INTERVIEW: Cary Elwes on his new film ‘Dead Man’s Wire’
Photo: Dead Man’s Wire features Cary Elwes, right. Photo courtesy of Row-K / Provided by 42West with permission.
Cary Elwes, the accomplished actor of The Princess Bride, Saw and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, has a new movie arriving in theaters today, Jan. 9. This one is special for the actor because it’s directed by the legendary Gus Van Sant, of Milk and Kids fame.
Dead Man’s Wire, also starring Bill Skarsgard, Dacre Montgomery, Al Pacino, Colman Domingo and Myha’la, tells the story of a 1977 kidnapping plot involving a banker, according to press notes. In the film, Elwes plays the character of Michael Grable.
“Every actor worth his salt wants to work with Gus,” Elwes said in a recent Zoom interview. “He’s just the most cooperative director, and he always gets great performances out of everyone he works with. And he’s an auteur. He’s somebody who constantly reinvents himself as an artist, and, yeah, it was a thrill, an absolute thrill.”
Elwes said that he and Van Sant developed the character of Michael Grable together. Also helping were family members of the real-life characte.
“They gave me audiotapes of him talking,” the actor said. “They gave me videos that they had taken of him, documentaries that had him in it, family albums. I left Indianapolis with a plethora of material to work with, and so as I started to build the character, I kind of presented Gus with what I like to call the framework and some inner-life. And Gus just fine-tuned it. He was like, ‘Good, let’s use that. Bring that down. Bring this part of the character up.’ And so it was very much like having him be a conductor. It was great.”
Elwes said audience members respond to characters who are marginalized and feel like they are up against a wall. They are forced to make drastic, unfortunate decisions that test their morality, and this makes for riveting, thought-provoking cinema.
“We have a great interest in films like Dog Day Afternoon with Al playing Sonny or Taxi Driver with Mr. [Robert] De Niro playing Travis Bickle,” he said. “We somehow relate to these characters who feel like they have no further recourse than to let out their aggression. And sometimes it works out for them, and sometimes it doesn’t. But we seem to be fascinated by that dynamic in film, and this is another telling of that, played brilliantly by the lead, by the wonderful Bill Skarsgard.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Dead Man’s Wire, featuring Cary Elwes, is now playing in movie theaters. Click here for more information.
