Lucius Alexander Plantagenet Cary, Master of Falkland (born 1 February 1963), is an English screenwriter, producer, and ex-soldier.

Life and career

Cary was born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, London, to Lucius Cary, 15th Viscount of Falkland, and Caroline Butler. His father was an elected hereditary peer in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, and Cary is next in line to be Viscount of Falkland, the senior viscountcy of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(created in 1620 by

King James VI James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

). Cary grew up in Chelsea, London, where his neighbours were actors

André Morell Cecil André Mesritz (20 August 1909 – 28 November 1978), known professionally as André Morell, was an English actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s. His best known screen roles were as ...

and

Joan Greenwood Joan Mary Waller Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 28 February 1987) was an English actress. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, was her trademark. She played Sibella in the 1949 film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'', and also app ...

. He knew from the age of twelve that he wanted to work in the film industry. He was initially educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, but was expelled before his A-levels, and sent instead to Loretto in Scotland. He left with unremarkable grades and, after a brief stint as a runner in a

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

theatre, joined the army on a whim: "I had a bet with a friend who didn't think I could do it, but I loved it. Having been a total pain in the neck about authority at school, I took a perverse enjoyment in being given instructions and carrying them out." He graduated from

Sandhurst Military Academy The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer An officer is a person who has a position ...

in 1985 and was commissioned as an officer into the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

. He was posted to

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

during the height of

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. He saw active service during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

, in which he was attached to a company of

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

. He left the military shortly after the war, and went to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

to pursue a career as a screenwriter. After a decade of little success, he achieved a spot in the writers' room for the first series of ''

Lie to Me ''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series created by Samuel Baum that aired on Fox from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman ( Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The ...

'' in 2009. He later became a writer and producer for ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

'', and has also worked on ''

The Riches ''The Riches'' (styled as ''the R1¢hes'') is an American drama television series which was originally broadcast from March 12, 2007, to April 29, 2008, on FX. The series stars Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver as members of a family of Irish Trav ...

'' and ''

In Plain Sight ''In Plain Sight'' is an American drama television series that premiered on the USA Network on June 1, 2008. The series revolves around Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office ...

''. On 23 July 1993, Cary married American actress

Linda Purl Linda Purl (born September 2, 1955) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ashley Pfister (Fonzie's girlfriend) on ''Happy Days'' (she originally played Gloria as Richie’s date in season 2 episodes 1, 2, 6 and 7), Sheila Munroe in ...

, with whom he has a son, Lucius (born 6 February 1995). He also has son Sebastian (born c. 2004) from another relationship. Purl and Cary later divorced. In 2013, he became engaged to American actress Jennifer Marsala, a cast member in ''Homeland''. The marriage took place in Somerset on 31 December 2013. He appeared in the BBC programme ''The Gift'' on 10 February 2015, in which he met a fellow ex-soldier who wished to thank him for saving his life.

References

External links

*
"Real hero of Homeland: writer and producer of hit US show saved soldier's life after IRA mortar attack"
Stephen Gordon for ''The Belfast Telegraph''. 9 February 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cary, Alexander 1963 births Living people People educated at Westminster School, London People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh Primetime Emmy Award winners Scottish screenwriters Scots Guards officers

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...