Cary Elwes

English actor and writerTemplate:SHORTDESC:English actor and writer[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

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**Ivan Simon Cary Elwes** (Template:IPAc-en; born 26 October 1962) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for his leading film roles as Westley in *The Princess Bride* (1987), Robin Hood in *Robin Hood: Men in Tights* (1993), and Dr. Lawrence Gordon in the *Saw* film series. He is also known for leading roles in films like *Glory* (1989), *Hot Shots!* (1991), and *The Jungle Book* (1994), as well as supporting roles in films including *Days of Thunder* (1990), *Twister* (1996), *Kiss the Girls* (1997), *Liar Liar* (1997), Michael Collins in *From the Earth to the Moon* (1998), *Cradle Will Rock* (1999), *Shadow of the Vampire* (2000), *The Cat's Meow* (2001), *Ella Enchanted* (2004), *A Christmas Carol* (2009), and *No Strings Attached* (2011). He has had recurring roles in television series including *The X-Files*, *Psych*, and *Stranger Things*. He joined the third season of *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel* as Gavin Hawk, a famed Broadway actor.

## Early life

Ivan Simon Cary Elwes was born on 26 October 1962 in Westminster, London, the youngest of three sons of portrait painter Dominic Elwes and interior designer and socialite Tessa Kennedy. He is the brother of artist Damian Elwes and film producer Cassian Elwes. His stepfather, Elliott Kastner, was an American film producer. His paternal grandfather was painter Simon Elwes, whose own father was the diplomat and tenor Gervase Elwes (1866–1921). His other great-grandfathers include the diplomat Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell and industrialist Ivan Rikard Ivanović. Elwes has English, Irish, Scottish, Croatian Jewish, and Serbian ancestry, the latter two from his maternal grandmother, Daška McLean, whose second husband, Billy McLean, was an operative for Special Operations Executive during World War II.

One of Elwes's relatives is John Elwes, who was believed to be the inspiration for Ebenezer Scrooge in *A Christmas Carol* (1843), having been referenced by Charles Dickens himself in chapter six of his last completed novel, *Our Mutual Friend*. Elwes himself played five roles in the 2009 film adaptation of *A Christmas Carol*. Through his maternal grandfather, Elwes is also related to Sir Alexander William "Blackie" Kennedy, one of the first photographers to document the archaeological site of Petra following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Elwes was brought up as a Roman Catholic and was an altar boy at Westminster Cathedral, although he did not attend denominational schools as most of the men on his father's side of the family had, including his father. His paternal relatives include such clerics as Dudley Charles Cary-Elwes (1868–1932), the Roman Catholic Bishop of Northampton, Abbott Columba Cary-Elwes (Ampleforth Abbey, Saint Louis Abbey), and Father Luke Cary-Elwes (Fort Augustus Abbey). He discussed this in an interview while he was filming the 2005 CBS television film *Pope John Paul II*, in which he played the young priest Karol Wojtyła.

Elwes's parents divorced when he was four years old. In 1975, when Elwes was 13, his father died by suicide. He was educated at Harrow School, and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In 1981, he moved to the United States to study acting at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. While living there, Elwes studied acting at both the Actors Studio and the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute under the tutelage of Al Pacino's mentor, Charlie Laughton (not to be confused with English actor Charles Laughton). As a teenager, he also worked as a production assistant on the films *Absolution*, *Octopussy*, and *Superman*, where he was assigned to Marlon Brando. When Elwes introduced himself to the famous actor, Brando insisted on calling him "Rocky" after Rocky Marciano.

## Career

### Film

Elwes made his acting debut in 1984 with Marek Kanievska's film *Another Country*, which was loosely based on the English boarding school exploits of British spies, Burgess, Philby and MacLean. He played James Harcourt, a gay student. He went on to play Guilford Dudley in the British historical drama film *Lady Jane*, opposite Helena Bonham Carter. He was then cast as a stable-boy-turned-swashbuckler Westley in Rob Reiner's fantasy-comedy *The Princess Bride*, which was based on the novel of the same name by William Goldman. It was a modest box office success, but received critical acclaim, earning a score of 97% on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Since being released on home video and television, the film has become a cult classic.

> Initially the studio didn't know how to market it. Was it an adventure? A fantasy? A comedy? A romance? A kid's movie? In the end they sold it as a kid's movie and it largely had to rely on word of mouth ... people tell me they still have their VHS copy that has been passed down from one generation to the next.
>
> Interview from the film's DVD release in 2001

Elwes continued to work steadily, varying between dramatic roles, such as in the Oscar-winning *Glory* (1989), and comedic roles, as in *Hot Shots!* (1991). In 1993, he starred as Robin Hood in Mel Brooks's comedy, *Robin Hood: Men in Tights*. Elwes then appeared in supporting roles in such films as Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of *Bram Stoker's Dracula*, *The Crush*, *The Jungle Book* (1994), *Twister*, *Liar Liar*, and *Kiss the Girls*. In 1999, he portrayed famed theatre and film producer John Houseman for Tim Robbins in his ensemble film based on Orson Welles's musical, *Cradle Will Rock*. Following that, he travelled to Luxembourg to work with John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe in *Shadow of the Vampire*. In 2001, he co-starred in Peter Bogdanovich's ensemble film *The Cat's Meow* portraying movie mogul Thomas Ince, who died mysteriously while vacationing with William Randolph Hearst on his yacht.

In 2004, Elwes starred in the horror–thriller *Saw* which, at a budget of a little over $1 million, grossed over $100 million worldwide. The same year he appeared in *Ella Enchanted*, this time as the villain, not the hero. He made an uncredited appearance as Sam Green, the man who introduced Andy Warhol to Edie Sedgwick, in the 2006 film *Factory Girl*. In 2007, he appeared in Garry Marshall's *Georgia Rule* opposite Jane Fonda.

In 2010, he returned to the *Saw* franchise in *Saw 3D* (2010), the seventh film in the series, as Dr. Lawrence Gordon. In 2011, he was selected by Ivan Reitman to star alongside Natalie Portman in *No Strings Attached*. That same year, Elwes and Garry Marshall teamed up again in the ensemble romantic comedy *New Year's Eve* opposite Robert de Niro and Halle Berry.

In 2012, Elwes starred in the independent drama *The Citizen*. and the following year Elwes joined Selena Gomez for the comedy ensemble, *Behaving Badly* directed by Tim Garrick. In 2014, he starred in John Herzfeld's ensemble comedy *Reach Me*. In 2015, he completed four movies: the ensemble drama *Sugar Mountain* directed by Richard Gray; and the dramas *H8RZ*, directed by Derrick Borte, *We Don't Belong Here*, opposite Anton Yelchin and Catherine Keener directed by Peer Pedersen, and *Being Charlie* which reunited Elwes with director Rob Reiner after 28 years and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In January 2016, Elwes portrayed Andy Warhol opposite Kevin Spacey in *The Billionaire Boys Club* directed by James Cox.

### Television

Elwes made his first television appearance in 1996 as David Lookner on *Seinfeld*. Two years later he played astronaut Michael Collins in the Golden Globe Award-winning HBO miniseries *From the Earth To the Moon*. The following year Elwes was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for his portrayal of Colonel James Burton in *The Pentagon Wars* directed by Richard Benjamin. In 1999, he guest starred as Dr. John York in an episode of the television series *The Outer Limits*. Shortly afterward he received another Golden Satellite Award nomination for his work on the ensemble NBC Television movie *Uprising* opposite Jon Voight directed by Jon Avnet. Elwes had a recurring role in the final season (from 2001 to 2002) of Chris Carter's hit series *The X-Files* as FBI Assistant Director Brad Follmer.

In 2004, he portrayed serial killer Ted Bundy in the A&E Network film *The Riverman*, which became one of the highest rated original movies in the network's history and garnered a prestigious BANFF Rockie Award nomination. The following year, Elwes played the young Karol Wojtyła in the CBS television film *Pope John Paul II*, his second time working with Jon Voight. 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 native Poland and became the first film ever to break $1 million (GBP 739,075.00 current) in three days.

In 2007, he made a guest appearance on the *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* episode "Dependent" as a Mafia lawyer. In 2009, he played the role of Pierre Despereaux, an international art thief, in the fourth-season premiere of *Psych*. In 2010, he returned to *Psych*, reprising his role in the second half of the fifth season, again in the show's sixth season, and again in the show's eighth season premiere. In 2014 Elwes played Hugh Ashmeade, Director of the CIA, in the second season of the BYUtv series *Granite Flats*.

In May 2015, Elwes was cast as a series regular in Crackle's first streaming network series drama, *The Art of More*, which explores the cutthroat world of premium auction houses. He played Arthur Davenport, a shrewd and eccentric world-class collector of illegal art and antiquities. The series debuted on 19 November and was picked up for a second season.

In April 2018 Elwes was cast as Larry Kline, Mayor of Hawkins, for the third season of the Netflix series *Stranger Things*, which premiered in July 2019. In May 2019, it was announced that he would be joining the third season of the Amazon series *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel* as Gavin Hawk.

### Voice-over work

Elwes's voice-over work includes the narrator in James Patterson's audiobook *The Jester*, as well as characters in film and television animations such as *Quest for Camelot*, *Pinky and The Brain*, *Batman Beyond*, and the English versions of the Studio Ghibli films, *Porco Rosso*, *Whisper of the Heart* and *The Cat Returns*. For the 2004 video game *The Bard's Tale*, he served as screenwriter, improviser, and voice actor of the main character The Bard. In 2009, Elwes reunited with Jason Alexander for the Indian film, *Delhi Safari*. 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 in *Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey* as the voice of scientists Edmond Halley and Robert Hooke.

### Motion capture work

In 2009 Elwes joined the cast of Robert Zemeckis's motion capture adaptation of Charles Dickens' *A Christmas Carol* portraying five roles. That same year he was chosen by Steven Spielberg to appear in his motion capture adaptation of Belgian artist Hergé's popular comic strip *The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn*.

### Theatre

In 2003 Elwes portrayed Kerry Max Cook in the off-Broadway play *The Exonerated* in New York, directed by Bob Balaban (18–23 March 2003).

### Literature

In October 2014 Touchstone (Simon & Schuster) published Elwes's memoir of the making of *The Princess Bride*, entitled *As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride*, which Elwes co-wrote with Joe Layden. The book featured never-before-told stories, exclusive behind-the-scenes photographs, and interviews with co-stars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner. The book debuted on *The New York Times Best Seller list*.

### Other projects

In 2014, Elwes co-wrote the screenplay for a film entitled *Elvis & Nixon*, about the pair's famous meeting at the White House in 1970. The film, which starred Michael Shannon and Kevin Spacey, was bought by Amazon as their first theatrical feature and was released on 22 April 2016.

## Lawsuit

In August 2005, Elwes filed a lawsuit against Evolution Entertainment, his management firm and producer of *Saw*. Elwes said he was promised a minimum of one percent of the producers' net profits of the film and did not receive the full amount. The case was settled out of court. In 2010, he reprised his role in *Saw 3D*.

## Personal life

Elwes met photographer Lisa Marie Kurbikoff in 1991 at a chili cook-off in Malibu, California, and they became engaged in 1997. They married in 2000 and have one daughter together.

## References

1. ↑ "The Almanac", UPI (26 October 2008). Retrieved on 29 July 2012.
2. ↑ Template:Cite journal
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Colin Hanks, Johnny Knoxville, Alex Pettyfer Added to 'Elvis & Nixon'", *TheWrap* (16 January 2015). Retrieved on 27 December 2017.
4. ↑ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers" (in en), *The New York Times* (2 November 2014). Retrieved on 27 December 2017.
5. ↑ "Cary Elwes Movie Box Office Results". *Box Office Mojo*. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/people/chart/?id=caryelwes.htm. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
6. ↑ Tallerico, Brian (2 July 2019). "'Stranger Things': Cary Elwes Lives It Up As a Shady Mayor", *The New York Times*. Retrieved on 13 December 2019.
7. ↑ Otterson, Joe (30 May 2019). "'Marvelous Mrs. Maisel' Season 3 Adds Cary Elwes, Stephanie Hsu (EXCLUSIVE)", *Variety*. Retrieved on 13 December 2019.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Template:Cite journal
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Kim, Jae-Ha (12 January 1990). "British actor takes turn as American in 'Glory'", *Chicago Sun-Times*, p. 25.
10. ↑ Template:Cite book
11. ↑ 90265 Malibu Life & Style Magazine Issue No. 2; Fall 2013
12. ↑ "One Man’s Great Game: Lieutenant Colonel "Billy" McLean - Patrick Leigh Fermor". *Patrick Leigh Fermor*. http://patrickleighfermor.org/2010/07/01/one-mans-great-game-lieutenant-colonel-%E2%80%9Cbilly%E2%80%9D-mclean/.
13. ↑ McLean, Billy (4 March 2013). "Billy McLean - S.O.E. Trails". S.O.E. Trails. https://soetrails.wordpress.com/tag/billy-mclean/page/2/.
14. ↑ Moncur, Michael. "Charles Dickens: Our Mutual Friend". The Literature Page. http://www.literaturepage.com/read/dickens-our-mutual-friend-577.html.
15. ↑ Miller, Norman (20 September 2016). "John Elwes: scrimper who inspired Ebenezer Scrooge", *The Daily Telegraph*.
16. ↑ "Sir Alexander Blackie William". Genealogy.com. http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/kennedy/658/.
17. ↑ Guthrie, Marisa (4 December 2005). "The spirit moved him", *Daily News*. Retrieved on 13 September 2010. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. "Elwes, who grew up a Catholic..."
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Template:Cite journal
19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Template:Cite journal
20. ↑ "Mark & Brian w/Cary Elwes on Marlon Brando". YouTube. 8 May 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2yqE\_QYanU. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Template:Cite journal
22. ↑ "The Princess Bride (1987)". *Rotten Tomatoes*. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/princess\_bride. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
23. ↑ Westbrook, Bruce (6 September 2001). "'Bride' basks in glow of video", *Houston Chronicle*.
24. ↑ "Saw (2004)". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=saw.htm. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
25. ↑ "Cary Elwes Confirmed for 'Saw 3D', Full Synopsis and Cast". *Bloody Disgusting*. 25 April 2010. Archived from the original on 26 April 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100426192519/http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19954. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
26. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (13 July 2011). "4 thesps apply for 'The Citizen'". *Variety*. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110820004206/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118039848. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
27. ↑ "These Upcoming Kevin Spacey Projects May Be in Trouble Now" (in en-US), *The Cheat Sheet* (1 December 2017).
28. ↑ "Pope Picture Breaks Box Office Records", contactmusic.com (3 September 2006).
29. ↑ "First Two Teaser Clips Psych: 9". *DreadCentral*. CraveOnline. 2 January 2010. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121102224255/http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/35164/first-two-teaser-clips-psych-9. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
30. ↑ Slezak, Michael (21 July 2011). "Psych First Look: The Season 6 Scene Everyone Will Be Talking About! Plus, Musical Update!". *TVLine*. Archived from the original on 23 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110923042810/http://www.tvline.com/2011/07/psych-spoiler-video-season-6-james-roday-dule-hill/. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
31. ↑ Petski, Denise. "Cary Elwes Joins ‘The Art Of More’ Drama Series On Crackle". *Deadline Hollywood*. http://deadline.com/2015/05/cary-elwes-cast-the-art-of-more-drama-series-crackle-1201420939/.
32. ↑ "Stranger Things S3 Casting Announcement" (in en). *Netflix*. https://media.netflix.com/en/press-releases/stranger-things-s3-casting-announcement.
33. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (31 May 2019). "Cary Elwes and His Smoldering Eyes Are Joining Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 3", *Vanity Fair*. Retrieved on 13 December 2019.
34. ↑ Template:Cite book
35. ↑ "Delhi Safari to feature voice over by Vanessa Williams and Jason Alexander". *Bollywood Hungama*. 30 May 2011. Archived from the original on 4 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110904200314/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/2011/05/30/15833/index.html. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
36. ↑ "'The Adventures of Tintin' premieres in London – Pictures". *Digital Spy*. http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a347079/the-adventures-of-tintin-premieres-in-london-pictures.html#~p5ZywC1hHstyq3.
37. ↑ Hernandez, Ernio (18 March 2003). "Cary Elwes and Brooke Shields Join Off-Broadway's *Exonerated*, 18–23 March". *Playbill.com*. Archived from the original on 29 June 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100629082056/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/78481-Cary-Elwes-and-Brooke-Shields-Join-Off-Broadways-Exonerated-March-18-23. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
38. ↑ "As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride", *The New York Times* (2 November 2014). Retrieved on 18 November 2014.
39. ↑ "Cary Elwes wrote book about the making of the film, *The Princess Bride*". geekwithcurves.com. June 2014. http://www.geekwithcurves.com/2014/06/cary-elwes-wrote-book-about-princess.html. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
40. ↑ Setoodeh, Ramin (23 June 2015). "‘Elvis & Nixon’ Starring Kevin Spacey Sold to Amazon". *Variety*. https://variety.com/2015/film/news/amazon-elvis-nixon-kevin-spacey-1201500537/.
41. ↑ Mitchell, Peter (20 August 2005). "Not everyone happy with their cut from Saw", AAP, *The Age*. Retrieved on 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012.
42. ↑ Gingold, Michael (25 April 2010). ""Saw VII" Synopsis and Cast Revealed – Including Cary Elwes!". *Fangoria*. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120614095114/http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?id=641:saw-vii-synopsis-and-cast-revealedincluding-cary-elwes&option=com\_content&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=167. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
43. ↑ Template:Cite journal
44. ↑ Silverman, Stephen M.; Jordan, Julie (27 April 2007). "Cary Elwes, Wife Welcome a Girl". *People*. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20111107065256/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20037158,00.html. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
45. ↑ "The Bard's Tale on GOG.com". https://www.gog.com/game/the\_bards\_tale.

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