Biography
This page uses content from the James Cromwell biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940) is an Academy Award-nominated American television and film actor. He is sometimes credited as Jamie Cromwell.
Cromwell was born in Los Angeles, California, but raised in Manhattan, New York. He is the son of John Cromwell and actress Kay Johnson. Cromwell was educated at The Hill School, Middlebury College and the Carnegie Institute of Technology. He studied acting at Carnegie Mellon University. He went into the theater (like both his parents) doing everything from Shakespeare to experimental plays.
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, 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 starred as a series regular in the last two seasons of the HBO original series Six Feet Under. He portrayed George Sibley, Ruth Fisher's geologist husband. Other notable roles include his Academy Award nominated performance as farmer Arthur Hoggett in Babe (1995) and 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 [1]). He has appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, though not as Cochrane (his appearances on these shows predated his role in First Contact). He portrayed Bishop Lionel Stewart in several episodes of ER (2001), U.S. President Robert "Bob" Fowler in The Sum of All Fears (2002) and the role of former President D. Wire Newman in an episode of The West Wing (2004). He played Dr. Alfred Lanning, creator of modern robots and inventor of the Three Laws of Robotics in the 2004 movie I, Robot. He also recently appeared as the warden in the remake of The Longest Yard . He is set to appear in the upcoming sixth season of the television show 24 in the role of Phillip Bauer, father to main character Jack Bauer played by Kiefer Sutherland.
Cromwell has long been an advocate of progressive causes. In the late 60's 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. Cromwell is also an ethical vegan and frequently speaks out on issues regarding animal cruelty for PETA.
Cromwell is also known for his unusually tall stature; he stands at 201 cm (approx 6 ft 7 in). The average height for American men is 5 ft 9 in. Director Blake Edwards once offended Cromwell by telling him that he was a useless entity on his set because he, as a director, felt uncomfortable with his stars working alongside anyone that was 2 inches taller than they were. Edwards went on to explain how this actor would be unable to find leading roles within the industry. His height, however, has not prevented Cromwell from becoming a prolific character actor, appearing in a wide variety of roles.
In his most recent, completed film, The Queen, Cromwell portrays HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, alongside Helen Mirren who plays HM Queen Elizabeth II.
Selected filmography
- Spider Man 3 (2007)
- 24 (2007)
- The Queen (2006)
- Pope John Paul II (TV) (2005)
- The Longest Yard (2005)
- Six Feet Under (2001) (TV series) (2004 – 2005)
- I, Robot (2004)
- Salem's Lot (2004) (TV)
- Snow Walker (2003)
- Angels in America (2003)
- Blackball (2003)
- The Sum of All Fears (2002)
- Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) (voice)
- The Magnificent Ambersons (2002) (TV)
- Space Cowboys (2000)
- The General's Daughter (1999)
- The Green Mile (1999)
- Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
- Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
- Deep Impact (1998)
- Species II (1998)
- L.A. Confidential (1997)
- The Education of Little Tree (1997)
- Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
- The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)
- Eraser (1996)
- Babe (1995)
- Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love (1994) (TV)
- Revenge of the Nerds III: The Next Generation (1992) (TV)
- Miracle Landing (1990) (TV)
- Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987)
- Revenge of the Nerds (1984)
- The Man with Two Brains (1983)
- The Cheap Detective (1978)
- Murder by Death (1976)
- Hot L Baltimore (1975) (TV series)
References
- Biographical article about Cromwell from Current Biography magazine
External links
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