Born in Los Angeles but raised in Manhattan and educated at Middlebury College and Carnegie-Mellon University, James Cromwell, the son of famous film director 'John Cromwell .
Son of actress Kay Johnson and director/actor John Cromwell.
Attended Middlebury College and Carnegie-Mellon University. He would later go on to play Carnegie-Mellons co-founder Andrew W. Mellon on "Boardwalk Empire" .
Besides his own appearances in the Star Trek series, his ex-wife Julie Cobb played Yeoman Leslie Thompson in "Star Trek" {By Any Other Name } and his ex-stepdaughter Rosemary Morgan played Piri in "Star Trek: Voyager" {The Chute (#3.3)} .
Is a believer in non-terrestrial intelligence.
Celebrity sponsor of the Great American Meatout on March 20, 2001.
On July 3, 2001, he was arrested for trespassing during an animal rights demonstration in Virginia, targeting the Wendys fast food chain. He and four other PETA protesters refused to leave after urging patrons to boycott the restaurant. Cromwell was released on his own recognizance after about five hours. He was ordered to stay out of all Wendys restaurants in Virginia unless he intends to eat there.
Is the only actor to ever utter the words "Star Trek" on Star Trek itself. In the film Star Trek: First Contact , his character Zefram Cochrane said to the crew, "...and youre all astronauts on... some kind of star trek?".
Has played a US President four times: fictional President Fowler in The Sum of All Fears fictional President Newman on "The West Wing" , Lyndon Johnson in the television movie RFK , and George H.W. Bush in Oliver Stone s film W. .
In The People vs. Larry Flynt , he plays publisher Charles Keating. Keating has the same first and last initials (CK) as Charles Kane, the character in Orson Welles Citizen Kane . In that movie, Charles (Foster) Kane is a newspaper publisher based, in no small role, upon real-life newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Cromwell portrayed Hearst in the behind-the-scenes look at Citizen Kane, entitled RKO 281 .
At 6 6.5", he is the tallest Oscar-nominated actor of all time (he was nominated for his Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Babe ).
Was given the role of the prison warden in The Longest Yard after negotiations with Gary Oldman fell through.
He struggled somewhat early in his career due to his height and the fact that few producers wanted someone towering over their leading men. Many of his early roles show him seated or leaning on something.
Worked with the Black Panthers in the 1960s.
Known to be a passionate liberal who openly supports several progressive political causes. Is most outspoken about the protection of animals.
Stepson of actress Ruth Nelson. Ex-son-in-law of actor Lee J. Cobb.
Has starred in the remake of "Salems Lot" , based on Stephen King s novel, and his ex-wife, Julie Cobb , starred in the original 1979 version.
Attended the prestigious Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, the alma mater of Harry Hamlin and Oliver Stone.
In addition to having played four United States Presidents, he appears in The Queen as Prince Philip , the husband of Queen Elizabeth II.
Has played a fictional President in The Sum of All Fears and real-life President Lyndon Johnson. Donald Moffat , who has also played Johnson, played the fictional President in Clear and Present Danger .
Was an outspoken opponent of US President George W. Bush s administration. Ironically, he has portrayed Bushs father, George Bush , on film.
Is a vegetarian.
Studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village, New York City.
His interest in drama was at first to become a stage director, and he started acting as a way of making ends meet.
Has twice played a prison warden, both with units of measure in the title: The Green Mile and The Longest Yard .
Was ranked 56 of Total Films Top 100 Greatest Movie Villains for his role as Captain Dudley Smith in L.A. Confidential .
After focusing for decades on film and television, Cromwell returned to the stage in March 2012, after an absence of 13 years, in the role of Pozzo in Samuel Beckett s "Waiting for Godot" at the Los Angeles Mark Taper Forum. Prior to that, he appeared in Tom Stoppard s "The Invention of Love" at the ACT Theatre in 1999.
As of 2014, has appeared in five films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Babe , L.A. Confidential , The Green Mile , The Queen and The Artist (2011/I) , with the latter winning in the category.
He and his father John Cromwell have both made films about US Presidents. James has played Lyndon B. Johnson and George Bush , as well as two other fictional Presidents on "The West Wing" and The Sum of All Fears . His father, John Cromwell , directed Abe Lincoln in Illinois .
His Star Trek: First Contact character, Zefram Cochrane, first appeared on the original series episode "Metamorphosis" with Leonard Nimoy. Cromwell himself has never worked with Nimoy, but two of his other roles have connections to the role of Spock. Cromwell later appeared on American Horror Story with Zachary Quinto. The film L.A. Confidential features the historical character of LAPD Chief William H. Parker, a former colleague of Gene Roddenberry and the basis for the character Spock.
Grew up to be taller than both of his parents: his father was 63 and his mother was 54. His son John is even taller than him standing at a height of 68.
He was awarded the 1979 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Performance for "Terra Nova" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Along with Jeremy Roberts , Boris Lee Krutonog , Alice Krige and Jack Shearer , he is one of only five actors to initially play a character in a "Star Trek" film before reprising their role in a "Star Trek" television series. He played Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact and later reprised his role in "Enterprise" {Broken Bow: Part 1 } .
Has 3 children with his ex-first wife Anne Ulvestad: one daughter, Kate Cromwell and two sons - John Cromwell and Colin Cromwell (b. 1982).
In February 2013, Cromwell was arrested for interrupting a University of Wisconsin Board of Regents meeting while showing a graphic photo of a cat to protest about alleged mistreatment of animals on campus. The incident, which garnered widespread press coverage, was resolved on March 25, 2013, when an attorney representing Cromwell entered no-contest pleas to the non-criminal offense and agreed to pay $100 forfeitures and court costs of $263.50. In December 2015, he was removed from an event in New York for heckling an energy company receiving an award.
On December 18, 2015, Cromwell and five other people were arrested while protesting against the construction of a power station in Wawayanda, New York, near his home in Warwick, New York. Cromwell and fellow Star Trek actor J.G. Hertzler were among the 19 people arrested in Watkins Glen, New York on June 6, 2016, for a protest against underground gas storage in salt caverns near Seneca Lake. On June 6, 2017, he was escorted out of a Democratic Party fundraiser (which New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi attended) after disrupting the event by protesting about the power station. He and his fellow protesters, called the "Wawayanda Six" were convicted of disorderly conduct and obstruction of traffic. They were fined $375, due June 29, 2017 and sentenced to 16 hours of community service. After refusing to pay the fine, he was sentenced to a week in jail, scheduled to go on July 14.
(July 2017) Was sentenced to seven days of jail time after refusing to pay a $375 fine related to his arrest at a protest in Wawayanda, New York. He was initially found guilty of obstructing traffic when he and other five protesters staged a sit-in on the site of Competitive Power Ventures prospective natural gas-fired power plant in regards to the plants carbon emissions which would pose a threat to the local environment, and accelerate climate change.
His son John has played the younger version of his character on three occasions in Memorial Day , American Horror Story: Asylum and Betrayal (2013 - 2014).
Making the movie Babe (1995) opened my eyes to the intelligence,and the inquisitive personalities of pigs. These highly social animals,possess an amazing capacity for love, joy and sorrow that makes them,remarkably similar to our beloved canine and feline friends.
The attitude we have towards our personal pets as opposed to the animals that suffer under the factory farm is hypocritical and delusional.
Pets are humanizing. They remind us we have an obligation and responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life.
