
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. Zefram Cochrane in “Star Trek: First Contact,” as well as his roles in “Babe,” “L.A. Confidential,” and “Spider-Man 3.” He has been nominated for an Oscar, three Emmy Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards during his career. Cromwell was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Manhattan, New York. He was adopted by actress Kay Johnson and actor, director and producer John Cromwell, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He was educated at The Hill School, Middlebury College and Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), where he studied engineering. Like both his parents, he was drawn to the theater, doing everything from Shakespeare to experimental plays. He has long been an advocate of leftist causes. In an October 2008 interview, he strongly attacked the Republican Party and the George W. Bush administration, saying their controversial foreign policy would "either destroy us or the entire planet." He became a vegetarian in 1974 after seeing a stockyard in Texas and experiencing the "smell, terror and anxiety." He became an ethical vegan while playing the character of Farmer Hoggett in the movie Babe in 1995. He frequently speaks out on issues regarding animal cruelty for PETA, largely the treatment of pigs. Cromwell was married to Anne Ulvestad from 1976 to 1986. They had three children. He married his second wife, Julie Cobb, on May 29, 1986.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · Murder in a Small Town as George Wilcox
- 2024 · Rebel Ridge as Judge
- 2024 · Sugar as Jonathan Siegel
- 2023 · Merry Little Batman as Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
- 2021 · The Center Seat: 55 Years of Star Trek as Self
- 2021 · Law & Order: Organized Crime as Miles Darman
- 2020 · Star Trek: Lower Decks as Dr. Zefram Cochrane (voice)
- 2020 · Never Too Late as Jack Bronson
- 2018 · Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom as Benjamin Lockwood
- 2018 · Succession as Ewan Roy
- 2017 · Counterpart as Yanek
- 2016 · The Promise as Henry Morgenthau Sr.
- 2016 · The Young Pope as Cardinal Michael Spencer
- 2016 · Berlin Station as Gilbert Dorn
- 2016 · 50 Years of Star Trek as Self
- 2016 · The Detour as J.R.
- 2014 · Walking the Mile as Self
- 2014 · Big Hero 6 as Professor Robert Callaghan (voice)
- 2014 · Murder in the First as Warren Daniels
- 2014 · Halt and Catch Fire as Jacob Wheeler
- 2013 · The Trials of Cate McCall as Justice Sumpter
- 2012 · Still Mine as Craig Morrison
- 2011 · The Artist as Clifton
- 2011 · American Horror Story as Dr. Arthur Arden
- 2010 · Boardwalk Empire as Andrew W. Mellon
- 2010 · Secretariat as Ogden Phipps
- 2009 · Surrogates as Dr. Lionel Canter
- 2007 · Spider-Man 3 as Captain Stacy
- 2007 · Becoming Jane as Mr. Austen
- 2006 · The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird as Self
- 2006 · Avenger as Paul Devereaux
- 2005 · The Longest Yard as Warden Hazen
- 2004 · I, Robot as Dr. Alfred Lanning
- 2004 · Salem's Lot as Donald Callahan
- 2003 · Angels in America as Roy's Doctor
- 2002 · The Sum of All Fears as President Fowler
- 2002 · Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron as The Colonel (voice)
- 2001 · 24 as Phillip Bauer
- 2001 · Six Feet Under as George Sibley
- 2000 · Space Cowboys as Bob Gerson
- 2000 · Walking the Mile: The Making of The Green Mile as Self / Warden Hal Moores
- 2000 · RKO 281 as William Randolph Hearst
- 1999 · Snow Falling on Cedars as Judge Fielding
- 1999 · The Green Mile as Warden Hal Moores
- 1999 · The Bachelor as Priest
- 1999 · The West Wing as President D. Wire Newman
- 1999 · The General's Daughter as General Joseph Campbell
- 1999 · The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn as Self - Guest
- 1998 · Deep Impact as Alan Rittenhouse
- 1998 · Species II as Senator Ross
- 1997 · The Education of Little Tree as Nonno
- 1997 · L.A. Confidential as Dudley Smith
- 1996 · Star Trek: First Contact as Dr. Zefram Cochrane
- 1996 · Eraser as William Donohue
- 1995 · Babe as Farmer Hoggett
- 1994 · ER as Bishop Stewart
- 1993 · Romeo Is Bleeding as Cage
- 1993 · Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Hanok
- 1991 · Home Improvement as Fred
- 1988 · The Rescue as Adm. Rothman
- 1988 · China Beach as
- 1987 · Star Trek: The Next Generation as Prime Minister Nayrok
- 1987 · Star Trek: The Next Generation as Jaglom Shrek
- 1987 · Jake and the Fatman as
- 1986 · Matlock as
- 1985 · Amazing Stories as Francis
- 1985 · The Twilight Zone as (segment "A Message From Charity")
- 1985 · Explorers as Mr. Müller
- 1984 · Hunter as Seymour Robbins
- 1984 · Revenge of the Nerds as Mr. Skolnick
- 1984 · Night Court as Alan
- 1983 · Scarecrow and Mrs. King as
- 1982 · The Rainmaker as Noah Curry
- 1982 · Knight Rider as Curtis
- 1982 · Family Ties as John Hancock
- 1981 · Hill Street Blues as
- 1978 · The White Shadow as Mr. Hamilton
- 1978 · The White Shadow as Art Commings
- 1978 · The Cheap Detective as Schnell
- 1978 · Dallas as Gerald Kane
- 1977 · Three's Company as Detective Lannigan
- 1977 · Eight Is Enough as
- 1976 · Alice as
- 1976 · Murder by Death as Marcel Cassette
- 1975 · Barbary Coast as Roy
- 1975 · Barney Miller as Sgt. Wilkinson
- 1975 · Barney Miller as Neil Spencer
- 1975 · Barney Miller as Dr. Edmund Danworth
- 1975 · Barney Miller as Jason Parrish
- 1974 · The Rockford Files as Terry
- 1974 · Little House on the Prairie as Harve Miller
- 1973 · Police Story as
- 1972 · M*A*S*H as
- 1971 · All in the Family as Stretch Cunningham
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Audience Member
- Future · Get Lost as Frederick (Red King)
- 2022 · Prancer: A Christmas Tale as Bud
- 2020 · Emperor as John Brown
- 2020 · Operation Buffalo as Cranky
- 2019 · The Immortal as Grandfather
- 2019 · The Laundromat as Joseph David Martin
- 2019 · The Family as Douglas Coe
- 2019 · That Guy... Who Was In That Thing 3: Trek Stars as Self
- 2019 · Countdown to Year Zero as
- 2017 · Marshall as The Judge
- 2016 · The Perfect Crime: Leopold & Loeb as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2014 · In Between Songs as Narrator
- 2012 · La Classe américaine as Self
- 2012 · A Night at the Movies: Hollywood Goes to Washington as Self - Interviewee
- 2012 · The Artist: The Making of an American Romance as Self
- 2012 · Hollywood as Character: The Locations of The Artist as Himself
- 2012 · Soldiers of Fortune as Haussman
- 2012 · Cowgirls n' Angels as Terence Parker
- 2011 · Hide Away as The Ancient Mariner
- 2011 · Admissions as The Clerk
- 2011 · Memorial Day as Bud Vogel
- 2011 · Farm to Fridge as Narrator
- 2010 · Sotto il cielo di Roma as Pope Pius XII
- 2010 · Pope Pius XII as Pope Pius XII
- 2009 · Beyond All Boundaries as Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift / Fleet Admiral William Halsey
- 2009 · The Last Days of Lehman Brothers as Hank Paulson
- 2009 · Starz Inside - Unforgettably Evil as Self
- 2009 · Impact as Lloyd
- 2009 · A Lonely Place for Dying as Howard Simons
- 2008 · W. as George H.W. Bush
- 2008 · My Own Worst Enemy as Alistair Trumbull
- 2008 · Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential' as Self
- 2008 · Tortured as Jack
- 2007 · Masters of Science Fiction as
- 2007 · Dante's Inferno as Virgil (voice)
- 2007 · The Making of 'The Queen' as Self
- 2007 · Looking For Else as Self
- 2006 · The Queen as Prince Philip
- 2006 · King Leopold's Ghost as
- 2005 · Pope John Paul II as Cardinal Adam Sapieha
- 2005 · Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy as Narrator
- 2004 · Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde as Self
- 2003 · A Carol Christmas as Ghost of Christmas Future (uncredited)
- 2003 · The Snow Walker as Walter "Shep" Shepherd
- 2003 · Blackball as Ray Speight
- 2003 · The John Garfield Story as Self
- 2002 · RFK as President Lyndon Baines Johnson
- 2002 · Project Viper as MP 1
- 2002 · A Death in the Family as Joel Lynch
- 2002 · The Magnificent Ambersons as Major Amberson
- 2001 · Citizen Baines as
- 2000 · Fail Safe as Gordon Knapp
- 1999 · A Slight Case of Murder as John Edgarson
- 1998 · Babe: Pig in the City as Farmer Arthur Hoggett
- 1998 · Owd Bob as Adam MacAdam
- 1996 · The People vs. Larry Flynt as Charles Keating
- 1995 · The Client as Officer Joe Denton
- 1995 · Partners as
- 1995 · Indictment: The McMartin Trial as Judge Pounders
- 1994 · The Shaggy Dog as Charlie Mulvihill
- 1994 · Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds In Love as Mr. Skolnick
- 1992 · Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation as Mr. Skolnick
- 1992 · The Babe as Brother Mathias
- 1990 · American Dreamer as
- 1990 · Miracle Landing as B.J. Cocker
- 1989 · Christine Cromwell as
- 1989 · The Runnin' Kind as Uncle Phil
- 1989 · Pink Cadillac as Motel Desk Clerk
- 1988 · China Beach: Pilot as Ambassador at Large Roland Weymouth
- 1987 · Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise as Mr. Skolnick
- 1986 · Easy Street as
- 1986 · A Fine Mess as Detective Blist
- 1986 · The Last Precinct as Chief Bludhorn
- 1985 · Wildside as
- 1984 · Oh, God! You Devil as Priest
- 1984 · Spraggue as Lt. George Hurley
- 1984 · Tank as Deputy Euclid
- 1984 · The House of God as Officer Quick
- 1983 · The Man with Two Brains as Realtor
- 1982 · Barefoot In the Park as Harry Pepper
- 1982 · The Wall as Francisek
- 1981 · Nobody's Perfekt as Dr. Carson
- 1981 · Foul Play as Bebet
- 1980 · A Christmas Without Snow as Reverend Lohman
- 1980 · Flo as
- 1978 · Diff'rent Strokes as
- 1978 · Peeping Times as Bernard Mantee
- 1976 · The Nancy Walker Show as Glen
- Future · Bat-Fam as Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth (voice)
- 1977 · Deadly Game as Deputy Malcom Rossiter Jr.
- 1977 · The Girl in the Empty Grave as Deputy Malcolm Rossiter Jr.
- 1976 · Once an Eagle as J.L. Cleghorne
- 1976 · All's Fair as
- 1975 · Hot l Baltimore as
- 1955 · Daddy Long Legs as Extra (uncredited)
- Future · Night Vet as Dr. Abel Evergood