By Jae-Ha Kim
Tribune Content Agency
November 17, 2015
“I’m blessed in my life to have had the good fortune to travel and I never take that for granted,” says actor Cary Elwes. “It’s a wonderful gift to go to new places and meet new people.”
Elwes’ breakthrough role came almost 30 years ago when he was selected to play the dashing (and funny) Westley in the movie “The Princess Bride.” Since then, the Los Angeles-based Brit has appeared in numerous films, such as “Glory,” “Liar Liar” and “Saw.”
Elwes, 53, is the author of The New York Times best seller “As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride” (Touchstone, $26). He currently is one of the stars of the new Crackle drama series, “The Art of More.” Fans may follow him on Twitter.
Q. Have you traveled to a place that felt like it could be the perfect home for Westley and Buttercup?
A. Honestly? I would imagine that Derbyshire (England), where the movie was filmed, was pretty much that perfect place.
Q. If time weren’t an issue right now, where would you return to for the best meal ever?
A. That’s easy. It was in Palermo, Sicily, in a restaurant that was overlooking a courtyard with a fresh market. The smell was intoxicating. As we passed the kitchen, the aroma there would make us stop for a second. Then you go to a table and it’s overlooking the courtyard and the guy recommends the fish, which we — of course — got. He lowers a basket down and another guy puts a fish in the basket, which is taken into the kitchen. Ten minutes later, I’m eating literally the best fish meal I’ve ever eaten in my life. It was just with parsley, lemon juice, a little olive oil and a couple of potatoes. So simple, but fresh and delicious. I’ll never forget that meal.
Q. Are you an adventurous eater?
A. Yes, I am an adventurous eater and like to try new things. It caught up with me in India and I got really sick, but I managed to power through it. I had really good doctors taking care of me. But it was a wonderful trip.
Q. What are some of your favorite destinations?
A. I love traveling through Europe, but my favorite thing to do is go to new places. I’ve been to Japan and spent some time in Kyoto, which was very beautiful. I most recently just visited Montreal and fell in love with it. It has incredible culture. If you go in the summertime, they have all these fantastic festivals for music and theater. It’s just a very vibrant city that’s festive and fun. The people are also very nice there.
Q. What is on your travel bucket list?
A. There are too many to mention, but I’ve never been to Russia or any of the Baltic states. And I’ve never been to China, which I’d like to get to visit. There are many, many places I would like to see and I hope to have the time to visit more of them.
Q. What was the first trip you took as a child?
A. I went to Spain as a kid when my father moved there. We visited him for holidays. That was a wonderful time. To this day, I have a very soft spot for those memories.
Q. Are you good with navigating foreign languages?
A. (Laughs). No, not really. Thank goodness there are apps to help you with that.
Q. What’s the most important thing you’ve learned from your travels?
A. That with travel, you can learn about other cultures and customs.
Q. Are you a photo junkie?
A. Not as much anymore. I try to be in the moment wherever I am.
Q. Where are your favorite weekend getaways?
A. We’re very fond of Santa Barbara and Monterey. It’s a very special experience driving up the coast.
Q. What was your first job overseas?
A. It was in the South of France. No, it was in Berlin for a film called “Maschenka” with Freddie Jones. I went to Berlin and Helsinki, which was really very beautiful. It was quite exciting to be young and working there.
Q. What do you bring with you on an airplane?
A. I put all of my books and music on an iPad. I do take a couple of hardcopy books with me as well so that I don’t have to always read on a tablet. But I like to have plenty to read, especially for those times when there are delays.
© 2015 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
Lol a friend of my had the hugest crush on him ??
Everybody had a crush on him, I think. ? BTW, did you ever see his film, “The Crush”? It also starred a very young Alicia Silverstone!
Yes I totally The Crush! He was also a recurring character on the X-Files! ????
He is so lovely to be around. I was so happy to have met him at Dragon Con last year.
I’m so glad to hear that! I’ve only ever heard lovely things about him.
Haha! I thought he was dreamy. One of my favorite movies. So cool you get to interview people about their travels.
It’d be cooler if I could travel with them. I don’t even have to be near them. ? I just want to visit more places!
Greetiings from India! Awesome story! He’s a favorite actor of mine! Namaste!