WAWAYANDA, N.Y. -- Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwell is heading to jail in New York for blocking traffic to protest a power plant.

A town judge sentenced the 77-year-old Cromwell and two fellow protesters to a week in the Orange County Jail for civil disobedience at the construction site of a 650-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in December 2015.

The protesters say the plant in Wawayanda, 96 kilometres northwest of New York City, threatens the environment. A spokesman for the group Protect Orange County says Cromwell and others will rally at the plant site before reporting to jail Friday afternoon.

Cromwell lives in a neighbouring town. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including "Babe" and "L.A. Confidential."