Trivia

Having been a dramatic actor, he had never done a comedy prior to his acclaimed performance in The Princess Bride (1987).

He said after The Princess Bride (1987), he was getting lots of offers to act in several costume period pieces. He turned most of them down because he didn't want to be typecast, as he had already starred in period pieces, mostly as a romantic love interest, in the previous films Another Country (1984), Lady Jane (1986), and Maschenka (1987). In contrast, he later starred in several films as a villain, which include Leather Jackets (1991), Twister (1996), The Jungle Book (1994),Ella Enchanted (2004), The Riverman (2004) to name a few.

Was chosen for the part of Westley in The Princess Bride (1987) after Rob Reiner saw him in Lady Jane (1986). He spent weeks training in fencing with both his left hand and right hand while performing acrobatics.

Is the ambassador for the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund with UNICEF. As ambassador, he traveled to Banda Aceh, Indonesia for the documentary "The Children of the Tsunami", which was filmed 90 days after the tsunami of December 2003 to document the damage and recovery efforts.

Was personally offered by Trevor Nunn, Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), to join the RSC after starring in Nunn's film Lady Jane (1986). Elwes turned down the offer in order to continue working in films.

Last name is pronounced El-wez.

Prepares intensely for most of his acting roles. (For example, for Days of Thunder (1990), he had to rely on practical research to meet the physical demands of playing a race car driver. For his role as Air Force Colonel James Burton in The Pentagon Wars (1998), he spent a few days in Burton's home interviewing him and poring over his BFV files, and even filing boxes of Burton's Bradley documents and giving every page back to Burton.).

Met his wife Lisa Marie in 1991 at a Malibu chili cook-off.

Made his film debut in Marek Kanievska's award-winning drama Another Country (1984). Based on that performance, Cary was chosen by renowned Director of The Royal Shakespeare Company, Trevor Nunn, to star opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the highly acclaimed historical epic Lady Jane (1986).

Is an accomplished horseman.

Nicknamed "The Next Errol Flynn" by Mel Brooks. Brooks said, "He can do comedy and drama".

For the video game The Bard's Tale (2004), he spent at least 20 hours in Los Angeles and London recording studios to bring his title character to life. In order for his character to converse with nonplayable characters in either a 'snarky' or 'nice' tone, both leavened with comic relief, Cary had to record two responses for every interaction - a total of 1,200 lines and a lot of his own script improvising.

Entered Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, to study drama but left after two years. Also studied at the London Drama Centre.

His very devout Catholic mother (former Protestant) took him to meet Pope John Paul II in the Vatican when Cary was 22 years old. Cary portrayed the young pontiff in the docudrama Faith: Pope John Paul II (2005).

Is a distant relative of the famed Lord Carnarvon who funded archaeologist Howard Carter's expedition which uncovered the tomb of King Tutankhamun in 1923; he is also a distant nephew of Tudor King Henry VIII of England, and is a distant nephew of King Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour.

As a student in Sarah Lawrence College in 1980, he studied acting, philosophy and history. He also studied German Expressionist Film in college. Despite his parents' wealth, Elwes supplemented his income by working his way through school.

He has had cameo appearences in several movies that his brother, Cassian Elwes, produced such as The Chase (1994) and Never on Tuesday (1988).

His stage name "Cary Elwes" is actually his surname. The surname "Cary Elwes" was shortened to "Elwes" in some branches of his family.

Daughter, Dominique, was born on April 24, 2007.

Cary is the son of shipping heiress and interior designer Tessa Kennedy, who eloped with Cary's father, painter Dominick Elwes. Cary's stepfather, American producer Elliott Kastner, set up a production base at Pinewood Studios in Britain.

Father was Dominick Elwes (August 1931-September 1975), a portrait painter and Mayfair figure. Parents divorced when Cary was young. A sufferer of manic depression, Dominick was less of a commercial success compared to his artist father Simon Elwes. Dominick was later ostracized by a close circle of friends because of his link to the notorious Lord Lucan. He committed suicide at age 44.

Raised as a Catholic. He was an altar boy at Brompton Oratory in London. His father's side includes several prominent Catholic clerics, and his paternal great-grandfather was Chamberlain to the Pope. His mother is a former Protestant-turned-Catholic.

Brother of artist Damian Elwes.

Brother Cassian Elwes was a studio head at the William Morris Agency.

His paternal grandfather was the famous portrait-painter Simon Elwes, and his other prominent ancestors include his great-grandfathers, tenor Gervase Elwes, diplomat James Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell, industrialist Ivan Rikard Ivanovic, and his great-great-great-grandfather, Alexander Kennedy, a civil/electrical engineer and academic.

Was a projectionist at school.

His recurring character on The X-Files (1993)'s 9th season, FBI Assistant Director Brad Follmer, is named after the show's creator/executive producer Chris Carter's assistant, Brad Follmer.

Older half-brother of Milica Kastner and Dillon Kastner from his mother's marriage with Elliott Kastner.

Played a filmmaker 4 times: as John Houseman in Cradle Will Rock (1999), as Fritz Arno Wagner in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), as Fritz Hippler in Uprising (2001), and as Thomas H. Ince in The Cat's Meow (2001).

His maternal grandmother, born Daska Marija Ivanovic-Banac, was of half Croatian Jewish (from her own father) and half Serbian (from her own mother) descent. Cary's other ancestry is English, with some Scottish and Irish (including distant American-born ancestors). His grandfather was society painter and war artist Simon Elwes. Among his great-grandfathers are tenor Gervase Elwes, diplomat Rennell Rodd, 1st Baron Rennell, and industrialist and politician Ivan Rikard Ivanovic, who was one of the founders of the Croatian National Progressive Party.

Played a number of villainous roles. His first role as a villain was in Leather Jackets (1991).

His performance in The Princess Bride (1987) impressed Mel Brooks so much that he called Elwes to offer him the leading role for Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). However, on his first attempt, Elwes thought that it was a prank call and hung up on him.

Stepson of Elliott Kastner.

Attending the Texas Frightmare Weekend in Dallas, TX as part of the Saw (2004) panel. (April 2011)

He has two roles in common with Barrie Ingham: (1) Ingham played Paris of Troy in Small Prophet, Quick Return (1965), Death of a Spy (1965) and Horse of Destruction (1965) and Elwes played him in Hercules and the Trojan War (1998) and (2) Ingham played Robin Hood in A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967) and Elwes played him in Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993).

He has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Princess Bride (1987).

Cousin of Amanda Elwes.

Studied with Julie Bavasso at Sarah Lawrence.