Cary Elwes | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Elwes atGalaxyCon Richmond in 2025 | |
| Born | Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (1962-10-26)26 October 1962 (age 63) Westminster, London, England |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) | Dominick Elwes Tessa Kennedy |
| Relatives | Cassian Elwes (brother) Damian Elwes (brother) |
Ivan Simon Cary Elwes (/ˈɛlwɪs/EL-wiss; born 26 October 1962)[1][2] is an English actor. He starred as Westley inThe Princess Bride (1987),[3] and also had lead roles in films such asRobin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) and theSaw series. The accolades he has received include nominations for aScreen Actors Guild Award and twoSatellite Awards. Elwes's other performances in films includeGlory (1989);Days of Thunder (1990);Hot Shots! (1991);Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992);Twister (1996);Kiss the Girls (1997);Liar Liar (1997);Ella Enchanted (2004);No Strings Attached (2011);BlackBerry andMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (both 2023); andMission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025).
Elwes has appeared on television in a number of series includingThe X-Files,Seinfeld,From the Earth to the Moon,Psych, andLife in Pieces. In 2019, he appeared in theNetflix drama seriesStranger Things, theAmazon Prime comedy seriesThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and in 2024, he appeared in theParamount+ comedy seriesKnuckles.[4][5] Elwes has written amemoir of his time working onThe Princess Bride calledAs You Wish, which was published in 2014.[6]
Elwes was born on 26 October 1962 inWestminster, London. He is the youngest of three sons of portrait painterDominick Elwes[8] andTessa Kennedy, an interior designer and socialite. Cary is the brother of artistDamian Elwes[9] and film producersCassian Elwes and Milica Kastner. Cary's stepfather,Elliott Kastner, was an American film producer and the first American to set up independent film production in the United Kingdom.[8] Cary's paternal grandfather was the portrait painterSimon Elwes,[9] whose own father was the diplomat and tenorGervase Elwes (1866–1921).[10]
One of Cary Elwes's relatives isJohn Elwes, aBritish miser who was considered to be the inspiration forEbenezer Scrooge inA Christmas Carol (1843), having been referenced byCharles Dickens in chapter six ofOur Mutual Friend.[11][12] Elwes played five roles in the2009 film adaptation ofA Christmas Carol. Through his maternal grandfather, Elwes is also related toSir Alexander William "Blackie" Kennedy, one of the first photographers to document the archaeological site ofPetra following the collapse of theOttoman Empire.[13]
Elwes was brought up as aCatholic and was analtar boy atWestminster Cathedral.[14] His paternal relatives include suchclerics asDudley Charles Cary-Elwes (1868–1932), theBishop of Northampton, and AbbotColumba Cary-Elwes (Ampleforth Abbey,Saint Louis Abbey). He discussed this in an interview while he was filming the 2005CBS television filmPope John Paul II, in which he played the young priestKarol Wojtyła.[15]
Elwes's parents divorced when he was four years old. In 1975, when Elwes was 13, his father died by suicide.[16] He was educated atHarrow School,[9] and theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[17] In 1981, he moved to the United States to study acting atSarah Lawrence College inBronxville, New York.[18] While living there, Elwes studied acting at both theActors Studio[18] and theLee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute under the tutelage ofAl Pacino's mentor, Charlie Laughton (not to be confused with English actorCharles Laughton).[17] As a teenager, he also worked as a production assistant on the filmsAbsolution,Octopussy, andSuperman, where he was assigned toMarlon Brando. When Elwes introduced himself to the actor, Brando insisted on calling him "Rocky" afterRocky Marciano.[19]
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Elwes made his acting debut in 1984 inMarek Kanievska's filmAnother Country, which was loosely based on the Englishboarding school exploits of British spiesBurgess,Philby andMacLean. He played James Harcourt, a gay student.[9] He then playedGuilford Dudley in the British historical drama filmLady Jane, oppositeHelena Bonham Carter. He was cast as stable-boy-turned-swashbuckler Westley inRob Reiner's fantasy-comedyThe Princess Bride (1987), which was based on thenovel of the same name byWilliam Goldman. It was a modest box office success,[20] but received critical acclaim. As a result of years of reviews, it earned a score of 97% on the review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes.[21] Since being released on home video and television, the film has become acult classic.[20]
Initially the studio didn't know how to market it. Was it an adventure? A fantasy? A comedy? A romance? A kids' movie? In the end they sold it as a kids' movie and it largely had to rely on word of mouth ... people tell me they still have theirVHS copy that has been passed down from one generation to the next.
— Interview from the film's DVD release in 2001[22]
Elwes continued to work steadily, varying between dramatic roles, such as in theOscar-winningGlory (1989) and comedic roles, as inHot Shots! (1991). He played a rival driver to Tom Cruise inDays of Thunder (1990). In 1993, he starred asRobin Hood inMel Brooks's comedyRobin Hood: Men in Tights. Elwes then appeared in supporting roles in such films asFrancis Ford Coppola's adaptation ofBram Stoker's Dracula (1992),The Crush (1993),The Jungle Book (1994),Twister (1996),Liar Liar (1997), andKiss the Girls. In 1999, he portrayed famed theatre and film producerJohn Houseman forTim Robbins in his ensemble film based onOrson Welles's musical,Cradle Will Rock. Following that, he travelled toLuxembourg to work withJohn Malkovich andWillem Dafoe inShadow of the Vampire.
Elwes made his first television appearance in 1996 as David Lukner onSeinfeld. Two years later he played astronautMichael Collins in theGolden Globe Award–winningHBOminiseriesFrom the Earth to the Moon. The following year Elwes was nominated for aGolden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for his portrayal of ColonelJames Burton inThe Pentagon Wars directed byRichard Benjamin. In 1999, he guest starred as Dr. John York in an episode of the television seriesThe Outer Limits.
In 2001, he co-starred inPeter Bogdanovich's ensemble filmThe Cat's Meow portraying film mogulThomas Ince, who died mysteriously while vacationing withWilliam Randolph Hearst on hisyacht. Shortly afterward Elwes received anotherGolden Satellite Award nomination for his work on the ensemble NBC Television filmUprising oppositeJon Voight directed byJon Avnet. Elwes had a recurring role in the final season (from 2001 to 2002) ofChris Carter's hit seriesThe X-Files asFBI Assistant DirectorBrad Follmer. In 2003 Elwes portrayedKerry Max Cook in theoff-Broadway playThe Exonerated in New York, directed byBob Balaban (18–23 March 2003).[23]
In 2004, Elwes starred asDr. Lawrence Gordon in thehorror–thrillerSaw which, at a budget of a little over $1 million, grossed over $100 million worldwide.[24] The same year he appeared inElla Enchanted, this time as the villain, not the hero. Also in 2004, he portrayed serial killerTed Bundy in theA&E Network filmThe Riverman, which became one of the highest rated original films in the network's history and garnered a prestigiousBANFF Rockie Award nomination. The following year, Elwes played the youngKarol Wojtyła in theCBS television filmPope John Paul II. The TV film was highly successful not only in North America but also in Europe, where it broke box office records in the late Pope's nativePoland and became the first film ever to break $1 million in three days.[25] He made an uncredited appearance asSam Green, the man who introducedAndy Warhol toEdie Sedgwick, in the 2006 filmFactory Girl. In 2007, he appeared inGarry Marshall'sGeorgia Rule oppositeJane Fonda.
In 2007, he made a guest appearance on theLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Dependent" as aMafia lawyer. In 2009, he played the role ofPierre Despereaux, an international art thief, in the fourth-season premiere ofPsych.[26] Also in 2009 Elwes joined the cast ofRobert Zemeckis'smotion capture adaptation ofCharles Dickens'sA Christmas Carol portraying five roles. That same year he was chosen bySteven Spielberg to appear in his motion capture adaptation of Belgian artistHergé's popular comic stripThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.[27]Elwes'svoice-over work includes the narrator inJames Patterson'saudiobookThe Jester,[28] as well as characters in film andtelevision animations such asQuest for Camelot,Pinky and The Brain,Batman Beyond, and the English versions of theStudio Ghibli films,Porco Rosso,Whisper of the Heart andThe Cat Returns. For the 2004 video gameThe Bard's Tale, he served as screenwriter, improviser, and voice actor of the main character The Bard. In 2009, Elwes reunited withJason Alexander for theIndian film,Delhi Safari.[29] The following year Elwes portrayed the part of Gremlin Gus in Disney's video game,Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two. In 2014, he appeared inCosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey as the voice of scientistsEdmond Halley andRobert Hooke.
In 2010, he returned to theSaw franchise inSaw 3D (2010), the seventh film in the series, as Dr.Lawrence Gordon.[30] In 2010, he returned toPsych, reprising his role in the second half of thefifth season, again in the show'ssixth season, and again in the show'seighth season premiere.[31] In 2014, Elwes played Hugh Ashmeade, Director of theCIA, in the second season of theBYU TV seriesGranite Flats. In 2011, he was selected byIvan Reitman to star alongsideNatalie Portman inNo Strings Attached. That same year, Elwes andGarry Marshall teamed up again in the ensemble romantic comedyNew Year's Eve oppositeRobert De Niro andHalle Berry.
In 2012, Elwes starred in the independent dramaThe Citizen.[32] and the following year Elwes joinedSelena Gomez for the comedy ensemble,Behaving Badly directed by Tim Garrick. In 2015, he completedSugar Mountain directed by Richard Gray; the dramaWe Don't Belong Here, oppositeAnton Yelchin andCatherine Keener directed by Peer Pedersen, andBeing Charlie which reunited Elwes with directorRob Reiner after 28 years and premiered at theToronto International Film Festival. In 2016, Elwes starred oppositePenélope Cruz inFernando Trueba's Spanish-language period picThe Queen of Spain, a sequel to Trueba's 1998 dramaThe Girl of Your Dreams. This also re-united Elwes with hisPrincess Bride co-star,Mandy Patinkin.[33]
In October 2014 Touchstone (Simon & Schuster) published Elwes's memoir of the making ofThe Princess Bride, entitledAs You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride, which he co-wrote with Joe Layden. The book featured never-before-told stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs, and interviews with co-starsRobin Wright,Wallace Shawn,Billy Crystal,Christopher Guest,Fred Savage andMandy Patinkin, as well as screenwriterWilliam Goldman, producerNorman Lear, and directorRob Reiner. The book debuted onThe New York Times Best Seller list.[34][35]
In 2014, Elwes co-wrote the screenplay for a film entitledElvis & Nixon, about the pair's famous meeting at theWhite House in 1970.[36] The film starredMichael Shannon andKevin Spacey; it was bought byAmazon as their first theatrical feature and released on 22 April 2016.[37] In May 2015, Elwes was cast as Arthur Davenport, a shrewd and eccentric world-class collector of illegal art and antiquities inCrackle's first streaming network series drama,The Art of More, which explored the cutthroat world of premium auction houses. The series debuted on 19 November and was picked up for a second season.[38]
In April 2018 Elwes portrayed Larry Kline, mayor of Hawkins, for the third season of theNetflix seriesStranger Things, which premiered in July 2019.[39] He was nominated along with the cast for theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. In May 2019, he joined the third season of theAmazon seriesThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Gavin Hawk.[40]
Elwes met photographer Lisa Marie Kurbikoff in 1991 at achili cook-off inMalibu, California; they were engaged in 1997.[41] They married in 2000 and have one daughter.[42] Elwes and his family lost their home in thePalisades Fire during theJanuary 2025 Southern California wildfires, but evacuated safely.[43]
In March 2021, Elwes posted on his social media accounts that his younger half-sister Milica had died after battling Stage 4 cancer for more than a year.[44]
Elwes is known for his feud withRepublican Texas Senator andPrincess Bride fanTed Cruz.[45][46] According to theHollywood Reporter, Elwes initiated the 2020 fundraiser that re-united manyPrincess Bride cast members to support Joe Biden in the battleground state of Wisconsin.[47][48] ThePrincess Bride Reunion raised more than $4 million forWisconsin Democrats.[49]
In August 2005, Elwes filed a lawsuit againstEvolution Entertainment, his management firm and producer ofSaw. Elwes said he was promised a minimum of 1% of the producers' net profits and did not receive the full amount.[50] The case wassettled out of court. Elwes returned to the series in 2010 reprising his role inSaw 3D.[51]
| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Kiss the Girls | Nominated | |
| 1999 | Satellite Awards | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | The Pentagon Wars | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Uprising | Nominated | ||
| 2005 | MTV Movie Award | Best Frightened Performance | Saw | Nominated | |
| 2020 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series | Stranger Things | Nominated | [52] |
| 2023 | Fargo Film Festival | Ted M. Larson Award | — | Honored | [53] |
Today's Birthdays: Cary Elwes
Elwes, who grew up a Catholic...
[w]as a modest hit. But it became a raging cult classic after being released on video and shown on cable.
Elwes and Lisa Marie (née Kurbikoff) met in 1991 at a Malibu chili cook-off. They were engaged in 1997 and tied the knot three years later.
Elwes organized the Princess Bride reunion event with the original cast of the 1987 classic film in mid-September that went on to raise $4.25 million dollars.
Elwes also played a key role in organizing the fundraiser.
