Acting · Los Angeles, California, USA · Born January 27, 1940
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.
MovieLiving With A Visionary
2026
as Narrator (voice)
TVBAT-FAM
2025
as Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth (voice)
TVMurder in a Small Town
2024
as George Wilcox
MovieRebel Ridge
2024
as Judge
TVSugar
2024
as Jonathan Siegel
MovieMerry Little Batman
2023
as Alfred Pennyworth (voice)
MoviePrancer: A Christmas Tale
2022
as Bud
TVLaw & Order: Organized Crime
2021
as Miles Darman
MovieEmperor
2020
as John Brown
TVStar Trek: Lower Decks
2020
as Dr. Zefram Cochrane (voice)
TVOperation Buffalo
2020
as Cranky
MovieNever Too Late
2020
as Jack Bronson
MovieThe Immortal
2019
as Grandfather
MovieThe Laundromat
2019
as Joseph David Martin
TVThe Family
2019
as Douglas Coe
That Guy... Who Was In That Thing 3: Trek Stars
2019
as Self
MovieCountdown to Year Zero
2019
MovieJurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
2018
as Benjamin Lockwood
TVSuccession
2018
as Ewan Roy
TVCounterpart
2017
as Yanek
MovieMarshall
2017
as The Judge
MovieThe Promise
2016
as Henry Morgenthau Sr.
TVThe Young Pope
2016
as Cardinal Michael Spencer
TVBerlin Station
2016
as Gilbert Dorn
Movie50 Years of Star Trek
2016
as Self
TVThe Detour
2016
as J.R.
MovieThe Perfect Crime: Leopold & Loeb
2016
as Self - Narrator (voice)
MovieWalking the Mile
2014
as Self
MovieBig Hero 6
2014
as Professor Robert Callaghan (voice)
MovieIn Between Songs
2014
as Narrator
TVMurder in the First
2014
as Warren Daniels
TVHalt and Catch Fire
2014
as Jacob Wheeler
MovieThe Trials of Cate McCall
2013
as Justice Sumpter
MovieA Night at the Movies: Hollywood Goes to Washington
2012
as Self - Interviewee
MovieLa Classe américaine
2012
as Self
MovieStill Mine
2012
as Craig Morrison
MovieThe Artist: The Making of an American Romance
2012
as Self
MovieHollywood as Character: The Locations of The Artist
2012
as Himself
MovieSoldiers of Fortune
2012
as Haussman
MovieCowgirls n' Angels
2012
as Terence Parker
MovieHide Away
2011
as The Ancient Mariner
MovieAdmissions
2011
as The Clerk
MovieThe Artist
2011
as Clifton
TVAmerican Horror Story
2011
as Dr. Arthur Arden
MovieMemorial Day
2011
as Bud Vogel
MovieFarm to Fridge
2011
as Narrator
TVSotto il cielo di Roma
2010
as Pope Pius XII
MoviePope Pius XII
2010
as Pope Pius XII
TVBoardwalk Empire
2010
as Andrew W. Mellon
MovieSecretariat
2010
as Ogden Phipps
MovieBeyond All Boundaries
2009
as Major General Alexander A. Vandegrift / Fleet Admiral William Halsey
MovieSurrogates
2009
as Dr. Lionel Canter
MovieThe Last Days of Lehman Brothers
2009
as Hank Paulson
Starz Inside - Unforgettably Evil
2009
as Self
TVImpact
2009
as Lloyd
MovieA Lonely Place for Dying
2009
as Howard Simons
MovieW.
2008
as George H.W. Bush
TVMy Own Worst Enemy
2008
as Alistair Trumbull
MovieWhatever You Desire: Making 'L.A. Confidential'
2008
as Self
MovieTortured
2008
as Jack
TVMasters of Science Fiction
2007
MovieSpider-Man 3
2007
as Captain Stacy
MovieBecoming Jane
2007
as Mr. Austen
MovieDante's Inferno
2007
as Virgil (voice)
The Making of 'The Queen'
2007
as Self
MovieLooking For Else
2007
as Self
MovieThe Maltese Falcon: One Magnificent Bird
2006
as Self
MovieThe Queen
2006
as Prince Philip
MovieKing Leopold's Ghost
2006
MovieAvenger
2006
as Paul Devereaux
MoviePope John Paul II
2005
TVPope John Paul II
2005
as Cardinal Adam Sapieha
MovieShadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy
2005
as Narrator
MovieThe Longest Yard
2005
as Warden Hazen
MovieHappy Birthday Oscar Wilde
2004
as Self
MovieI, Robot
2004
as Dr. Alfred Lanning
TVSalem's Lot
2004
as Donald Callahan
MovieA Carol Christmas
2003
as Ghost of Christmas Future (uncredited)
TVAngels in America
2003
as Roy's Doctor
MovieThe Snow Walker
2003
as Walter "Shep" Shepherd
MovieBlackball
2003
as Ray Speight
MovieThe John Garfield Story
2003
as Self
MovieRFK
2002
as President Lyndon Baines Johnson
MovieThe Sum of All Fears
2002
as President Fowler
MovieSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
2002
as The Colonel (voice)
MovieProject Viper
2002
as MP 1
MovieA Death in the Family
2002
as Joel Lynch
MovieThe Magnificent Ambersons
2002
as Major Amberson
TV24
2001
as Phillip Bauer
TVCitizen Baines
2001
as Elliott Baines
TVStar Trek: Enterprise
2001
as Dr. Zefram Cochran (uncredited)
TVSix Feet Under
2001
as George Sibley
MovieSpace Cowboys
2000
as Bob Gerson
Walking the Mile: The Making of The Green Mile
2000
as Self / Warden Hal Moores
MovieFail Safe
2000
as Gordon Knapp
MovieSnow Falling on Cedars
1999
as Judge Fielding
MovieThe Green Mile
1999
as Warden Hal Moores
MovieRKO 281
1999
as William Randolph Hearst
MovieThe Bachelor
1999
as Priest
TVThe West Wing
1999
as President D. Wire Newman
MovieA Slight Case of Murder
1999
as John Edgarson
MovieThe General's Daughter
1999
as General Joseph Campbell
TVThe Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
1999
as Self - Guest
MovieBabe: Pig in the City
1998
as Farmer Arthur Hoggett
MovieDeep Impact
1998
as Alan Rittenhouse
MovieSpecies II
1998
as Senator Ross
MovieOwd Bob
1998
as Adam MacAdam
MovieThe Education of Little Tree
1997
as Nonno
MovieL.A. Confidential
1997
as Dudley Smith
MovieThe People vs. Larry Flynt
1996
as Charles Keating
MovieStar Trek: First Contact
1996
as Dr. Zefram Cochrane
MovieEraser
1996
as William Donohue
TVThe Client
1995
as Officer Joe Denton
TVPartners
1995
MovieBabe
1995
as Farmer Hoggett
MovieIndictment: The McMartin Trial
1995
as Judge Pounders
MovieThe Shaggy Dog
1994
as Charlie Mulvihill
TVER
1994
as Bishop Stewart
MovieRevenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love
1994
as Mr. Skolnick
MovieRomeo Is Bleeding
1993
as Cage
TVStar Trek: Deep Space Nine
1993
as Hanok
TVPicket Fences
1992
as The Bishop
MovieRevenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation
1992
as Mr. Skolnick
MovieThe Babe
1992
as Brother Mathias
TVHome Improvement
1991
as Fred
TVAmerican Dreamer
1990
MovieMiracle Landing
1990
as B.J. Cocker
TVChristine Cromwell
1989
MovieThe Runnin' Kind
1989
as Uncle Phil
MoviePink Cadillac
1989
as Motel Desk Clerk
MovieThe Rescue
1988
as Adm. Rothman
MovieChina Beach: Pilot
1988
as Ambassador at Large Roland Weymouth
TVChina Beach
1988
TVStar Trek: The Next Generation
1987
as Prime Minister Nayrok
TVJake and the Fatman
1987
MovieRevenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise
1987
as Mr. Skolnick
TVEasy Street
1986
MovieA Fine Mess
1986
as Detective Blist
TVMatlock
1986
as Judge Raymond Price
MovieThe Last Precinct
1986
as Chief Bludhorn
TVAmazing Stories
1985
as Francis
TVThe Twilight Zone
1985
as (segment "A Message From Charity")
MovieExplorers
1985
as Mr. Müller
TVWildside
1985
MovieOh, God! You Devil
1984
as Priest
TVHunter
1984
as Seymour Robbins
MovieRevenge of the Nerds
1984
as Mr. Skolnick
MovieSpraggue
1984
as Lt. George Hurley
MovieTank
1984
as Deputy Euclid
TVNight Court
1984
as Alan
MovieThe House of God
1984
as Officer Quick
TVScarecrow and Mrs. King
1983
MovieThe Man with Two Brains
1983
as Realtor
MovieThe Rainmaker
1982
as Noah Curry
TVKnight Rider
1982
as Curtis
TVFamily Ties
1982
as John Hancock
MovieBarefoot In the Park
1982
as Harry Pepper
MovieThe Wall
1982
as Francisek
MovieNobody's Perfekt
1981
as Dr. Carson
TVFoul Play
1981
as Bebet
TVHill Street Blues
1981
MovieA Christmas Without Snow
1980
as Reverend Lohman
TVFlo
1980
TVThe White Shadow
1978
as Mr. Hamilton
TVDiff'rent Strokes
1978
MovieThe Cheap Detective
1978
as Schnell
TVDallas
1978
as Gerald Kane
MoviePeeping Times
1978
as Bernard Mantee
MovieDeadly Game
1977
as Deputy Malcolm Rossiter Jr.
MovieThe Girl in the Empty Grave
1977
as Deputy Malcolm Rossiter Jr.
TVThree's Company
1977
as Detective Lannigan
TVEight Is Enough
1977
TVOnce an Eagle
1976
as J.L. Cleghorne
TVThe Nancy Walker Show
1976
as Glen
TVAll's Fair
1976
TVAlice
1976
MovieMurder by Death
1976
as Marcel Cassette
TVMary Hartman, Mary Hartman
1976
as Reverend Buryfield
TVBarbary Coast
1975
as Roy
TVHot l Baltimore
1975
TVBarney Miller
1975
as Sgt. Wilkinson
TVThe Rockford Files
1974
as Terry
TVLittle House on the Prairie
1974
as Harve Miller
TVPolice Story
1973
TVM*A*S*H
1972
TVAll in the Family
1971
as Stretch Cunningham
TVGolden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Audience Member
MovieGet Lost
as Frederick (Red King)
MovieNight Vet
as Dr. Abel Evergood
