Cary Elwes may not have been born in Los Angeles, but it's probably fair to consider the native Brit an honorary Angeleno. The “Princess Bride” star was born and spent her formative years hanging around London; He moved to Los Angeles in 1990, on the recommendation of his brother. He met his wife, photographer Lisa Marie Kurbikoff, at a cooking competition in Malibu about a year later and the two married in 2000. A daughter, Dominique, arrived in 2007.
In Sunday Funday, the people of Los Angeles tell us step by step their ideal Sunday in the city. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Elwes has spent his years in California not only establishing his family life, but also becoming even more involved in Hollywood. He's appeared in everything from “Saw” to “Ella Enchanted.”,” and played a corrupt government agent in a pair of “Mission: Impossible” films. His latest role is as an ex-cop turned private detective in Peacock's new crime thriller, “MIA.”.,”streaming now.
“I've been here for quite some time and while [2025’s] The fires were quite devastating: they changed much of the landscape and people's lives in ways none of us could have imagined. I'm hopeful,” Elwes says. “I feel like we're going to build back stronger and better. “Sometimes things may seem dark, but I still have a spark of hope in my heart.”
This is how Elwes would spend his perfect, hopeful Sunday in Los Angeles.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
10 a.m.: Coffee and chat.
We woke up around 10am, which is a little late for me. Then we will have our coffee. I tend to lean towards Gelson beans, which I find have a particular flavor that I like. I like my coffee. It's probably the only addiction I really have.
Anyway, after I finish my coffee, I usually ask my wife and daughter what they would like to do that day. My daughter is 19 years old and she is great. I always tell my wife that it's the best production we'll ever do together.
Noon: Relaxed lunch.
My wife really likes this Italian restaurant in Woodland Hills called Casalena. It's right off Ventura Boulevard and it's fantastic. Even their salads are extraordinary. It's also fairly new, but it's always packed so you need to make a reservation in advance. Luckily, my wife and daughter are organized, so if they want to go there, they will have planned ahead.
2 pm: Head to the movies.
We like to go see movies Yomaximum at Universal CityWalk. The quality of that room is very, very good and it is important for us to see movies on the biggest screen possible.
My wife and I had a date to see “Michael” on Imax, which was sold out and was phenomenal. Antoine Fuqua did a great job and our friend Colman [Domingo] It was honestly transformative as Joe Jackson. And Jaafar Jackson, Michael's nephew, is extraordinary. It's an extraordinary film, but the tickets were sold out and people were cheering and dancing? That made him a phenomenon. People interacted with the film while it was being shown and it was extraordinary.
If we're not interested in whatever is playing at the time, we could take a walk in Tapia Park. I grew up watching “MASH” as a kid and when I realized they filmed there, I thought, “How lucky am I to live just a few miles from where such an iconic series was made?”
It's a really beautiful park too. If you go on a long hike you will see waterfalls and lots of wildlife. On a nice afternoon, take the dog for a walk? You can't beat it.
There is so much rich history here. I remember going to Visit to the universal studio for the first time when I visited Los Angeles as a child. They had a thing where they would choose a couple of tour guests and the guide would put you in front of the camera in front of a blue screen and you would recreate a scene from a movie. The tour also took you past the shark “Jaws” coming out of the water and through an old western town, and years later I discovered that a director friend of mine had been making western movies there when I was a kid and I didn't even know it.
That tour was fantastic. With the parting of the sea for “The Ten Commandments” and then the rocks coming down the hill during the rockfall? Absolutely magnificent.
5 pm: Pick a Getty, any Getty
Depending on what time our movie ends or if we just end up going for a walk, we could go to the Getty Center. We love being there. We usually go in the afternoon (maybe we will have a late lunch there) and sometimes we go to the Getty Villa However, it fortunately survived the Palisades fire.
We love being surrounded by art. We'll tour the entire collection, plus any exhibits they have at the time. we will go to LACMA sometimes too, or even the Academy Museum to see the new exhibits they have.
Culturally, we really try to stay busy. Sometimes we want to sit at home and play Grudge and Malice or watch a TV show, but mostly I try to get out and encourage my family to do the same, especially as we live in such a wonderfully diverse cultural city.
7 pm: Taco time
I always leave meal decisions up to the girls and sometimes they like to go out for tacos. We like fish tacos at School. It is quite close to Quentin Tarantino's cinema, the New Beverly Cinemawhich we also like to go to. In fact, I took my daughter to see “Jaws,” which she loved.
9 p.m.: More movies
I'm trying to educate my daughter on the movies and TV shows I watched growing up. He's taking a film history class at school. She also wants to be an actress, so I want her to understand the history of film and the history of acting, so I show her the great performances that inspired me as a child and encourage her in that sense.
When I grew up in England, we literally had two channels, both black and white. Young people can't understand that now, but it really made you pay attention because you had to be sitting in front of the TV to watch a show or a movie you wanted to watch.
I remember the BBC, especially at weekends, had matinee screenings of films. We actually had pretty good quality television in England growing up, but they also focused heavily on British films from the 40s to the 60s, so I got my education from that particular style of film, like the post-war films, the 50s films and the Ealing comedies. David Lean and Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson… a lot of the films they were in or directed really helped shape who I am today.
Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers also had a big influence on me growing up, so I really want to try to share with my daughter why these movies meant so much to me.
10:30 p.m.: Books in bed
Actually, I'm not a night owl anymore. I used to be when I was a kid, but now, unless we're on a date, my wife and I are homebodies.
