Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes
The handsome blonde actor Cary Elwes (pronounced El-Ways) was born in London to a portrait painter and an interior designer. He moved to the U.S. to study at Sarah Lawrence College, but made his film debut in the U.K. with the coming-of-age drama Another Country (1984), co-starring alongside fellow handsome young actors Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. He soon started a pattern of appearing in historical dramas and other period pieces, first with Lady Jane (1985), opposite Helena Bonham Carter, and then as the lead role in Maschenka (1986), based on the book by Vladimir Nabokov. However, he didn't make his international film breakthrough until 1987 with Rob Reiner's classic adventure fairy tale The Princess Bride. He seemed to possess a timeless quality essential for the role of Westley, the sensitive-yet-daring farm boy who becomes the swashbuckling Dred Pirate Roberts and gallantly fights for his love. Continuing with historical films, he capably handled a Southern accent for the Civil War drama Glory and then tried a one-time stint as associate producer for the little-seen drama Leather Jackets. Next, he made a successful jump to broad comedy with lead roles in Hot Shots! (1991) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Switching to darker themes, he played Lord Arthur Holmwood in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) and Alicia Silverstone's object of obsession in The Crush (1993). The following year, he briefly returned to adventures for The Jungle Book before moving on to playing authority figures in the thrillers Twister and Kiss the Girls. In the late '90s, he voiced cartoons and appeared in a few made-for-TV movies and miniseries until 1999, when he transformed his usually slender frame for the role of portly producer John Houseman (Orson Welles' colleague) in Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock. He continued portraying cinematic legends in his next few films, including the German cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner in Shadow of the Vampire and pioneering producer Thomas H. Ince in The Cat's Meow. In 2001,he played a reoccurring role on The X-Files as FBI Assistant Brad Follmer and returned to romantic comedy adventures as Prince Regent Edgar in Ella Enchanted (2003). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Filmography of Cary Elwes:
- Saw with Danny Glover
- Ella Enchanted with Anne Hathaway , Hugh Dancy , Eric Idle , Minnie Driver , Joanna Lumley
- Twister with Helen Hunt , Bill Paxton , Jami Gertz , Jake Busey , Todd Field , Philip Seymour Hoffman , Jeremy Davies
- Neo Ned with Sally Kirkland
- Cradle Will Rock with Hank Azaria , Ruben Blades , Joan Cusack , John Cusack , Philip Baker Hall , Cherry Jones , Bill Murray , Vanessa Redgrave , Susan Sarandon , Jamey Sheridan , John Turturro , Emily Watson , Bob Balaban , Jack Black , Paul Giamatti , Barnard Hughes , Barbara Sukowa , Harris Yulin
- The Bride with Sting , Jennifer Beals , Clancy Brown , Geraldine Page , Timothy Spall
- The Chase with Charlie Sheen , Ray Wise
Cary Elwes Trivia
