Cary Elwes

Tall and dashing, this fair-haired, blue-eyed English lead generally has been at his most appealing in heroic roles but in the mid-1990s branched out to playing the occasional villain with equal success. The youngest son of painter Dominic Elwes and interior designer Tessa Kennedy, Cary Elwes grew up a child of privilege and he utilized this background in his early film roles, notably as the intimate of a future spy in "Another Country" (1984), an examination of elite students at a British public boarding school in the 1930s. He first garnered attention, however, for his romantic turn as a high-born adolescent opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the English period drama "Lady Jane" (1986), then solidified his stature as Westley, the farmboy-turned-swashbuckling hero, in Rob Reiner's touching ode to fairy tales, "The Princess Bride" (1987).

Although he may have been expected to vault to the ranks of leading men, the handsome Elwes continued to accept supporting roles that demonstrated his versatility. He proved effective as the second-in-command to Matthew Broderick in the Civil War epic "Glory" (1989), and exhibited a flair for broad comedy as Charlie Sheen's rival in "Hot Shots!" (1991), the Jim Abrahams "Top Gun" parody. Although his portrayal of Lord Holmwood got lost behind the grand visuals of Francis Ford Coppola's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" (1992), he managed to rebound with a dead-on parody of Errol Flynn (by way of Kevin Costner) as a slightly dim denizen of Sherwood Forest in Mel Brooks' zany spoof "Robin Hood: Men In Tights" (1993). In the video hit "The Crush" (also 1993), Elwes was cast more for his looks than his acting, portraying the clueless journalist who finds himself the object of affection of his landlord's unhinged teenaged daughter (Alicia Silverstone). His screen characterizations took on a darker shading for the first time in the remake of "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book" (1994), in which he played a corrupt British officer whose greed and arrogance spoiled the jungle boy's idyllic existence. He followed in the same vein as the corporate-sponsored rival to Bill Paxton in "Twister" (1996) and as a detective in the thriller "Kiss the Girls" (1997). The actor also provided a fine voice characterization for the blind hero of the animated "Quest for Camelot" (1998) before delivering a well-received turn as a slightly fey John Houseman in Tim Robbins' period drama "Cradle Will Rock" (1999). He subsequently lent his swashbuckling appeal to the supporting role of German cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner in "Shadow of the Vampire" (2000), the fictionalized look at the behind-the-scenes making of F W Murnau's 1922 masterpiece "Nosferatu".

Although the stage-trained actor was once quoted as saying he preferred not to work in television, he ventured onto the small screen with a memorable guest appearance in a 1996 episode of the hit NBC sitcom "Seinfeld". Thereafter, Elwes was cast as a whistle-blower out to expose the US military's profligate spending in the based-on-fact satire "The Pentagon Wars" (HBO, 1998) and then segued to portraying Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins in the Tom Hanks-produced HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon" (also 1998). Shortly thereafter, he also starred as a British military officer who befriends an IRA terrorist in the Showtime telefilm "The Informant".

• Also Credited As:
  Ivan Simon Cary Elwes
• Born:
  Ivan Simon Cary Elwes on October 26, 1962 in London, England, United Kingdom
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Film projectionist, Producer

Family

• Brother: Cassian Elwes. Born in 1959; co-headed William Morris Independent as an agent from 1994-2009
• Brother: Damian Elwes. Born in 1960
• Daughter: Dominique Elwes. Born April 24, 2007; mother, Lisa-Marie Kurbikoff
• Father: Dominic Elwes. Caused a scandal when he and Tessa Kennedy eloped in 1957 in Havana, Cuba; committed suicide in 1975
• Grandfather: Simon Elwes.
• Half-brother: Dillon Kastner. Son of Tessa Kennedy and Elliott Kastner
• Half-sister: Milica Kastner. Daughter of Tessa Kennedy and Elliott Kastner
• Mother: Tessa Elwes. Caused a scandal when she and Dominic Elwes eloped in 1957 in Havana, Cuba; later married film producer Elliott Kastner
• Step-father: Elliott Kastner.

Significant Others

• Companion: Lisa-Marie Kurbikoff. born c. 1971; met in 1991 became engaged on December 12, 1997

Education

• Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY, acting

Milestones

• 1968 Made first stage appearance at age six in a production of Robin Hood
• 1979 Feature acting debut, a bit part in Yesterday s Hero
• 1981 Made Off-off Broadway debut in Equus at the Greengate Theatre
• 1981 Moved to New York
• 1984 Had a supporting role in Oxford Blues ; produced by brother Cassian
• 1984 Played the best friend of Rupert Everett s Guy Bennett in Another Country
• 1986 First notable role was Guilford Dudley in the highly acclaimed British epic Lady Jane
• 1987 Cast as the stable boy turned hero Westley in the Rob Reiner directed, The Princess Bride
• 1989 Appeared as Matthew Broderick s second-in-command in the Civil War drama, Glory
• 1989 Initial screen collaboration with Charlie Sheen, a cameo in Never on Tuesday ; produced by Cassian Elwes
• 1990 Played Tom Cruise s racer nemesis in Days of Thunder
• 1991 Cast as a romantic rival to Charlie Sheen in the zany comedy, Hot Shots!
• 1991 Served as associate producer of Leather Jackets ; produced by brother Cassian; also co-starred
• 1993 Had the title role in Mel Brooks spoof, Robin Hood: Men in Tights
• 1993 Played an older journalist who becomes the object of obsession of his landlord s daughter (Alicia Silverstone) in The Crush
• 1994 Made cameo appearance in the Sheen vehicle, The Chase ; produced by brother Cassian
• 1994 Undertook first villainous role in Disney s live-action, Rudyard Kipling s The Jungle Book
• 1996 Appeared on an episode of NBC s Seinfeld playing a man whose wife breaks up with him
• 1996 Had small role as a rival storm hunter in Twister
• 1997 Played a detective searching for a kidnapper in Kiss the Girls
• 1998 Co-starred in the HBO movie, The Pentagon Wars
• 1998 Portrayed astronaut Michael Collins in HBO s From the Earth to the Moon
• 1999 Portrayed producer John Houseman in Cradle Will Rock
• 2000 Cast as cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner in Shadow of the Vampire
• 2000 Re-teamed with Sheen for No Code of Conduct (USA Network)
• 2001 Had recurring role on The X-Files as FBI assistant director Brad Follmer
• 2001 Starred as Thomas Ince in The Cat s Meow, about Ince s death aboard a yacht owned by William Randolph Hearst
• 2003 Starred in the Bob Balaban-directed Off-Broadway play, The Exonerated
• 2004 Played a villain in the modern day Cinderella story, Ella Enchanted
• 2004 Portrayed serial killer Ted Bundy in the A&E Network film, The Riverman
• 2005 Played a young Pope John Paul II in the CBS TV-movie, Pope John Paul II
• 2007 Played Lindsay Lohan s stepfather in the Garry Marshall-directed, Georgia Rule
• 2009 Lent his voice to Robert Zemeckis animated adaptation of A Christmas Carol
• 2009 Played an international art thief in the fourth season premiere of Psych (USA Network)
• Spent time growing up between his mother in London and his father in Spain