Actor James Cromwell pleads no contest in Wis.

(AP) MADISON, Wis. - Actor James Cromwell has pleaded no contest to disrupting a University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents meeting last month while protesting cat experiments at the school.

The 73-year-old Cromwell and another activist, 27-year-old Jeremy Beckham, were charged with disorderly conduct following the meeting on the UW-Madison campus Feb. 7.

Both men held large signs showing a cat with metal implanted in its head at a campus lab while shouting about the treatment of cats.

Cromwell’s attorney, Marcus Jens Berghahn, entered no contest pleas on both men’s behalf Monday. A court commissioner ordered each to pay $263 in forfeitures and costs.

Cromwell was nominated for an Academy Award for the 1995 film "Babe." His film credits also include "L.A. Confidential" and "The Green Mile."