Character actor James Cromwell was honored at the fourth annual Carney Awards, where he used his platform to call for change in the United States and warn of violence if President Trump and his allies remain in office.



Cromwell, a noted character actor known for roles in projects such as "Babe," “The Green Mile,” “Big Hero 6,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “American Horror Story,” is also a political activist who has worked with organizations such as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He’s frequently been arrested for his role in planned, peaceful protests at places like SeaWorld and a natural gas power plant in New York.

Speaking to Variety at the event, he warned of the turn that he sees America taking and cautioned there will be “blood in the streets” if Republicans remain in control.

“This is nascent fascism. We always had a turnkey, totalitarian state — all we needed was an excuse, and all the institutions were in place to turn this into pure fascism,” Cromwell said. “If we don’t stop [President Trump] now, then we will have a revolution for real. Then there will be blood in the streets.”

The star, who previously played George H.W. Bush in Oliver Stone's "W," echoed these sentiments during his acceptance speech, where he warned that he believes the country is headed toward the possibility of a violent revolution.

“We’re living in very curious times, and something is coming up which is desperately important to this country and to this planet, and that is an election, in which hopefully in some measure we are going to take back our democracy,” he said. “We will have a government that represents us and not the donor class. We will cut through the corruption, [and] we won’t have to do what comes next, which is either a non-violent revolution or a violent one, because this has got to end.”

Comedian Patton Oswalt hosted the event, which honored fellow character actors such as Joe Morton, Jessica Walter, Joe Pantoliano, Bruce Greenwood and M. Emmet Walsh.