James Cromwell

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For Doris Duke's first husband, see James H.R. Cromwell.
James Cromwell
Born James Oliver Cromwell
January 27, 1940 (1940-01-27) (age 68)
Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.
Other name(s) Jamie Cromwell
Occupation actor
Years active 1975 – present
Spouse(s) Anne Ulvestad (1976 — 1986)
Julie Cobb (1986 — 2006)

James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940), sometimes credited as Jamie Cromwell, is an American film and television actor. He has been nominated for an Oscar, two Emmy Awards, and four Screen Actors Guild Awards during his career. He is known for his appearance as the villainous Phillip Bauer on 24 (TV series).

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[edit] Early life

Cromwell was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Manhattan, New York. His mother was actress Kay Johnson and his father was actor, director and producer John Cromwell, who was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.[1][2] 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.

[edit] Career

[edit] Early career

His first television performance was in a 1974 episode of The Rockford Files playing Terry.[3] A few weeks later,[4] he had a brief recurring role as Stretch Cunningham on All in the Family. In 1975 he took his first lead role on television as Bill Lewis in the short-lived Hot L Baltimore, and a year later made his film debut in Neil Simon's classic detective spoof Murder by Death.

While he continued with regular television work for the rest of the 1980s, he made real inroads in movie business for his roles in the James Garner-Shirley Jones film Tank, as a corrupt deputy sheriff and his first appearance as Mr. Skolnick, father of main character Lewis in the comedy film Revenge of the Nerds. He would reprise this role three more times in each of the "Nerds" sequels.

[edit] 1990s

His notable film roles in the 1990s include his Oscar nominated performance as Farmer Arthur Hoggett in Babe (1995) and Captain Dudley Liam Smith in Curtis Hanson's film adaptation of James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential (1997), which was a breakout role for him, and made him more bankable in Hollywood. He also played Dr. Zefram Cochrane in Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and the Star Trek: Enterprise pilot Broken Bow (the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" later reused some of the First Contact footage).[5] He has appeared on other Star Trek television series The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, though not as Cochrane (his appearances on these shows predated his role in First Contact), he guest starred in episodes including "The Hunted", "Birthright, Part I and II" and "Starship Down".

[edit] 2000s

He co-starred in the last two seasons of the HBO drama series Six Feet Under, where he played George Sibley, Ruth Fisher's geologist husband and along with the rest of the his castmates, he was nominated for two consecutive Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2005 and 2006. He next co-starred alongside Dame Helen Mirren who plays the title role of Queen Elizabeth II and won the Oscar for Best Actress in Stephen Frears' film The Queen (2006) where he played Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He guest starred in the sixth season of 24 where he played Phillip Bauer, father of lead character Jack played by Kiefer Sutherland.

In early October 2007, he played the lead role of James Tyrone Sr. in the Druid Theatre Company's production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night, at the Gaiety in Dublin as part of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival's 50th Anniversary.[6]

[edit] Personal life

He has three children and has been married twice.

[edit] Height

Cromwell is known for his unusually tall stature; he stands at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m), making him the tallest person to ever be nominated for an Academy Award. His height, however, has not prevented him from becoming a prolific actor in a wide variety of leading and supporting roles.

[edit] Beliefs

He has long been an advocate of leftist causes. In the late 1960s he was a member of "The Committee to Defend The Panthers", a group organized to defend 13 members of the Black Panther Party who had been imprisoned in New York on charges of conspiracy. All thirteen were eventually released. In a 2004 interview with CNN.com, Cromwell praised the Panthers.[7] He became a vegetarian in 1974 after seeing a stockyard in Texas and experiencing the "smell, terror and anxiety."[8] 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.[9]

For the 2008 Presidential Election, Cromwell has endorsed Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

[edit] Award nominations

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Films

[edit] Television

[edit] Theatre

[edit] References

  1. ^ John Cromwell - Films as director:, Other films:
  2. ^ 1
  3. ^ "The Rockford Files" The Countess (1974)
  4. ^ All in the Family (a Titles & Air Dates Guide)
  5. ^ TrekToday - StarTrek.com Offers Commentary on 'In a Mirror, Darkly'
  6. ^ Gaiety Theatre Dublin, Ireland - Irish Theatre
  7. ^ Black Panther, drunk priest, kind farmer. CNN.com (18 June 2004). Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
  8. ^ AR-News James Cromwell interview in The Age (Melbourne) focuses on animal rights
  9. ^ PETA TV: Select Your Media Preferences: James Cromwell's PETA Ad

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Revenge of the Nerds Series
Films
ΛΛΛ/ΩΜ
Robert Carradine (Lewis Skolnick) • Anthony Edwards (Gilbert Lowell) • Michelle Meyrink (Judy) • Timothy Busfield (Arnold Poindexter) • Curtis Armstrong (Dudley "Booger" Dawson) • Brian Tochi (Toshiro Takashi) • Larry B. Scott (Lamar Latrell) • Andrew Cassese (Harold Wormser) • Bernie Casey (U.N. Jefferson) • James Cromwell (Mr. Skolnick)
ΑΒ/ΠΔΠ
Ted McGinley (Stan Gable) • Donald Gibb (Fred "The Ogre" Palowakski) • Julia Montgomery (Betty Childs) • Matt Salinger (Burke) • John Goodman (Coach Harris)