The fact that James Cromwell was never quite a leading man in Star Trek but impacted the franchise through repeated appearances is somewhat reflective of his career as a whole. In total, his filmography consists of more than 190 credits in movies and on TV, many of which are parts as secondary or tertiary characters in well-known projects.
Much of his early work consists of brief appearances on popular shows like “The Rockford Files,” “M*A*S*H,” “Night Court,” and “Matlock,” starting in the ’70s and continuing through the ’90s. He then earned his first and only Oscar nomination in the 1996 best supporting actor category for the role of Babe’s (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) owner, Arthur Hoggett, in the 1995 “Babe” movie. Other notable films he’s worked on include “L.A. Confidential,” “The Green Mile,” and “The Queen.”
His first Emmy nomination, notably, came in 2000 for a role in a TV movie titled “RKO 281.” After that, he earned guest actor nominations in 2001 and 2003 for “ER” and “Six Feet Under,” respectively. He finally won a supporting actor in a miniseries or movie Emmy in 2013 for his “American Horror Story” Season 2 role. Finally, he was nominated in 2020, 2022, and 2023 for his portrayal of Cousin Greg’s (Nicholas Braun) grandfather Ewan Roy on “Succession.” TV, then, is arguably his principal medium, so his repeated appearances on Star Trek TV shows are effectively par for the course.
