Who is Cary Elwes?
British actor and screenwriter Ivan Simon Cary Elwes was born in Westminster, London, England, on 26 October 1962, making Scorpio his zodiac sign. He’s had roles in close to 140 TV series and movies, but is probably still known best for playing the lead character Dr. Lawrence Gordon in the 2004 horror mystery thriller movie “Saw”, which James Wan wrote and directed, and which also starred Danny Glover and Leigh Whannell. It follows two people who’ve been kidnapped by a cruel killer, and the film won eight of its 18 award nominations.
Education and early life
Cary was raised alongside his two older brothers Cassian and Damian, and younger sister Milica Kastner in Westminster, by their mother Tessa Kennedy who’s a British interior designer, and their father Bede Evelyn Dominick Elwes, the late British portrait painter. Cary was raised a Catholic, and some of his deceased relatives were clerics, including the Bishop of Northampton Dudle Charles Cary-Elwes.
He was four when Tessa and Bede divorced, and 13 when Bede committed suicide. Cary studied at Harrow School and launched his acting career during his time there, playing Disco Dancer in the 1979 musical movie “Yesterday’s Hero”.
Cary then focused on his education, and had no roles in the following five years; he matriculated from Harrow in 1981 and then enrolled at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, but moved to the US in the same year, and enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1985.
Cary also honed his acting skills at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, and the Actors Studio, being mentored by famous American actor Al Pacino.
Roles in movies
In 1984, Cary played Harcourt in the hit historical biographical drama “Another Country”, directed by Marek Kanievska, and which starred Rupert Everett, Colin Firth and Michael Jenn. It follows the life of Cambridge spy Guy Burgess, and the movie won one of its eight award nominations.
Some of Cary’s other notable performances in the ‘80s were in the 1987 family adventure comedy “The Princess Bride”, the 1988 comedy “Never on Tuesday” and the 1989 historical biographical drama “Glory”.
The year 1994 saw him play the lead character Boone in the hit romantic family adventure “The Jungle Book”, directed by Stephen Sommers, and which also starred Jason Scott Lee and Lena Headey. It follows the life of Mowgli, a boy who was raised by wild animals in the jungle, and the movie was nominated for two awards. Cary could then have been seen appearing in the 1996 action adventure thriller “Twister”, the 1997 crime mystery “Kiss the Girls” and the 1998 war comedy “The Pentagon Wars”.
In 2002, he voiced The Baron in the English version of the critically acclaimed Japanese animated adventure comedy “The Cat Returns”, directed by Hiroyuki Morita, and which starred Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada and Aki Maeda. It follows a 17 years old girl who’s saved a cat from being hit by a car, and has now become engaged to a Prince cat in the cats’ magical world; the movie was nominated for a Tokyo Anime Award for Domestic Feature Film. Cary was then cast to appear in the 2004 thriller “American Crime”, the 2005 crime action “Edison” and the 2007 comedy “Georgia Rule”.
In 2011, he starred as Jeff Mathews in the fantasy horror “Hellgate”, written and directed by John Penney, and which also starred William Hurt and Ploy Jindachote. It follows a family of three who’ve died, but have found themselves trapped in a world between life and death. Cary is also known for playing Gary Jones in the 2016 comedy “The Queen of Spain”, written and directed by Fernando Trueba, and which starred Penelope Cruz, Antonio Resines and Neus Asensi. It follows the life of actress Macarena Granaday, and the film was nominated for seven awards.
Three of Cary’s most recent film roles have been in the 2022 action comedy “The Hyperions”, the 2023 action thriller comedy “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” and the 2023 biographical comedy “BlackBerry”.
Roles in TV series
Cary’s debut TV series role was playing David Lukner in the 1996 episode “The Wait Out” of the comedy “Seinfeld”, and in the remainder of the decade, he played and voiced characters in an episode or two of the historical action mini-series “From the Earth to the Moon”, the animated adventure comedy “Pinky and the Brain” (voice role), and the animated action adventure “Hercules” (voice role).
In 2001 and 2002, Cary played Brad Follmer in six episodes of the hit crime mystery “The X-Files”, which Chris Carter created, and which starred Mitch Pileggi, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. It follows the lives of two FBI agents Danna Scully and Fox Mulder, the series aired from 1993 through 2018 and won 116 of its 333 award nominations. Cary appeared in only two other TV series in the 2000s: he played Young Karol Wojtyla in both episodes of the 2005 biographical mini-series “Faith: Pope John Paul II”, and Sidney Truex in the 2007 episode “Dependent” of the crime mystery “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”.
In 2015 and 2016, Cary starred as Arthur Davenport in the drama “The Art of More”, created by Chuck Rose, and which also starred Christian Cooke and Kate Bosworth. It follows the work of several auction houses in New York State – the series was nominated for only a single award.
There’s a shortage of perfect movies in this world. It would be a pity to damage this one. https://t.co/5N8Q3P2e5G
— Cary Elwes (@Cary_Elwes) September 18, 2019
Cary’s three most recent roles in TV series have been in the 2020 episode “Chapter Thirteen: Come Together” of the musical comedy “Katy Keene”, the 2020 episode “Chapter Ten: To The Pain!” of the short fantasy comedy “Home Movie: The Princess Bride” and eight episodes (2014-2021) of the animated comedy “Family Guy” (voice role).
Other credits
Cary received special thanks for the 2001 short documentary movie “As You Wish: The Story of ‘The Princess Bride’”, the 2006 biographical film “Factory Girl”, and the 2012 short documentary movie “True Love: The Princess Bride Phenomenon”.
He co-produced the 1991 action movie “Leather Jackets”, while his other three producing credits were the 2002 comedy film “Comic Book Villains”, the 2007 comedy movie “Walk the Talk”, and the 2016 historical comedy film “Elvis & Nixon”.
Some of Cary’s recent talk-show appearances have been in “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”, “The Problem with Jon Stewart”, and “Hollywood Insider”.
Awards and nominations
Cary won the 2019 Monthly Edition Award for Best Supporting Actor at the Crown Wood International Film Festival, for his performance in the short film “Circus Sam”.
He’s been nominated for nine other awards, for his performances in “Circus Sam”, “Kiss the Girls” and “Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two”.
Love life and wife
Cary prefers to keep the details of his love life to himself, but has still allowed his fans to have a glimpse into it.
He and American photographer Lisa Marie Kurbikoff met in Malibu, California in 1991, when they entered a chili cook-off; they were in a relationship for six years prior to becoming engaged, while they then exchanged vows in 2000.
On 24 April 2007, Lisa gave birth to her and Cary’s daughter Dominique Elwes, but they’re keeping her away from the media’s attention, wanting her to lead a normal life.
Cary’s yet to speak of other women whom he’s maybe been with, he’s married to Lisa Marie Kurbikoff as of April 2023, and they have a daughter together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Cary revealed in March 2021 that his sister Milica had lost her fight against cancer.
He dislikes Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who happens to be a huge fan of the movie “The Princess Bride”; in 2020, Cary reunited with his “The Princess Bride” colleagues at a fundraiser event for Wisconsin Democrats.
He’s highly popular on Instagram, as more than 200,000 people are following him on the social media network today, while he’s uploaded over 1,000 pictures and videos, the majority of which show him spending time with his friends and family.
Cary works out at the gym nearly every day, and also follows a strict diet.
His favorite actor is Jim Carrey, and some of his favorite movies include “The Truman Show”, “The Number 23” and “Me, Myself and Irene”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Cary’s age is 59. His eyes are green and hair’s brown, he’s 6ft (1.83m) tall and weighs around 175lbs (79kgs).
Cary’s net worth’s been estimated at over $6 million, as of April 2023.