Editing Cary Elwes (section)

=== 1984–1999 ===
[[File:Fantasy Worlds of Myth and Magic, EMP, Seattle - The Princess Bride (10562104496).jpg|thumb|right|Props from the film ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' (1987)]]
Elwes made his acting debut in 1984 in [[Marek Kanievska]]'s film ''[[Another Country (1984 film)|Another Country]]'', which was loosely based on the English [[boarding school]] exploits of British spies [[Guy Burgess|Burgess]], [[Kim Philby|Philby]] and [[Donald Maclean (spy)|MacLean]]. He played James Harcourt, a gay student.<ref name="Chicago1990"/> He then played [[Guilford Dudley]] in the British historical drama film ''[[Lady Jane (1986 film)|Lady Jane]]'', opposite [[Helena Bonham Carter]]. He was cast as stable-boy-turned-swashbuckler Westley in [[Rob Reiner]]'s fantasy-comedy ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' (1987), which was based on the [[The Princess Bride (novel)|novel of the same name]] by [[William Goldman]]. It was a modest box office success,<ref name="Bride">{{cite news|title='The Princess Bride' Turns 20|newspaper=[[The Palm Beach Post]]|page=6J|last=Gray Streeter|first=Leslie|date=9 December 2007|quote=[w]as a modest hit. But it became a raging cult classic after being released on video and shown on cable.}}</ref> but received critical acclaim. As a result of years of reviews, it earned a score of 97% on the review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/princess_bride|title=The Princess Bride (1987)|publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=3 November 2014}}</ref> Since being released on home video and television, the film has become a [[cult film|cult classic]].<ref name="Bride"/>

{{Blockquote|Initially the studio didn't know how to market it. Was it an adventure? A fantasy? A comedy? A romance? A kids' movie? In the end they sold it as a kids' movie and it largely had to rely on word of mouth ... people tell me they still have their [[VHS]] copy that has been passed down from one generation to the next.|Interview from the film's DVD release in 2001<ref>{{cite news |title='Bride' basks in glow of video|work=[[Houston Chronicle]] |last=Westbrook|first=Bruce|date=6 September 2001}}</ref>}}

Elwes continued to work steadily, varying between dramatic roles, such as in the [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-winning ''[[Glory (1989 film)|Glory]]'' (1989) and comedic roles, as in ''[[Hot Shots!]]'' (1991). He played a rival driver to Tom Cruise in ''[[Days of Thunder]]'' (1990). In 1993, he starred as [[Robin Hood]] in [[Mel Brooks]]'s comedy ''[[Robin Hood: Men in Tights]]''. Elwes then appeared in supporting roles in such films as [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s adaptation of ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992 film)|Bram Stoker's Dracula]]'' (1992), ''[[The Crush (1993 film)|The Crush]]'' (1993), ''[[The Jungle Book (1994 film)|The Jungle Book]]'' (1994), ''[[Twister (1996 film)|Twister]]'' (1996), ''[[Liar Liar]]'' (1997), and ''[[Kiss the Girls (1997 film)|Kiss the Girls]]''. In 1999, he portrayed famed theatre and film producer [[John Houseman]] for [[Tim Robbins]] in his ensemble film based on [[Orson Welles]]'s musical, ''[[Cradle Will Rock]]''. Following that, he travelled to [[Luxembourg]] to work with [[John Malkovich]] and [[Willem Dafoe]] in ''[[Shadow of the Vampire]]''.

Elwes made his first television appearance in 1996 as David Lookner on ''[[Seinfeld]]''. Two years later he played astronaut [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]] in the [[Golden Globe Award]]-winning [[HBO]] [[miniseries]] ''[[From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries)|From the Earth To the Moon]]''. The following year Elwes was nominated for a [[Golden Satellite Award]] for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for his portrayal of Colonel [[James G. Burton|James Burton]] in ''[[The Pentagon Wars]]'' directed by [[Richard Benjamin]]. In 1999, he guest starred as Dr. John York in an episode of the television series ''[[The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''.