Cromwell finds role as president depressing
Although many actors have portrayed presidents, few have played a chief executive with his finger on a button that will signal a nuclear holocaust. James Cromwell, best known as the soft-spoken farmer in the heart-warming “Babe,” tackles such as role in “The Sum of All Fears,” based on the best seller by Tom Clancy and opening May 31. The 62-year-old character actor found gearing up psychologically to create a president torn between launching missiles or gambling that America will be the victim of a first strike to be daunting, draining and – at times – depressing.
“What intrigued me about ‘The Sum of All Fears’ was the ending – which comes with a realization that these weapons of mass destruction can never be used,” Cromwell said during a Philadelphia publicity stop for the PG-13 picture, which co-stars Ben Affleck (as CIA analyst Jack Ryan) and Morgan Freeman. “I believe that once you open that box (with nuclear weapons inside), there’s no telling where the destruction will end.”
In “The Sum of All Fears,” Clancy’s hero, Jack Ryan, uncovers a plot designed to spark a nuclear war between Russia and America. The unnerving film, which will give many viewers nightmares, makes it clear that governments can be manipulated and – perhaps most horrifying – that a nuclear device could be secretly transported to American soil.
“My job was to play President Robert Fowler as a man who was overwhelmed and realized that he had to make an untenable choice,” Cromwell said. “I truly believe that any president would have to have lost his marbles to press the button for a nuclear war, because that would signal the end of the world.
“I can’t imagine a lonelier position than president of the United States. I mean, what would you really do if you had to give the order to blow up a city and take the world to the brink of assured destruction? What would go through your mind? The reality of the situation is sobering.”
Cromwell, a graduate of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and a member of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), pondered the lives of two of his favorite politicians when preparing for “The Sum of All Fears.”
“Lyndon B. Johnson was one of the greatest presidents in history, and if he had lived, I believe Bobby Kennedy would have been the greatest president ever,” Cromwell said. “Lyndon had great humanity, and Bobby had great growth as a caring person because of his involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Bobby understood the needs of everyday citizens, and he deeply understood that people should be served by the government, which shouldn’t be a business. It should be a guardian for all of us.”
Throughout his career, Cromwell has enjoyed roles in numerous hits, including “L.A. Confidential” (1997), “Deep Impact” (1998), “The General’s Daughter” (1999), “The Green Mile” (1999) and “Space Cowboys” (2000). He provides the voice of a character known as the Calvary Colonel in the current animated success, “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.”
But no matter where he goes, people always want to ask about one movie, “Babe” (1995), that cast him as Arthur Hoggett, a farmer who trains a pig instead of a dog to herd sheep.
“People love ‘Babe’ because it’s the story of a creature with a totally unprejudiced heart,” Cromwell observed. “The film tells the truth in a way that children and adults understand, because it says dreams can come true, perseverance pays, all life is sacred and we’re all in this thing together.
“Ultimately, the message of ‘Babe’ is that love works, and people embrace that.”