister (voice) |
| 2001 | Finder's Fee | Avery Phillips |
| 2001 | Disney's American Legends | Narrator |
| 2000 | Antietam: A Documentary Film | Narrator |
| 2000 | Conan Unchained: The Making of 'Conan' | Self |
| 2000 | Inside: 'Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' | Self - 'Lieutenant Lothar Zogg' |
| 2000 | The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove | Self |
| 2000 | Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light | |
| 2000 | Fantasia 2000 | Self - Host |
| 2000 | Ennis' Gift | Self |
| 1999 | Santa and Pete | Grandpa Nicholas |
| 1999 | The Annihilation of Fish | Fish |
| 1999 | Undercover Angel | The Judge |
| 1999 | On the Q.T. | Leo |
| 1999 | Summer's End | Dr. William 'Bill' Blakely |
| 1999 | Our Friend, Martin | Daddy King (voice) |
| 1998 | The Lion King II: Simba's Pride | Mufasa (voice) |
| 1998 | Primary Colors | CNN Voiceover (voice) |
| 1997 | Alone | Grey |
| 1997 | The Second Civil War | Jim Kalla |
| 1997 | What the Deaf Man Heard | Archibald Thacker |
| 1997 | Gang Related | Arthur Baylor |
| 1997 | Hitler's Forgotten Victims | Narrator (voice) (DVD version) |
| 1997 | Casper: A Spirited Beginning | Kibosh (voice) |
| 1997 | Sports on the Silver Screen | Self (archive footage) |
| 1997 | Good Luck | James Bing |
| 1997 | Star Wars: The Magic & the Mystery | Self |
| 1997 | Afro Promo | Self (archive footage) |
| 1996 | Timepiece | Lawrence |
| 1996 | Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault | Dr. McDuffie |
| 1996 | Looking for Richard | Self - Interviewee |
| 1996 | Corwin | Self |
| 1996 | A Family Thing | Ray Murdock |
| 1995 | Cry, the Beloved Country | Rev. Stephen Kumalo |
| 1995 | Who's in Rabbit's House? | Narrator (voice) |
| 1995 | Judge Dredd | Narrator (uncredited) |
| 1995 | The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies | Self |
| 1995 | The Making of 'Jurassic Park' | Host |
| 1995 | Jefferson in Paris | Madison Hemings |
| 1995 | Circle of Life: An Environmental Fable | Mufasa |
| 1995 | People: A Musical Celebration | The Storyteller (voice) |
| 1994 | Bah, Humbug!: The Story of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' | Narrator |
| 1994 | Clear and Present Danger | Admiral James Greer |
| 1994 | The Making of the Lion King | Self |
| 1994 | The Lion King | Mufasa (voice) |
| 1994 | The Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics | Host |
| 1994 | Clean Slate | John Dolby |
| 1994 | Africa: The Serengeti | Narrator |
| 1994 | Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult | James Earl Jones (uncredited) |
| 1994 | Gangs: Turning the Corner | Self |
| 1994 | Confessions: Two Faces of Evil | Charles Lloyd |
| 1994 | The Vernon Johns Story | Vernon Johns |
| 1993 | Hallelujah | Old Man Taylor |
| 1993 | Michael Jackson: Dangerous - The Short Films | Self (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1993 | Percy & Thunder | Percy Banks |
| 1993 | The Meteor Man | Earnest Moses |
| 1993 | Dreamrider | Bill Perry |
| 1993 | Excessive Force | Jake |
| 1993 | The Sandlot | Mr. Mertle |
| 1993 | Sommersby | Judge Barry Conrad Issacs |
| 1992 | Lincoln | Narrator (voice) |
| 1992 | Sneakers | Mr. Bernard Abbott |
| 1992 | Patriot Games | Adm. James Greer |
| 1992 | The JFK Conspiracy | Self - Host |
| 1991 | True Identity | James Earl Jones |
| 1991 | When It Was a Game | (voice) |
| 1991 | Scorchers | Bear |
| 1991 | Portrait of Castro's Cuba | Host/Narrator |
| 1991 | Visitors from the Unknown | Narrator (voice) |
| 1991 | Convicts | Ben Johnson |
| 1990 | Grim Prairie Tales | Morrison |
| 1990 | Ivory Hunters | Inspector Nkuru |
| 1990 | Heat Wave | Junius Johnson |
| 1990 | Last Flight Out | Al Topping |
| 1990 | By Dawn's Early Light | Alice |
| 1990 | The Ambulance | Lt. Spencer |
| 1990 | The Hunt for Red October | Vice ADM James Greer |
| 1990 | Teach 109 | Dr. Winston |
| 1990 | Terrorgram | Retribution (voice) |
| 1989 | 11-22-63: The Day the Nation Cried | Narrator |
| 1989 | Best of the Best | Frank Couzo |
| 1989 | Field of Dreams | Terrence Mann |
| 1989 | Three Fugitives | Dugan |
| 1989 | The Hunting of the Snark | Narrator (voice) |
| 1989 | Stories to Remember: Noah's Ark | Narrator |
| 1988 | Coming to America | King Jaffe Joffer |
| 1988 | Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues | Narrator (voice) |
| 1987 | Matewan | 'Few Clothes' Johnson |
| 1987 | Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night | Emperor of the Night (voice) |
| 1987 | Gardens of Stone | Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson |
| 1987 | A House Divided | |
| 1986 | Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold | Umslopogaas |
| 1986 | Soul Man | Professor Banks |
| 1986 | My Little Girl | Ike Bailey |
| 1986 | Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp | Genie / Narrator |
| 1986 | The Lone Star Kid | Holmes |
| 1985 | Moses | Pharaoh |
| 1985 | City Limits | Albert |
| 1985 | Night of 100 Stars II | Self |
| 1985 | Visual Pathfinders: Robert Abel & Associates | |
| 1984 | The Vegas Strip War | Jack Madrid |
| 1984 | Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears | Narrator |
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Darth Vader (voice) |
| 1982 | Blood Tide | Frye |
| 1982 | Amy and the Angel | Gabriel |
| 1982 | The Flight of Dragons | Ommadon (voice) |
| 1982 | Conan the Barbarian | Thulsa Doom |
| 1982 | Night of 100 Stars | Self |
| 1981 | Golden Book Video - Beauty and the Beast | Narrator (voice) |
| 1981 | The Creation | Narrator (voice) |
| 1981 | The Bushido Blade | The Prisoner |
| 1981 | There Was Always Sun Shining Someplace: Life in the Negro Baseball Leagues | himself, voice |
| 1981 | Beauty and the Beast | Narrator (voice) |
| 1981 | God's Trombones | Narrator (voice) |
| 1980 | The Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story | Dane Oliver |
| 1980 | The Empire Strikes Back | Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1980 | The Me Nobody Knows | Self |
| 1979 | A Walking Tour of Sesame Street | Self - Host |
| 1979 | Paul Robeson | Paul Robeson |
| 1978 | Black Theatre: The Making of a Movement | Self |
| 1978 | The Star Wars Holiday Special | Darth Vader (voice) |
| 1978 | The Story of the Faithful Wookiee | Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1977 | The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened | Morris Bird, Jr. |
| 1977 | A Piece of the Action | Joshua Burke |
| 1977 | The Making of Star Wars | Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1977 | Exorcist II: The Heretic | Older Kokumo |
| 1977 | The Last Remake of Beau Geste | Sheikh |
| 1977 | Star Wars | Darth Vader (voice) (uncredited) |
| 1977 | The Greatest | Malcolm X |
| 1976 | Swashbuckler | Nick Debrett |
| 1976 | The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings | Leon |
| 1976 | The River Niger | Johnny Williams |
| 1975 | Deadly Hero | Rabbit Shazam |
| 1975 | The UFO Incident | Barney Hill |
| 1974 | The Cay | Timothy |
| 1974 | Claudine | Rupert D. "Roop" Marshall |
| 1974 | King Lear | King Lear |
| 1972 | The Man | Douglass Dilman |
| 1972 | Malcolm X | Biographical Narration (voice) |
| 1971 | Martin Luther King, Jr.: Legacy of a Dream | Narrator |
| 1970 | The Great White Hope | Jack Jefferson |
| 1970 | King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis | Self (archive footage) |
| 1970 | End of the Road | Doctor D |
| 1967 | The Comedians | Dr. Magiot |
| 1964 | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | Lt. Lothar Zogg |
