James Cromwell
James Cromwell
James Oliver Cromwellis an American actor and producer. Some of his more notable films include Babe, Star Trek: First Contact, L.A. Confidential, The Green Mile, Space Cowboys, The Sum of All Fears, I, Robot, and The Artist, as well as the television series Six Feet Under, 24, American Horror Story: Asylum, and Halt and Catch Fire...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth27 January 1940
CityLos Angeles, CA
CountryUnited States of America
You don't just one day say, 'That's it, I'm doing this, I'm going to throw all my shoes out and I'm not eating honey and I won't drive my car because there are animal bones in the tires' because you'd drive yourself around the bend.
When I did 'Babe' I wanted to talk about animal rights without going through some convoluted justifications about using animal products.
The attitude we have towards our personal pets as opposed to the animals that suffer under the factory farm is hypocritical and delusional.
The health of the planet is at stake, because the cruelty and the waste that accompanies the slaughter of billions of animals each year literally infects us all. We could consume healthy plant-based food produced at almost infinitely less cost. What does that say, really, about us and what we're doing... to animals and to ourselves?
But if you really want to learn about life, get a cat. The way I think people should relate to animals is with a cat. Because the world is his.
If a kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming, they would never touch meat again.
I was so moved by the intelligence,sense of fun and personalities of the animals I worked with on Babe that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian.
I'm an animal rights activist because I believe we won't have a planet if we continue to behave toward other species the way we do.
I love the whole process. I loved being in Australia. I loved the crew,
It's wonderful because you get all this heat, ... Everybody says, 'Why, is it going to open? Is it going to be good? Are there bad parts in it?' And now they're all talking, so that's wonderful.
The kids know me from 'Babe,' but usually it is 'L.A. Confidential' that people remember, which was the second film I did. I have worked with some really good people and the films that I've done for the most part have been good.
I was going to design sports cars, but my father came to my college to visit me. At the time he was making a picture in Sweden and he took me there with him. I got to see Ingmar Bergman's company and I thought, 'Gee, filmmaking is a lot more fun than sports cars,' so I decided to follow him and go into acting.
'Barney Miller' was a lot of fun. I'm very fond of Abe Vigoda. Most - a lot of people on that cast - I really liked.
The Academy Awards were basically created by the industry to promote pictures. They weren't really to acknowledge the performances. Then it became sort of this a great popularity contest and now, it's an incredible show and it's seen all over the world.