As the crowd filed into Eisenhower Auditorium last night, chatter of "Mufasa" and "Darth Vader" filled the air.

But it was the stage and not the screen with which their much-anticipated distinguished speaker chose to entertain them.

James Earl Jones, legendary actor and one of the world's most recognizable voices, spoke to a packed audience last night as the first lecturer in the Distinguished Speaker Series.

"I want to thank you all for taking a break from studying to hear me speak," Jones said with a laugh when he entered the stage as the audience rose to its feet, applauding.

Jones told the crowd he would speak about several of William Shakespeare's most famous minority characters throughout his lecture.

"I don't think I will ever see an end to my fascination with Shakespeare," he said. "It's fascinating to me how he explores minorities in his roles."

Jones recited several monologues from Shakespeare's plays including Othello, Titus Andronicus and The Merchant of Venice.

"Did you ever hear the one about the Jew and three black men?" he asked the audience. "Well, it took Shakespeare three plays to tell it."

Jones' deep bass voice filled the hall as he recited some of Shakespeare's most famous quotes, sprinkled with commentary.

He warned the audience that he might offend some people with his words, but he didn't mean any harm.

"I'm gonna be blunt," he said. "I don't mean to offend, but I do mean to be blunt."

Jones also fielded questions from the audience.

Although some audience members seemed disappointed that Jones didn't quote Star Wars, one young audience member went up to the microphone and said, "Luke, I am your father," causing the crowd to erupt in laughter.

Matthew Simmons (junior-aerospace engineering) said before the speech he hoped to find out if it was really Jones who danced in the Verizon Wireless television commercials.

Simmons' friend Eric Stempo (junior-mechanical engineering) wanted to know about Jones' life story and his career.

"I really like Hunt for Red October," Stempo said after the show. "Plus, I thought it'd be interesting to learn about how he grew up."

Curt Marshall, Penn State's minority programs coordinator, asked Jones about the obstacles he faced as a young black man and his advice on battling racism.

"I grew up in a Huck Finn kind of setting," said Jones, a Mississippi native. "But once you take it [racism] as a given, you blow it back in their face, and it just keeps going on. I don't think we should ever accept it."

Jones concluded by telling the audience his voice was something he worked on every day.

"I'm not a word person," he said. "I practice saying words. I have a stutter, and practicing words is the only thing that helps me with my voice."

The event was sponsored by the Distinguished Speaker Series and co-sponsored by the department of African and African-American studies, Penn State's chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and No Refund Theatre.