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.
Television goes into people's homes, and it reaches them on a very personal level. When you're sitting in your home after a day's work, and you've chosen to watch a show like 'ER,' you're very vulnerable. ... It's a very provocative and engaging and deeply thoughtful show.
I was told by my agent that a number of big stars won't work with anyone two inches taller than them and most of them are under six feet, so you have to be prepared to have trouble.
I don't study films particularly. I plan to direct, but I'm not watching film - I watch the entire film to see how the story goes, but I don't say, 'Oh, so he does a slow pan here, or he pulls here, watch the crane shot, or look at the composition,' because it's got to be my eye.
My first films were comedy, 'Murder By Death,' and 'The Cheap Detective.' But now they won't think of me as a comedian. Now, they think of me as a bad guy, and I can't do comedy.
I can't say I enjoy all TV ... I'm enjoying 'Six Feet' because I think it's beautifully written, and wonderfully acted and beautifully produced. I enjoy the odd piece of television,
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.