‘The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare’: Cary Elwes Talks Special Connection To Guy Ritchie’s Film, ‘Knuckles,’ ‘The Princess Bride’ & More [The Discourse Podcast]

In this week’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo goes undercover to discuss “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” with star Cary Elwes (“The Princess Bride,” “Stranger Things,” “Saw”). The movie is based on real events and dives into the origin of the Special Operations Executive, a small group of highly skilled men recruited by the British military to strike German forces behind enemy lines. The high-energy action film is directed by Guy Ritchie (“The Gentleman,” “Snatch,” “Sherlock Holmes”) and also stars Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Eiza Gonzalez, and more.

During the interview, Elwes revealed his special connection with the real-life Special Operations Executive that led to him nabbing a role in the film.

“My grandfather on my mother’s side worked for the character I play in the film,” Elwes revealed. “And I was in Turkey with Guy [Ritchie], and I asked him what his next project was going to be. And he said, ‘Oh, you wouldn’t know about it. It’s a very obscure story about Special Operations Executive, one of the first missions they did.’ And I said, well, as a matter of fact, my grandfather was in Special Operations Executive. And so I told him right then and there, you have to put me in the film.”

“I was very lucky in that some books have been written about my grandfather. I’ve read a couple of books about my grandfather, plenty of books about my character, Gubbins, and plenty of books about S.O.E. I went to the Imperial War Museum and found Gubbins’ diaries. And so because the original Special Operations Executive headquarters was burnt down after the war, not much material was left. But thankfully, there have been lots of writers who’ve told the story of Special Operations, not least of whom is Damien Lewis, whose book this film is based on.”

Elwes is also starring in two other projects releasing this month. First, Elwes appears as the King in Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon,” Parts One & Two, which he admittedly did “as a favor to director Zack Snyder.” The second is the Paramount+ series, “Knuckles,” premiering on April 26th (read our review here). In it, Elwes embraces his wacky side by playing an over-the-top villain, “Pistol Pete” Whipple, a role that required no contemplation before taking on.

“Oh, it was instant! When they showed me the designs for his costume, his over-the-top costume, the character was described to me as Wayne Newton on acid. I said, ‘This is it—doing it,’ Elwes said. “He had this fabulous cape based on the British flag and top hat, and they designed this great mustache and goatee for the character. I was in right away.”

Some may see the role and think Elwes didn’t have to take it as seriously or prepare as much as he would for his more dramatic roles; however, Elwes, ever the professional, committed fully to the role.

“Yeah, we studied ‘Kingpin’ quite a lot. Actually, the [producers] got me together with two brilliant bowlers, thank God. I only had a week’s training, but these two guys that Paramount got me —Rob Thirlby, he’s a world champion bowler. He’s won numerous gold, silver, and bronze medals for Team England. Another guy called Jack Trent—and the two of them, I mean, thank God, I was training every single day, all day, until my arms couldn’t lift up another ball. Because the director, Carol Banker, wanted me to bowl strikes for real. I didn’t want to have any CGI, so, you know, it was a challenge.”

Elwes is perhaps most well known for his role as Wesley/The Dread Pirate Roberts in Rob Reiner’s “The Princess Bride.” The role introduced Elwes to the world and led to him meeting heroes and eventually being offered unexpected roles.

“One of the first screenings of Princess Bride was on the Fox lot, and there were some interesting guests that came that day. Rob Reiner was obviously there, but Rob invited his father, Carl Reiner, and Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder,” Elwes said. “You could have knocked me over with a feather. When they came out after the screening, and each of them told me how wonderful I was in the film, I was speechless. And so, thanks to that film, Mel called me some years later and said, ‘Let’s make ‘Robin Hood’ again!’ When he called me at home, I thought it was a prank call. He goes, ‘This is Mel Brooks.’ I went, ‘Yeah, right.’ And I hung up. And he called back and said, ‘Don’t hang up, it’s me, it’s me!’ So, yeah, I was so excited to work with him. I’ve been a huge fan. And we had such a joyful time working together.”

Many fans might wonder why Elwes hasn’t revisited any of his hit roles in this age of reboots and requels. While all the rage, the actor has never had much interest in looking back—but that could change.

“I wouldn’t want to sort of revisit any of the roles I’ve done unless it was something like ‘Ministry,’ if Guy [Ritchie] wanted to do another mission. I’m going to sign on for that. When it’s when something where it’s something like that, I would definitely consider it. And, you know, there are many, many, many [more missions]. So there’s plenty to go on.”

The Playlist Presents – Cary Elwes’ Film Recommendation Playlist:

1.) “Apocalypse Now” (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola

2.) “Papillion” (1973), directed by: Frnklin J. Schaffner

3.) “The Third Man” (1949), directed by Carol Reed

4.) “Finally Sunday”/“Confidentially Yours” (1983), directed by Francois Truffaut

5.) “Battle of Algiers” (1966) directed by Gillo Pontecorvo

“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” is in theaters now. You can listen to the full interview below.