Cary Elwes Joins X-Files

August 10 -- The X-Files is expanding its roster by adding the services of Cary Elwes, that blond chap who played the dashing Westley in 1987's The Princess Bride.

Elwes will play the recurring character of FBI Assistant Director Brad Follmer, who's an ex-boyfriend of Special Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), according to The Hollywood Reporter. He joins series regulars Gillian Anderson, who's been on the show since its 1993 premiere, and Robert Patrick, who joined the series last year.

"It's not just adding a terrific actor, it's adding somebody of a certain stature to the show," the show's creator and executive producer, Chris Carter, enthuses to the Reporter.

Carter relates that the producers were looking for someone who was a different type than Patrick's blue-collar agent John Doggett. "[Follmer] is a guy who is a little more buttoned-up, a little more polished; he represents a different kind of FBI," Carter tells the trade paper.

The 38-year-old Elwes was offered the part after he read with Gish on Wednesday night and producers "liked the energy between the two of them," Carter said. The Follmer character will be introduced in The X-Files' ninth-season premiere episode, which airs Nov. 4.

Elwes' other credits include Days of Thunder, Cradle Will Rock, Shadow of the Vampire, and the lead role in the Mel Brooks comedy Robin Hood: Men in Tights.