[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james_cromwell_photo.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:That'll do, pig.]]

->''"...James Cromwell is the Anime/{{Voltron}} of That Guys-that he's actually an 80-foot tall physical combination of the other 19 men on this list; a massive, indestructible character actor endowed with the specific talents of all other That Guys...A guy who, in all seriousness, has never not been in a movie."''
-->-- '''Website/{{Cracked}}''', "[[http://www.cracked.com/article_15074_the-20-best-that-guys-all-time.html The 20 Best 'That Guys' Of All Time]]"

James Oliver Cromwell (born January 27, 1940 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. Over a more than forty-year career, he has had memorable roles in such films as ''Film/{{Babe}}'' (1995), ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' (1996), ''Film/LAConfidential'' (1997), ''Film/TheGreenMile'' (1999), ''Film/SpaceCowboys'' (2000), ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'' (2002), ''Film/{{W}}'' (2008), ''Film/TheArtist'' (2011), and ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' (2014), as well as television series like ''Series/SixFeetUnder'' (2003–05), ''Series/TwentyFour'' (2007), and ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum'' (2012).

The 6'7" Cromwell has the distinction of being the tallest actor to get nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward, earning a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in ''Babe'' (he is also one of the few actors who has appeared in ''Star Trek'' who is taller than the 6'4" Creator/JonathanFrakes and equally-tall Creator/MichaelDorn). He's also been nominated for four UsefulNotes/{{Emmy Award}}s and four Screen Actors Guild Awards during his career. He won the 2013 Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor for his role in ''Still Mine'' and the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his role in ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum''.

Cromwell's Hollywood roots run deep. His father, John Cromwell, was a prominent actor and director during UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfHollywood, whose career was cut short after getting [[UsefulNotes/TheHollywoodBlacklist blacklisted]] in the early '50s; his mother, Kay Johnson, was an actress in the same era. Cromwell is also very involved in left-wing causes himself, most notably animal rights and having formerly been active in civil rights and against the Vietnam War.

As if all of that wasn't enough, he's also the only person to have said the words "star trek" in any Star Trek production.

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!!His roles have included:
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Film roles]]
* ''Film/MurderByDeath'' (1976) as Marcel Cassette
* ''Film/TheCheapDetective'' (1978) as Schnell
* ''Film/TheManWithTwoBrains'' (1983) as Realtor
* ''Film/{{Tank|1984}}'' (1984) as Deputy Euclid Baker
* ''Film/RevengeOfTheNerds'' (1984) as Mr. Skolnick
* ''Film/{{Explorers}}'' (1985) as Mr. Müller
* ''Film/AFineMess'' (1986) as Det. Blist
* ''Film/TheBabe'' (1992) as Brother Mathias
* ''Film/RomeoIsBleeding'' (1993) as Cage
* ''Film/{{Babe}}'' (1995) as Farmer Arthur Hoggett
* ''Film/{{Eraser}}'' (1996) as William Donohue
* ''Film/ThePeopleVsLarryFlynt'' (1996) as Charles Keating
* ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' (1996) as Dr. Zefram Cochrane
* ''Film/LAConfidential'' (1997) as Capt. Dudley Smith
* ''Film/BabePigInTheCity'' (1998) as Farmer Arthur Hoggett
* ''Film/DeepImpact'' (1998) as Alan Rittenhouse
* ''Film/SpeciesII'' (1998) as Sen. Judson Ross
* ''Film/TheGeneralsDaughter'' (1999) as Lt. Gen. Joseph Campbell
* ''Film/TheGreenMile'' (1999) as Warden Hal Moores
* ''Film/TheBachelor'' (1999) as The Priest
* ''Film/SpaceCowboys'' (2000) as Bob Gerson
* ''WesternAnimation/SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron'' (2002) as The Colonel
* ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'' (2002) as President J. Robert Fowler
* ''Film/{{RFK}}'' (2002) as President UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson
* ''Film/IRobot'' (2004) as Dr. Alfred Lanning
* ''Film/TheLongestYard'' (2005) as Warden Rudolph Hazen
* ''Film/TheQueen'' (2006) as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
* ''Film/BecomingJane'' (2007) as Rev. Austen
* ''Film/SpiderMan3'' (2007) as Capt. George Stacy
* ''Film/{{W}}'' (2008) as UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush
* ''Film/{{Surrogates}}'' (2009) as Dr. Lionel Canter
* ''Film/{{Secretariat}}'' (2010) as Ogden Phipps
* ''Film/UnderTheRomanSky'' (2010) as UsefulNotes/PopePiusXII
* ''Film/TheArtist'' (2011) as Clifton
* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'' (2014) as Prof. Callaghan
* ''Film/{{The Promise|2016}}'' (2016) as Ambassador Morgenthau
* ''Film/JurassicWorldFallenKingdom'' (2018) as Benjamin Lockwood
* ''Film/TheLaundromat'' (2019) as Joseph David "Joe" Martin
* ''Film/{{Emperor|2020}}'' (2020) as [[HistoricalDomainCharacter John Brown]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MerryLittleBatman'' (2023) as Alfred Pennyworth
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Television roles]]
* ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' (1974) as Stretch Cunningham (three episodes)
* ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'' (1974) as Terry (episode "The Countess")
* ''Series/{{Maude}}'' (1974) as Alfie (episode "Last Tango in Tuckahoe")
* ''Series/HotLBaltimore'' (1975) as Bill Lewis
* ''Series/MaryHartmanMaryHartman'' (1976–77) as Rev. Buryfield
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' (1977) as Capt. Leo Bardonaro (episode "Last Laugh")
* ''Series/ThreesCompany'' (1977) as Det. Lanigan (episode "Chrissy's Night Out")
* ''Series/BarneyMiller'' (1977–81) as [[YouLookFamiliar four different characters]] in four episodes
* ''Series/{{Alice|1976}}'' (1978) as Det. Ralph Hilton (episode "Who Ordered the Hot Turkey?")
* ''Series/{{Maude}}'' (1978) as Dr. Farrington (episode "The Obscene Phone Call")
* ''Series/EightIsEnough'' (1979) as Coach Pollard (episode "The Better Part of Valor")
* ''Series/DiffrentStrokes'' (1979) as Father O'Brien (episode "Arnold's Hero")
* ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' (1980) as Harve Miller (two episodes)
* ''Series/{{Dallas}}'' (1984–85) as Gerald Kane (three episodes)
* ''Series/NightCourt'' (1985) as Alan (episode "Nuts About Harry")
* ''Series/FamilyTies'' (1985) as John Hancock (episode "Philadelphia Story")
* ''Series/{{Hunter|1984}}'' (1985) as Seymour Robbins (episode "Sniper")
* ''Series/HardcastleAndMcCormick'' (1985) as Jake Fellows (episode "Undercover [=McCormick=]")
* ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1985}}'' (1985) as Obediah Payne (episode "A Message from Charity")
* ''Series/ScarecrowAndMrsKing'' (1985–86) as Gregory (two episodes)
* ''Series/AmazingStories'' (1986) as Francis (episode "One for the Road")
* ''Series/MagnumPI'' (1986) as French Policeman (episode "Photo Play")
* ''Series/EasyStreet'' (1986–87) as Quentin Standard
* ''Series/ChinaBeach'' (1988) as Ambassador ({{Pilot}})
* ''Series/MrBelvedere'' (1988) as Roy Gallagher (episode "Fat Cats")
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' (1990) as Prime Minister Nayrok (episode "The Hunted")
* ''Series/LifeGoesOn'' (1990) as Bill Henderson (episode "Thatcher and Henderson")
* ''Series/{{Matlock}}'' (1990) as Judge Raymond Price (episode "Nowhere to Turn")
* ''Series/JakeAndTheFatman'' (1991) as Havilland (episode "It Never Entered My Mind")
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' (1993) as Jaglom Shrek (two episodes)
* ''Series/LALaw'' (1994) as Attorney Hutton (episode "[=McKenzie=], Brackman, Barnum and Bailey")
* ''Series/HomeImprovement'' (1994) as Fred (episode "My Dinner with Wilson")
* ''Series/PicketFences'' (1995) as The Bishop (episode "Saint Zach")
* ''Series/{{ER}}'' (2001) as Bishop Stewart (three episodes)
* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' (2001) as Dr. Zefram Cochrane (two episodes)
* ''Series/SixFeetUnder'' (2003–05) as George Sibley
* ''Series/TheWestWing'' (2004) as President D. Wire Newman (episode "The Stormy Present")
* ''Series/TwentyFour'' (2007) as Phillip Bauer
* ''Series/MyOwnWorstEnemy'' (2008) as Alistar Trumble
* ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryAsylum'' (2012–13) as Dr. Arthur Arden
* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' (2012–13) as Andrew W. Mellon
* ''Series/{{Betrayal}}'' (2013–14) as Thatcher Karsten
* ''Series/MurderInTheFirst'' (2014–15) as Warren Daniels
* ''Series/HaltAndCatchFire'' (2015) as Jacob Wheeler
* ''Series/TheYoungPope'' (2016) as Cardinal Michael Spencer
* ''Series/TheDetour'' (2017) as J.R.
* ''Series/BerlinStation'' (2018) as Gilbert Dorn (three episodes)
* ''[[Series/Counterpart2018 Counterpart]]'' (2018–19) as Yanek (four episodes)
* ''Series/{{Succession}}'' (2018–23) as Ewan Roy (recurring role)
[[/folder]]
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