Actor Cary Elwes could only remember a handful of stories from filming The Princess Bridewhen he was asked to write a memoir 27 years later. Fortunately for him, the film's producer Norman Lear (who also produced All In The Familyand The Jeffersons) sent him a bound set of call sheets. "The very first one was my rehearsal time to go and study fencing," Elwes told host Ophira Eisenberg. "It was like I was back there...I suddenly remembered everything! I couldn't believe my memory was that good, after all the damage I've done to my brain over the years."
Before Elwes rose to acclaim, his stepfather, a film producer, encouraged him to get involved in the industry in any way possible. He became a "gopher," making coffees and printing scripts for the set. On the set of the 1978 film Superman, Elwes served as Marlon Brando's production assistant. His supervisor was frank with him about his responsibilities. "Okay, so look — your job is just to get Marlon out of his trailer." When Eisenberg asked if his humble beginnings influenced the way he behaves on set today, Elwes was quick to affirm, "Totally!...By the time I got in front of the camera I was very comfortable." He continued, "it's a great education for a kid."
These days, Elwes plays Arthur Davenport on The Art of More,a Crackle series about the high-stakes world of art auction houses. "This one was really fun, something I could really get into," Elwes told Eisenberg. In fact, his father, a portrait painter, raised him around the art world so he had "met people like Davenport...I already knew it."
Inspired by the iconic battle of wits scene from The Princess Bride, we challenged Elwes to guess his way out of other life-and-death situations in his Ask Me Another challenge.
HIGHLIGHTS
On his gratitude for producer Norman Lear
By the way, whenever I take Norman to lunch, I always pay...I always say to him, 'I owe you, man.'
On getting a call from iconic comedy director Mel Brooks
He goes, 'Hi, this is Mel Brooks!' and I went, 'Yeah, right!" and I hung up on him! I thought it's one of my friends playing a joke on me! And the phone rang again and he went, 'Don't hang up, don't hang up!'
Heard on Cary Elwes, Dennis Quaid & Christian Cooke: The Art Of More
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