Cary Elwes Says His ‘Family Is Everything’ to Him (Exclusive)

Cary Elwes is expressing his gratitude to his family at the Venice International Film Festival.

Elwes, whose new movie Dead Man’s Wire made its world premiere in Italy on Tuesday, Sept. 2, caught up with PEOPLE at the festival, where he shared how his “family is everything.”

“I bring them with me if I can, or if I can’t bring them on location, I make sure I fly home the minute I have a break to be with them,” says the 62-year-old actor, who has been married to his wife, Lisa Marie Kubikoff, since 2000.

While Lisa Marie and their daughter, Dominque, 18, were not able to join Cary in Venice for Dead Man’s Wire‘s premiere, the proud father spoke highly of his daughter, who he says is just starting to study film at college in Santa Barbara, Calif. “She got bit by the bug when she was 8,” Cary, best known for his role in the classic 1987 fantasy The Princess Bride, says.

“She saw me getting dressed in costume, and because I used to play dress up with her, she said, ‘Daddy, do they pay you to do dress up?’ I said, ‘As a matter of fact, they do,’ and she went ‘They do?’ Like that, and that was it,” he continues.

“I said, ‘Now you’ve got the bug. There’s no cure.’ So she’s going to Santa Barbara and she’s studying film, she’s studying directing, film theory, and film history. I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Cary says. “It’s an hour away, her mother’s really happy about that.”

As PEOPLE reported back when Dominique was born in 2007, Cary and Lisa Marie, a photographer, met in 1991 at a chili cook-off in Malibu, Calif. The actor semi-frequently shares photos and videos of his family on Instagram.

Most recently, on Aug. 13, Elwes shared photos of Lisa Marie, Dominique and the family’s dog, Parker, and wrote, “Missing my family… ❤️.” The actor also shared a selfie he took with his wife and daughter from a Coldplay concert on July 29, and he wrote that he was “the luckiest man in the world” in a cute tribute to his wife on July 12.

Cary’s new movie, Dead Man’s Wire, premiered out of competition in Venice. He costars in the film — director Gus Van Sant’s first new movie since 2015 — alongside Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Al Pacino and Myha’la. According to Deadline, the movie received a hefty 13-minute-long standing ovation following its premiere.

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Dead Man’s Wire will next screen at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, Sept. 7.