Cary Elwes, actor of 'The Princess Bride' fame, was born Ivan Simon Cary Elwes on October 26, 1962 in London, England at Westminster Hospital. There has been a lot of debate over how, precisely, to pronounce 'Elwes'*. Some say 'Ells'; Carey Elwes himself says 'It's like Elvis but with a W'; but the most common pronunciation is 'Ell-ways'. So who knows how those crazy Brits pronounce 'Elvis'...?
Elwes was born the third child to artistic parents Tessa Kennedy, an interior designer, and Bede Evelyn Domonic Elwes, a professional portrait painter originally from Yugoslavia. He has two older brothers, both of whom have careers in the finer arts: Steven Cassian Elwes, who is a prolific director; and also Dusan Damian Elwes, who is a professional portrait painter as well.
At the age of nine, Elwes' parents got a divorce and Elwes went to live with his mother along with his two older brothers. Tessa married producer Elliot Kastner a few years later; Domonic passed away in 1975, when Elwes was only 13 years old.
When Cary Elwes was 18, he left England to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York. After gaining experience in several off-Broadway plays, Elwes moved back to England to make his film debut in the movie 'Another Country'.
In many interviews, Elwes has claimed that history was his favorite subject while he was in school, and one in which he excelled. As such, he has auditioned for and accepted many roles in historical movies such as 'Lady Jane' and 'Glory'. As he has been quoted, "It's deliberate that a lot of my films have been period pieces."
Since becoming a serious actor in the 80's, Cary Elwes has been thought by many to be a wonderful actor, though very unappreciated. He has a versatile acting ability, as displayed by his roles in various movies, from his role as ambitious, competitive Dr. Jonas Miller in 'Twister', to 'authentic', laughable Robin Hood in 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights', to the romantic, dashing, adventurous Westley in 'The Princess Bride'**. He has even been nominated for several awards, those being the Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor in 1998 and the Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series.
While appearing in numerous films, Cary Elwes has also tried his hand at another aspect of the movie business: producing. Elwes acted as an associate producer for the film he also starred in, called 'Leather Jackets'.
Elwes has no children and is not married; however, he has been engaged to model Lisa Marie Kurbikoff since 1997, and the two have plans to marry in the near future.
For Cary Elwes' complete filmography, see below.
* Gritchka has very kindly told me that the BBC Pronunciation Dictionary states it as 'elwiz'.
** I suffered under the delusion for over a decade that every little girl wanted to marry Westley at some point in her life (because I know I did). Apparently, I was wrong. Dead wrong. Like, I couldn't get any more wrong. Anyone care to let me in as to why I'm alone in this one?
Several people have given responses as to my above comment. They are as follows:
- kthejoker says re Cary Elwes: I'm a boy, and I briefly considered marring Westley. Don't feel so bad.
- rivenwanderer says If it's any consolation, Cary Elwes was my first {and maybe only} crush on a movie star....
- Trina says re Cary Elwes: you are most certainly not alone :)
Apparently, it was my sisters who were the weirdos!
Actor
2009 A Christmas Carol
2008 Ye Olde Times
2008 The Alphabet Killer
2008 Sakura: Blue-Eyed Samurai
2007 Psych: 9
2007 Georgia Rule
2007 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
2007 Walk the Talk
2006 Factory Girl
2006 Pucked
2006 Haskett's Chance
2005 Pope John Paul II
2005 Edison
2005 Neo Ned
Ella Enchanted (2004) .... Prince Regent Edgar
American Crime (2004) .... Albert Bodine
Comic Book Villains (2002) .... Carter
Uprising (2001) (TV) .... Dr. Fritz Hippler
Cat's Meow, The (2001) .... Thomas Ince
Race Against Time (2000) (TV) .... Burke
Wish You Were Dead (2000) .... Mac 'Macbeth' Wilson
Shadow of the Vampire (2000) .... Fritz Arno 'Fritzy' Wagner
Cradle Will Rock (1999) .... John Houseman
"Hercules" (1998) TV Series (voice) .... Paris of Troy
... aka "Disney's Hercules" (1998) (USA)
Quest for Camelot (1998) (voice) .... Garrett
... aka Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot, The (1998)
"From the Earth to the Moon" (1998) (mini) TV Series .... Astronaut Michael Collins
Pentagon Wars, The (1998) (TV) .... Lt. Col. James Burton
Kiss the Girls (1997) .... Detective Nick Ruskin
Informant, The (1997) .... Lt. David Ferris
Liar Liar (1997) .... Jerry
Twister (1996) .... Dr. Jonas Miller
Jungle Book, The (1994) .... Captain William Boone
... aka Libro de la selva, El (1994) (USA: Spanish title)
... aka Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994)
Chase, The (1994) .... Steve Horsegroovy
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) .... Robin Hood
... aka Sacré Robin des bois (1993) (France)
Crush, The (1993) .... Nick Eliot
Dracula (1992) .... Lord Arthur Holmwood
... aka Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) (USA: complete title)
Leather Jackets (1992) .... Dobbs
Hot Shots! (1991) .... Lt. Kent Gregory
Days of Thunder (1990) .... Russ Wheeler
Glory (1989) .... Maj. Cabot Forbes
Never on Tuesday (1988) (uncredited) .... Tow Truck Driver
Princess Bride, The (1987) .... Westley, The Man in Black
Maschenka (1986) .... Ganin
... aka Mashenka (1987) (Finland)
Lady Jane (1986) .... Guilford Dudley
Bride, The (1985/I) .... Capt. Josef Schoden
Oxford Blues (1984) .... Lionel
Another Country (1984) .... James Harcourt
Yesterday's Hero (1979) .... Disco Dancer
Producer
Leather Jackets (1992) (associate producer)
Himself
As You Wish: The Story of the Princess Bride (2001)
(V) .... Himself
Notable TV Guest Appearances
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "FBI Asst. Director Brad Follmer" in episode: "Release" (episode # 9.17) 5 May 2002
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "FBI Assistant Director Brad Follmer" in episode: "Providence: Part 2" (episode # 9.10) 10 March 2002
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "FBI Assistant Director Brad Follmer" in episode: "Provenance: Part 1" (episode # 9.9) 3 March 2002
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "FBI Assistant Director Brad Follmer" in episode: "4-D" (episode # 9.4) 9 December 2001
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "FBI Asst. Director Brad Follmer" in episode: "Nothing Important Happened Today: Part 2" (episode # 9.2) 18 November 2001
"X Files, The" (1993) playing "FBI Asst. Director Brad Follmer" in episode: "Nothing Important Happened Today: Part 1" (episode # 9.1) 11 November 2001
"Night Visions" (2001) playing "Gerald" in episode: "Quiet Please" (episode # 1.6) 19 July 2001
"Batman Beyond" (1999) playing "Paxton Powers" (voice) in episode: "Ascension" (episode # 1.13) 22 May 1999
"Outer Limits, The" (1995) playing "Dr. Jack York" in episode: "Ripper" (episode # 5.11) 7 May 1999
"Hercules" (1998) playing "Paris of Troy" (voice) in episode: "Hercules and the Trojan War" (episode # 1.26) 30 October 1998
"Seinfeld" (1990) playing "David" in episode: "The Wait Out" (episode # 7.21) 9 May 1996
"Pinky and the Brain" (1995) 1995
Sources:
http://us.imdb.com/Name?Elwes,%20Cary
http://us.imdb.com/Bio?Elwes,+Cary
http://utut.essortment.com/caryelwesbiogr_rqlf.htm
http://www.pfd.co.uk/scripts/get.py/actors/?actors%20Cary%20Elwes
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