Alexander Plantagenet Cary, Master of Falkland, is an English screenwriter, producer, and ex-soldier.
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Cary grew up in Chelsea, London, where his neighbours were actors André Morell and Joan Greenwood. He knew from the age of twelve that he wanted to work in the film industry. He was initially educated at Westminster School, 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 theatre, joined the army on a whim.
He graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy in 1985 and was commissioned as an officer into the Scots Guards. He was posted to Northern Ireland during the height of the Troubles. He saw active service during the Gulf War, in which he was attached to a company of United States Marines.
He left the military shortly after the war and went to 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 in 2009. He later became a writer and producer for Homeland, and has also worked on The Riches and In Plain Sight.
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On 23 July 1993, Cary married American actress Linda Purl, with whom he has a son, Lucius (born on 6 February 1995). He also has a 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.
Alexander Cary’s ex-wife, Linda Purl is an American actress and singer, known for her roles as Ashley Pfister on Happy Days, Sheila Munroe in the 1982 horror film Visiting Hours, Pam Beesly’s mother Helene in The Office, and Ben Matlock’s daughter Charlene Matlock for the first season of the television series Matlock.
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