JAMES CROMWELL

'James Oliver Cromwell' (born January 27, 1940), sometimes credited as 'Jamie Cromwell', is an Academy Award-nominated American television and film actor.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Early career

Career: 1990s

Career: 2000s

Personal life

Filmography

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Cromwell was born in Los Angeles, California and was raised in Manhattan, New York and is the son of actor, director and producer John Cromwell and actress Kay Johnson.^[1] His father was blacklisted during the McCarthy era.^[2] Cromwell was educated at The Hill School, Middlebury College and the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He studied engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He went into the theater (like both his parents) doing everything from Shakespeare to experimental plays.

Early career

He began work in television in the mid-1970s (notably Stretch Cunningham on ''All in the Family'' and a lead character in ''Hot L Baltimore''), made his film debut in 1976 in Neil Simon's classic detective spoof Murder by Death, and goes back to the stage periodically. In his recurring role as Mr. Skolnick, father of Lewis Skolnick, he is one of only four actors to appear in all four ''Revenge of the Nerds'' movies from 1984 through 1994 (the others being Robert Carradine, Curtis Armstrong and Larry B. Scott). Cromwell also played a similar role in the film Explorers, where he was a German scientist who was the father of River Phoenix's character, also very much into science as was Lewis Skolnick. In 1983 film ''The Man With Two Brains'', he had a brief role as a German real-estate agent whom Steve Martin bumps in the head with a cat carrier.

Career: 1990s

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His notable film roles in the 1990s include his Academy Award nominated performance as Farmer Arthur Hoggett in ''Babe'' (1995) and Captain Dudley Liam Smith in ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997). This was a breakout role for the actor, which made him bankable in Hollywood. He also played Dr. Zefram Cochrane in '' (1996) and the '' pilot "Broken Bow" (the '' episode "In a Mirror, Darkly" later reused some of the ''First Contact'' footage).^[3] He has appeared on '' and '', though not as Cochrane (his appearances on these shows predated his role in ''First Contact''). These episodes were "The Hunted", "Birthright, Part I and II" and "Starship Down". He completed the decade by appearing as the general in ''The General's Daughter'' (1999) starring John Travolta.

Career: 2000s

He co-starred in the last two seasons of the HBO series ''Six Feet Under'', in which he portrayed George Sibley, Ruth Fisher's geologist husband. He also and notably starred alongside Helen Mirren who plays HM Queen Elizabeth II in the Oscar-winning ''The Queen'' where he portrays Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He appeared in the sixth season of ''24'' in the role of Phillip Bauer, father to main character Jack Bauer played by Kiefer Sutherland, Captain George Stacy in ''Spider-Man 3'' and Jane Austen's father in ''Becoming Jane'', a biopic of the English writer with Anne Hathaway in the lead role. Other roles where he co-stars or appears include Bishop Lionel Stewart in several episodes of ''ER'' (2001), U.S. President Robert "Bob" Fowler in ''The Sum of All Fears'' (2002), former President D. Wire Newman in an episode of ''The West Wing'' (2004), Dr. Alfred Lanning, creator of modern robots and inventor of the Three Laws of Robotics in ''I, Robot'' and as the warden in the remake of ''The Longest Yard''. He will star in the Druid Theatre Company's production of Eugene O'Neill's ''Long Day's Journey Into Night''. He will play James Tyrone in the production, which will play in Galway and Dublin, Ireland, in September and October 2007.^[4]

Personal life

Cromwell is known for his unusually tall stature; he stands at 6 ft 7 in (approx. 201 cm). His height, however, has not prevented Cromwell from becoming a prolific character actor, appearing in a wide variety of roles.
Cromwell has long been an advocate of progressive and liberal 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 and were eventually released. In a 2004 interview with CNN.com, Cromwell praised the Panthers.^[5] Cromwell became a vegetarian in 1974 after seeing a stockyard in Texas and experiencing the "smell, terror and anxiety." He became an ethical vegan after playing the character of Farmer Hoggett while filming the movie Babe in 1995. Cromwell frequently speaks out on issues regarding animal cruelty for PETA, namely the treatment of pigs.

Filmography

★ ''Hot L Baltimore'' (1975) (TV series)

★ ''Murder by Death'' (1976)

★ ''The Cheap Detective'' (1978)

★ ''The Man with Two Brains'' (1983)

★ ''Revenge of the Nerds'' (1984)

★ '' (1987)

★ ''The Rescue'' (film) 1988

★ ''Miracle Landing'' (1990) (TV)

★ ''The Babe'' (1992)

★ '' (1992) (TV)

★ '' (1994) (TV)

★ ''Babe'' (1995)

★ '' (1996)

★ ''The People vs. Larry Flynt'' (1996)

★ ''Eraser'' (1996)

★ ''L.A. Confidential'' (1997)

★ ''The Education of Little Tree'' (1997)

★ '' (1998)

★ ''Deep Impact'' (1998)

★ ''Species II'' (1998)

★ ''The General's Daughter'' (1999)

★ ''The Green Mile'' (1999)

★ ''Snow Falling on Cedars'' (1999)

★ ''RKO 281'' (1999)

★ ''The Bachelor'' (1999)

★ ''Space Cowboys'' (2000)

★ ''The Sum of All Fears'' (2002)

★ '' (2002) (voice)

★ ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' (2002) (TV)

★ ''RFK'' (2002) (TV)

★ ''Snow Walker'' (2003)

★ ''Angels in America'' (2003)

★ ''Blackball'' (2003)

★ ''Six Feet Under'' (2001) (TV series) (2004 – 2005)

★ ''I, Robot'' (2004)

★ ''Salem's Lot'' (2004) (TV)

★ ''Pope John Paul II'' (TV) (2005)

★ ''The Longest Yard'' (2005)

★ ''The Queen'' (2006)

★ ''Becoming Jane'' (2007)

★ ''Spider-Man 3'' (2007)

★ ''24'' (2007)

★ ''Dante's Inferno'' (2007)

References

1. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/cromwell.htm
2. http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Co-Du/Cromwell-John.html
3. http://www.trektoday.com/news/270405_02.shtml
4. http://www.gaietytheatre.ie/shows/LongDaysJourneyIntoNight.htm
5. Black Panther, drunk priest, kind farmer

External links

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