JAMES CROMWELL
Date of Birth: January 27, 1940
Anyone who saw the charming movie Babe would have to swear James Cromwell was a New Zealand or British farmer (the film was actually shot in Australia). That's a testament to the skills of this very tall (6'4"), very experienced actor who was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in New York City. He'd actually been around for years, appearing on television series such as The Rockford Files, Barney Miller, M*A*S*H, Three's Company, Eight is Enough, Little House on the Prairie, Dallas, Family Ties, and Hill Street Blues prior to his starring role in Babe.
Both his parents are from the theater and after schooling at Middlebury College and Carnegie Tech, Cromwell followed his parents into the family business. Cromwell's second wife and one of his daughters are also actors and, in fact, all three have
appeared on TV's Star Trek—his second wife, Julie Cobb, played Yeoman Thompson in the episode By Any Other Name and his daughter, Rosemary Morgan, played Piri in episode The Chute.
A long-time vegetarian and supporter of animal rights, Cromwell was inspired to become a vegan after filming his Oscar-nominated role as Farmer Arthur Hoggett in Babe (1995).
Crowell has kept busy since his star turn in the popular film, playing roles in major motion pictures such as The Longest Yard (2005), The Queen (2006), Spider-Man 3 (2007) and Secretariat (2010), to name some of his most recent.