Past & Present Cromwell

I’ve been shooting stories towards upcoming issues of the new iteration of the Guardian weekend magazine Saturday for a while, but the first to run was on famous climate activists. In particular, folks who participated in civil disobedience (often getting arrested) to bring attention to issues that were important to them.

Spending an afternoon with James Cromwell was a delight. As one of the top character actors working today, I’ve seen him in dozens of TV shows and movies, making him both familiar and an icon.

We shot the white seamless studio shot first, to align with the other activist pictures. While my assistants were adjusting the lighting Cromwell and I chatted a bit. We first spoke about our immediate surroundings, and how he liked living in Upstate New York, but I had read a bit about his background and soon brought up his father, John Cromwell, who had been a director in Hollywood until he was blacklisted after the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings.

Cromwell said, “You don’t want to hear about that, it’s a long and involved story.” I was a little concerned that I had upset him, but cautiously replied, “No, I’m interested.” I had no need to worry; Cromwell was clearly proud of his lineage and pleased to talk about it.

He told me of his father’s film work, and his struggle with the mid-century American politics and Hollywood, with the story ending on a positive note, as John Cromwell wrote and directed a number of successful Broadway plays later in his career.

Our engaged conversation set a great tone for the session, which carried on for the full afternoon, up until sunset.

Top Image: My favorite picture from the James Cromwell session.

Second Image: BTS photo by Cromwell’s wife Anna Stuart.

Third Image: The Guardian Saturday grid cover, featuring my Cromwell and Pramilla Malick.

Bottom Image: Cromwell by the pond.