January 16, 2026 • 9 mins
Cary Elwes chats Stranger Things and New Movie
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Jeff Stevens. Very excited to talk to Carrie Elvis.
He is starring as Michael Grabel in the new film
called dead Man's Wire, which is in theaters nationwide now,
and of course, he was the mayor that you love
to hate in Stranger Things season three. Carrie Elvis, nice
to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey, Jeff.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
How are you, hey, Carrie? What a cool thrill to
talk to you. Man, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you so much for having me great? How about yourself?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
You know what I'm doing? Great? Thank you very much.
I watched you on the Today Show last week and
I'm like, oh, I love Cary elwas I'm going to
turn it on and listen to it. And then shortly
afterward found out that I was going to have a
chance to chat with you. So that's probably always fun
seeing your friends there on the Today Show.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, those guys are great. That's my second second time there,
so it's always a thrill to get that call back.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Well, you have some great stuff going on, and we're
going to talk about dead Man's Wire here in a second.
But I got to say, man, you were brilliant in
Stranger Things. Loved you as the mayor in some case
love to hate you as the mayor, but you did.
It was an amazing part and of course one of
the biggest shows in the last ten years. What was
it like to be a part of that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I was a big fan of the Duffer Brothers, so
I campaigned to get on that show. They're terrific filmmakers,
I mean, the storytellers extraordinary, you know, and they have
a great love of cinema, and so they were throwing
references to their favorite movies, and of course they the
shows are thrilling, absolutely thrilling. They're really interested in character development.
(01:33):
Kids I call them kids. They're not kids anymore. When
I joined the show, they were kids. These guys were unbelievable,
blew my mind how first of all, how incredibly professional
and talented they were, but also incredibly kind and sweet.
They were too, very, very lovely people to work with.
Just a joy. So I was thrilled to be a
(01:53):
part of that. And I met Baker Montgomery, who's actually
in our movie, and we became friends, and he played
the kidnap victim in dead Man Squire.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Oh all right, that's that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, yeah, it's a great film. I'm very proud of
this film. It's a terrific cast. Bill scars Guard is
on lead. You may know him from it, Yes, the
Paratu and the Crow. He plays Tony kurrizis lunatic who
takes Daker's characters Tony hol captive, wires a shotgun to
his neck and holds him hostage for sixty three hours
(02:29):
because he believes, you know, because he's the Dacob places
his mortgage. He believes that he's brokerage FROMIM has taken
advantage of him, so he kidnaps his broker and holds
him hostage in a sixty three hours standoff with police.
It's just unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Well, yeah, and so this is and this is obviously
a true story from nineteen seventy seven in the Indianapolis area,
which I was not really aware of until I saw
you on the Today Show last week and I sort
of looked into it and I thought, Wow, what an incredible story.
So you've got this whole thing playing out, And I
got to tell you, your accent, the character accent that
(03:03):
you have obviously for the lead character is incredible. And
I thought it was interesting that you told the Today's
Show crew that you basically stayed in character, like twenty
four to seven, so you could really stay in it, right.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, it was easier for me because it was a
difficult character for me, very different from obviously who I am.
I was fortunate that I met with Mike Grabel's kids
and the character I played, Mike the Detective, passed away
ten years ago, but I was able to meet with
his children, Mike Junior and Jason, and they were very gracious.
(03:38):
They shared with me all of the family archives of
their father and audio video and family albums and biography
and everything, and so I had a lot to work with,
and so I kind of showed up and it was
just easy for me to stay in character rather than
try and switch them off and bring him back to life. Yeah,
we were shot to stay in nineteen days, so it
really wasn't a lot of time sitting around. Get out
(04:00):
there and do it.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Wow, shot in nineteen days. Now, is that considered fairly normal?
Or is that pretty quick?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
No, that's pretty quick.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
That's just saying that seems pretty quick. The other thing
I thought was interesting you were talking about was the
vibe of the set that you mentioned, where pretty much
every direction you looked, you know, billboards from the seventies,
obviously cars and outfits. That has to be pretty cool
to really bring the whole you know era of nineteen
seventy seven alive.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well that's Gus for you. Gus Fanzen, our director. He's
really has He doesn't make movies, he makes films, you know,
he's he's he makes cinema and his attention to detail
is phenomenal. So you know, he brought on the best,
best team apartment heads, whether it was set decoration, or
costume or or props, you name it. There wasn't a
(04:48):
single moment where you didn't feel like you were in
Indianapolis in nineteen seventy seven. So it was it's great
for actors to walk onto a location and feel like
you're right there. Yeah, creating an environment for actors where
it's authentic is obviously a lot of the work. Yeah,
he's amazing. He's an amazing filmmaker.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
I thought that was cool that you said even stuff
that probably didn't even make it into the camera scene
even that far down down the road or you know,
away from the set, it was still in seventies mode,
just to really really bring it out. I think that
sounds incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Yeah, you know, the great filmmakers, the great directors do that.
They want to give their actors an opportunity to explore
any part of the set of the location. The Guffers
were like that, you know, the mall in strange thing.
They had stores that we never see in the show
that were filled with authentic items from that period where
(05:48):
you could literally go shopping, you know, and that blew
my mind. So, like I said, the great directors do that.
They want to create an atmosphere where it's an opportunity
for the cast to really just write in and feel
like they're right there.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, talking to carry Elws. We've got a couple more
minutes here. And the new movie is called dead Man's Wire.
It's based on a true story of that nineteen seventy
seven kidnapping of the prominent banker in Indianapolis. Do I
understand too, Carrie, that you went to the Indianapolis or
like a library or something to try to find out
a little bit more about the character.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
I did. I'm a fan of newspaper archives, and you know,
back in the day, I got into microfiche and things
like that and periodicals, and so I showed up there
and found out, unfortunately that you have to be a
resident of Indianapolis to access periodicals. But fortunately I was
able to take a few selfies and they made me
(06:43):
an honorary member of the library. So I'm very grateful
to them for that.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
All Right, that's pretty cool. A couple selfies and you
got yourself in there. I like that, very creative. I
would have let you into absolutely for a couple of selfies, Kerrie.
Looking at your storied career. Man, we've obviously talked to
about Stranger Things and the new movie dead Man's Wire,
Princess Bride. You have given us so much, you know, drama,
but also the comedy hot Shots. I remember watching hot
(07:11):
Shots for the first time. Just think of this movie.
Is that's that is my sense of humor and things
like Liar Liar, Robin Hood men in tights. What a great,
amazing career you've had and you look terrific and it's
just always fun to see when you come out with
something new.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Well, thank you so much. That's really kind of you
to say. You know, I'm fortunate. I feel really blessed
to do what I do for a living. You know,
I get to step into other people's shoes and inhabit
that role and that character, and for me, it's a
great time. It's a great way to make a living.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Do you have a preference of because you've done so
many of each of comedy versus action or thriller or drama,
do you have a preference or do you just kind
of get into whatever you're doing next.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It's not pretty much whatever I'm doing next, you know,
obviously very grateful for the role that established my career,
Princess brydon uh, you know, Rob Bryner casting me as Wesley,
you know, gave me the life and career I have today.
And Sappy we we lost him last year, and so
it was a great tragedy. But I'm eternally grateful to
(08:18):
him and hold him and his wife and in my
heart and my family too, and and that and their family.
It was it was a great loss, and I'm I
cherish our memories together. It was a wonderful, wonderful time,
wonderful time.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So sorry about your loss there, and can't even imagine
and and you did such great work and and Princess
Bride has pretty much become like a cult classic forever,
among so many other ones that you're doing. But uh,
that's definitely one of them. And let me just confirm
before I let you go here, Hopper did not really
hurt you in the scene where he's beating you up
(08:56):
as the mayor right and stranger things. He didn't really
hurt you, did he exacting?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
You know, it's funny you say that it looked like it.
You know, it was definitely the wrecking putting my finger
in that cigar coverage, I can't fight again. But he's
a He's a wonderful guy, he really is. He's a
great actor. And all of them, all of the whole
cat incredible Millie, all of them, every single one. Winona.
(09:22):
I haven't worked with her since since Dracula, so it
was a joy to see her again and had a great,
great time.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Well it was. It's incredible. I'm actually still making my
way through season five literally as we speak, hoping to
finish this weekend. But Carrie el was congratulations on dead
Man's Wire. Can't wait to watch it in theaters this weekend.
And so nice to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
It's so nice to talk to you too. Thank you
so much for having me
I'm Jeff Stevens. Very excited to talk to Carrie Elvis.
He is starring as Michael Grabel in the new film
called dead Man's Wire, which is in theaters nationwide now,
and of course, he was the mayor that you love
to hate in Stranger Things season three. Carrie Elvis, nice
to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey, Jeff.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
How are you, hey, Carrie? What a cool thrill to
talk to you. Man, how are you?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Thank you so much for having me great? How about yourself?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
You know what I'm doing? Great? Thank you very much.
I watched you on the Today Show last week and
I'm like, oh, I love Cary elwas I'm going to
turn it on and listen to it. And then shortly
afterward found out that I was going to have a
chance to chat with you. So that's probably always fun
seeing your friends there on the Today Show.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, those guys are great. That's my second second time there,
so it's always a thrill to get that call back.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Well, you have some great stuff going on, and we're
going to talk about dead Man's Wire here in a second.
But I got to say, man, you were brilliant in
Stranger Things. Loved you as the mayor in some case
love to hate you as the mayor, but you did.
It was an amazing part and of course one of
the biggest shows in the last ten years. What was
it like to be a part of that. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
I was a big fan of the Duffer Brothers, so
I campaigned to get on that show. They're terrific filmmakers,
I mean, the storytellers extraordinary, you know, and they have
a great love of cinema, and so they were throwing
references to their favorite movies, and of course they the
shows are thrilling, absolutely thrilling. They're really interested in character development.
(01:33):
Kids I call them kids. They're not kids anymore. When
I joined the show, they were kids. These guys were unbelievable,
blew my mind how first of all, how incredibly professional
and talented they were, but also incredibly kind and sweet.
They were too, very, very lovely people to work with.
Just a joy. So I was thrilled to be a
(01:53):
part of that. And I met Baker Montgomery, who's actually
in our movie, and we became friends, and he played
the kidnap victim in dead Man Squire.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Oh all right, that's that's interesting.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yeah, yeah, it's a great film. I'm very proud of
this film. It's a terrific cast. Bill scars Guard is
on lead. You may know him from it, Yes, the
Paratu and the Crow. He plays Tony kurrizis lunatic who
takes Daker's characters Tony hol captive, wires a shotgun to
his neck and holds him hostage for sixty three hours
(02:29):
because he believes, you know, because he's the Dacob places
his mortgage. He believes that he's brokerage FROMIM has taken
advantage of him, so he kidnaps his broker and holds
him hostage in a sixty three hours standoff with police.
It's just unbelievable.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
Well, yeah, and so this is and this is obviously
a true story from nineteen seventy seven in the Indianapolis area,
which I was not really aware of until I saw
you on the Today Show last week and I sort
of looked into it and I thought, Wow, what an incredible story.
So you've got this whole thing playing out, And I
got to tell you, your accent, the character accent that
(03:03):
you have obviously for the lead character is incredible. And
I thought it was interesting that you told the Today's
Show crew that you basically stayed in character, like twenty
four to seven, so you could really stay in it, right.
Speaker 2 (03:17):
Yeah, it was easier for me because it was a
difficult character for me, very different from obviously who I am.
I was fortunate that I met with Mike Grabel's kids
and the character I played, Mike the Detective, passed away
ten years ago, but I was able to meet with
his children, Mike Junior and Jason, and they were very gracious.
(03:38):
They shared with me all of the family archives of
their father and audio video and family albums and biography
and everything, and so I had a lot to work with,
and so I kind of showed up and it was
just easy for me to stay in character rather than
try and switch them off and bring him back to life. Yeah,
we were shot to stay in nineteen days, so it
really wasn't a lot of time sitting around. Get out
(04:00):
there and do it.
Speaker 1 (04:01):
Wow, shot in nineteen days. Now, is that considered fairly normal?
Or is that pretty quick?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
No, that's pretty quick.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
That's just saying that seems pretty quick. The other thing
I thought was interesting you were talking about was the
vibe of the set that you mentioned, where pretty much
every direction you looked, you know, billboards from the seventies,
obviously cars and outfits. That has to be pretty cool
to really bring the whole you know era of nineteen
seventy seven alive.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
Well that's Gus for you. Gus Fanzen, our director. He's
really has He doesn't make movies, he makes films, you know,
he's he's he makes cinema and his attention to detail
is phenomenal. So you know, he brought on the best,
best team apartment heads, whether it was set decoration, or
costume or or props, you name it. There wasn't a
(04:48):
single moment where you didn't feel like you were in
Indianapolis in nineteen seventy seven. So it was it's great
for actors to walk onto a location and feel like
you're right there. Yeah, creating an environment for actors where
it's authentic is obviously a lot of the work. Yeah,
he's amazing. He's an amazing filmmaker.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
I thought that was cool that you said even stuff
that probably didn't even make it into the camera scene
even that far down down the road or you know,
away from the set, it was still in seventies mode,
just to really really bring it out. I think that
sounds incredible.
Speaker 2 (05:25):
Yeah, you know, the great filmmakers, the great directors do that.
They want to give their actors an opportunity to explore
any part of the set of the location. The Guffers
were like that, you know, the mall in strange thing.
They had stores that we never see in the show
that were filled with authentic items from that period where
(05:48):
you could literally go shopping, you know, and that blew
my mind. So, like I said, the great directors do that.
They want to create an atmosphere where it's an opportunity
for the cast to really just write in and feel
like they're right there.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Yeah, talking to carry Elws. We've got a couple more
minutes here. And the new movie is called dead Man's Wire.
It's based on a true story of that nineteen seventy
seven kidnapping of the prominent banker in Indianapolis. Do I
understand too, Carrie, that you went to the Indianapolis or
like a library or something to try to find out
a little bit more about the character.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
I did. I'm a fan of newspaper archives, and you know,
back in the day, I got into microfiche and things
like that and periodicals, and so I showed up there
and found out, unfortunately that you have to be a
resident of Indianapolis to access periodicals. But fortunately I was
able to take a few selfies and they made me
(06:43):
an honorary member of the library. So I'm very grateful
to them for that.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
All Right, that's pretty cool. A couple selfies and you
got yourself in there. I like that, very creative. I
would have let you into absolutely for a couple of selfies, Kerrie.
Looking at your storied career. Man, we've obviously talked to
about Stranger Things and the new movie dead Man's Wire,
Princess Bride. You have given us so much, you know, drama,
but also the comedy hot Shots. I remember watching hot
(07:11):
Shots for the first time. Just think of this movie.
Is that's that is my sense of humor and things
like Liar Liar, Robin Hood men in tights. What a great,
amazing career you've had and you look terrific and it's
just always fun to see when you come out with
something new.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Well, thank you so much. That's really kind of you
to say. You know, I'm fortunate. I feel really blessed
to do what I do for a living. You know,
I get to step into other people's shoes and inhabit
that role and that character, and for me, it's a
great time. It's a great way to make a living.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Do you have a preference of because you've done so
many of each of comedy versus action or thriller or drama,
do you have a preference or do you just kind
of get into whatever you're doing next.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
It's not pretty much whatever I'm doing next, you know,
obviously very grateful for the role that established my career,
Princess brydon uh, you know, Rob Bryner casting me as Wesley,
you know, gave me the life and career I have today.
And Sappy we we lost him last year, and so
it was a great tragedy. But I'm eternally grateful to
(08:18):
him and hold him and his wife and in my
heart and my family too, and and that and their family.
It was it was a great loss, and I'm I
cherish our memories together. It was a wonderful, wonderful time,
wonderful time.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So sorry about your loss there, and can't even imagine
and and you did such great work and and Princess
Bride has pretty much become like a cult classic forever,
among so many other ones that you're doing. But uh,
that's definitely one of them. And let me just confirm
before I let you go here, Hopper did not really
hurt you in the scene where he's beating you up
(08:56):
as the mayor right and stranger things. He didn't really
hurt you, did he exacting?
Speaker 2 (09:00):
You know, it's funny you say that it looked like it.
You know, it was definitely the wrecking putting my finger
in that cigar coverage, I can't fight again. But he's
a He's a wonderful guy, he really is. He's a
great actor. And all of them, all of the whole
cat incredible Millie, all of them, every single one. Winona.
(09:22):
I haven't worked with her since since Dracula, so it
was a joy to see her again and had a great,
great time.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Well it was. It's incredible. I'm actually still making my
way through season five literally as we speak, hoping to
finish this weekend. But Carrie el was congratulations on dead
Man's Wire. Can't wait to watch it in theaters this weekend.
And so nice to talk to you.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
It's so nice to talk to you too. Thank you
so much for having me
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