
James Cromwell
Acting
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.
TV Shows(72)

BAT-FAM
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth (voice)
2025

Murder in a Small Town
George Wilcox
2024

Sugar
Jonathan Siegel
2024

Law & Order: Organized Crime
Miles Darman
2021

Star Trek: Lower Decks
Dr. Zefram Cochrane (voice)
2020

Operation Buffalo
Cranky
2020

The Family
Douglas Coe
2019

Succession
Ewan Roy
2018

Counterpart
Yanek
2017

The Young Pope
Cardinal Michael Spencer
2016

Berlin Station
Gilbert Dorn
2016

The Detour
J.R.
2016

Murder in the First
Warren Daniels
2014

Halt and Catch Fire
Jacob Wheeler
2014

American Horror Story
Dr. Arthur Arden
2011

Sotto il cielo di Roma
Pope Pius XII
2010

Boardwalk Empire
Andrew W. Mellon
2010

Impact
Lloyd
2009

My Own Worst Enemy
Alistair Trumbull
2008

Masters of Science Fiction
2007

Pope John Paul II
Cardinal Adam Sapieha
2005

Salem's Lot
Donald Callahan
2004

Angels in America
Roy's Doctor
2003

24
Phillip Bauer
2001

Citizen Baines
2001

Star Trek: Enterprise
Dr. Zefram Cochran (uncredited)
2001

Six Feet Under
George Sibley
2001

The West Wing
President D. Wire Newman
1999

The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
Self - Guest
1999

The Client
Officer Joe Denton
1995

Partners
1995

ER
Bishop Stewart
1994

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Hanok
1993

Picket Fences
The Bishop
1992

Home Improvement
Fred
1991

American Dreamer
1990

Christine Cromwell
1989

China Beach
1988

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Prime Minister Nayrok
1987

Jake and the Fatman
1987

Easy Street
1986

Matlock
Judge Raymond Price
1986

Amazing Stories
Francis
1985

The Twilight Zone
(segment "A Message From Charity")
1985

Wildside
1985

Hunter
Seymour Robbins
1984

Night Court
Alan
1984

Scarecrow and Mrs. King
1983

Knight Rider
Curtis
1982

Family Ties
John Hancock
1982

Foul Play
Bebet
1981

Hill Street Blues
1981

Flo
1980

The White Shadow
Mr. Hamilton
1978

Diff'rent Strokes
1978

Dallas
Gerald Kane
1978

Three's Company
Detective Lannigan
1977

Eight Is Enough
1977

Once an Eagle
J.L. Cleghorne
1976

The Nancy Walker Show
Glen
1976

All's Fair
1976

Alice
1976

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
Reverend Buryfield
1976

Barbary Coast
Roy
1975

Hot l Baltimore
1975

Barney Miller
Sgt. Wilkinson
1975

The Rockford Files
Terry
1974

Little House on the Prairie
Harve Miller
1974

Police Story
1973

M*A*S*H
1972

All in the Family
Stretch Cunningham
1971

Golden Globe Awards
Self - Audience Member
1944
Movies(119)

Living With A Visionary
Narrator (voice)
2026

Rebel Ridge
Judge
2024

Merry Little Batman
Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
2023

Prancer: A Christmas Tale
Bud
2022

Emperor
John Brown
2020

Never Too Late
Jack Bronson
2020

The Immortal
Grandfather
2019

The Laundromat
Joseph David Martin
2019
That Guy... Who Was In That Thing 3: Trek Stars
Self
2019

Countdown to Year Zero
2019

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Benjamin Lockwood
2018

Marshall
The Judge
2017

The Promise
Henry Morgenthau Sr.
2016

50 Years of Star Trek
Self
2016

The Perfect Crime: Leopold & Loeb
Self - Narrator (voice)
2016

Walking the Mile
Self
2014

Big Hero 6
Professor Robert Callaghan (voice)
2014

In Between Songs
Narrator
2014

The Trials of Cate McCall
Justice Sumpter
2013

A Night at the Movies: Hollywood Goes to Washington
Self - Interviewee
2012

La Classe américaine
Self
2012

Still Mine
Craig Morrison
2012

The Artist: The Making of an American Romance
Self
2012

Hollywood as Character: The Locations of The Artist
Himself
2012

Soldiers of Fortune
Haussman
2012

Cowgirls n' Angels
Terence Parker
2012

Hide Away
The Ancient Mariner
2011

Admissions
The Clerk
2011

The Artist
Clifton
2011

Memorial Day
Bud Vogel
2011

Farm to Fridge
Narrator
2011

Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
2010

Secretariat
Ogden Phipps
2010

Beyond All Boundaries
Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift / Fleet Admiral William Halsey
2009

Surrogates
Dr. Lionel Canter
2009

The Last Days of Lehman Brothers
Hank Paulson
2009
Starz Inside - Unforgettably Evil
Self
2009

A Lonely Place for Dying
Howard Simons
2009

W.
George H.W. Bush
2008

Whatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential'
Self
2008

Tortured
Jack
2008

Spider-Man 3
Captain Stacy
2007

Becoming Jane
Mr. Austen
2007

Dante's Inferno
Virgil (voice)
2007
The Making of 'The Queen'
Self
2007

Looking For Else
Self
2007

The Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird
Self
2006

The Queen
Prince Philip
2006

King Leopold's Ghost
2006

Avenger
Paul Devereaux
2006

Pope John Paul II
2005

Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
Narrator
2005

The Longest Yard
Warden Hazen
2005

Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde
Self
2004

I, Robot
Dr. Alfred Lanning
2004

A Carol Christmas
Ghost of Christmas Future (uncredited)
2003

The Snow Walker
Walter "Shep" Shepherd
2003

Blackball
Ray Speight
2003

The John Garfield Story
Self
2003

RFK
President Lyndon Baines Johnson
2002

The Sum of All Fears
President Fowler
2002

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
The Colonel (voice)
2002

Project Viper
MP 1
2002

A Death in the Family
Joel Lynch
2002

The Magnificent Ambersons
Major Amberson
2002

Space Cowboys
Bob Gerson
2000
Walking the Mile: The Making of The Green Mile
Self / Warden Hal Moores
2000

Fail Safe
Gordon Knapp
2000

Snow Falling on Cedars
Judge Fielding
1999

The Green Mile
Warden Hal Moores
1999

RKO 281
William Randolph Hearst
1999

The Bachelor
Priest
1999

A Slight Case of Murder
John Edgarson
1999

The General's Daughter
General Joseph Campbell
1999

Babe: Pig in the City
Farmer Arthur Hoggett
1998

Deep Impact
Alan Rittenhouse
1998

Species II
Senator Ross
1998

Owd Bob
Adam MacAdam
1998

The Education of Little Tree
Nonno
1997

L.A. Confidential
Dudley Smith
1997

The People vs. Larry Flynt
Charles Keating
1996

Star Trek: First Contact
Dr. Zefram Cochrane
1996

Eraser
William Donohue
1996

Babe
Farmer Hoggett
1995

Indictment: The McMartin Trial
Judge Pounders
1995

The Shaggy Dog
Charlie Mulvihill
1994

Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love
Mr. Skolnick
1994

Romeo Is Bleeding
Cage
1993

Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birthright
Jaglom Shrek
1993

Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation
Mr. Skolnick
1992

The Babe
Brother Mathias
1992

Miracle Landing
B.J. Cocker
1990

The Runnin' Kind
Uncle Phil
1989

Pink Cadillac
Motel Desk Clerk
1989

The Rescue
Adm. Rothman
1988

China Beach: Pilot
Ambassador at Large Roland Weymouth
1988

Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
Mr. Skolnick
1987

A Fine Mess
Detective Blist
1986

The Last Precinct
Chief Bludhorn
1986

Explorers
Mr. Müller
1985

Oh, God! You Devil
Priest
1984

Revenge of the Nerds
Mr. Skolnick
1984

Spraggue
Lt. George Hurley
1984

Tank
Deputy Euclid
1984

The House of God
Officer Quick
1984

The Man with Two Brains
Realtor
1983

The Rainmaker
Noah Curry
1982

Barefoot In the Park
Harry Pepper
1982

The Wall
Francisek
1982

Nobody's Perfekt
Dr. Carson
1981

A Christmas Without Snow
Reverend Lohman
1980

The Cheap Detective
Schnell
1978

Peeping Times
Bernard Mantee
1978

Deadly Game
Deputy Malcolm Rossiter Jr.
1977

The Girl in the Empty Grave
Deputy Malcolm Rossiter Jr.
1977

Murder by Death
Marcel Cassette
1976

Daddy Long Legs
Extra (uncredited)
1955

Get Lost
Frederick (Red King)

Night Vet
Dr. Abel Evergood