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