Cary Elwes Biography
Born: October 26, 1962
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).
He was the lead in the infamous 2004 slasher movie Saw, and had a lead part in the 2006 National Lampoon comedy Pucked. In 2007 he appeared in the ill-fated Lindsay Lohan movie Georgia Rule. He came back for Saw: The Final Chapter in 2010. 2011 turned out to be a busy year for Elwes with parts in the comedy No Strings Attached, the Spielberg-directed The Adventures of Tintin, and the ensemble romantic comedy New Year's Eve. Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
Browse More Actors:
