Cary Elwes famously played the dashing Westley in "The Princess Bride" and, even now, more than 25 years later, fans still ask him about the film.
So, to sate the masses, the actor just wrote a book, "As You Wish," about making the movie.
"None of the other actors on the film decided to write anything, and I get asked all the time by fans about what my experience was like working on the film," he told Smashing Interviews. "I figured that I didn’t want to wait another 10 or 15 years when my memory starts to completely fade, so I thought I’d do it now. The response has been overwhelming, so I feel very fortunate in that. I seem to have made a pretty good decision to do it right now."
'The Princess Bride': Where Are the Stars Now?
For those who can't wait for the book to come out to know a few secrets, here are a few things you might not know about "The Princess Bride":
1. It Was Not an Immediate Success: Yes, there are plenty of people who love the movie now, but "The Princess Bride" was hardly a box office smash when it premiered in 1987. Of all the movies released that that year, it ranked just 41st in domestic grosses, bringing in $30,857,814. (For perspective, the No. 1-ranked film, "Three Men and a Baby," raked in $167,780,960.) "'The Princess Bride' really didn’t have an audience when it came out," Elwes told Smashing Interviews. "It gained popularity in the VHS marketplace."
2. Bill Cosby Is Responsible for Elwes' Casting: The actor told the Huffington Post that his impression of Fat Albert was what won him the part. During a conversation with director Rob Reiner, Elwes found himself saying, "Hey, hey, hey!" "[Reiner] loved it, so that was that," Elwes recalled. "According to Rob, that sealed the deal for him. ... So thank you to Bill Cosby."
3. That Fencing Scene Had to Be Re-Choreographed at the Last Minute: The scene in which Elwes duels with Mandy Patinkin on the Cliffs of Insanity needed to be changed at the last minute, as it was choreographed at an angle that didn't work for the camera. "Mandy said to [fencing coach] Bob Anderson, 'We've got to change it,' and Bob said, 'We can't. We're shooting,'" he told the Huffington Post. "Rob said, 'You've got 20 minutes. If you can fix it, great! If you can't, we're moving on.' And in 20 minutes we actually ... got it, and did it. It was nice to remember that we could actually come up with something on the spur of the moment and fix it."
4. Everyone on Set Loved Robin Wright: When asked if he knew that Wright had a crush on him, Elwes told Smashing Interviews that he didn't. "We were just incredibly close friends, and we bonded as such on the film," he said. "It’s hard not to fall in love with Robin. I think I can speak for anyone who has gotten to know her. She’s an extraordinary lady, so yeah, we all fell in love with her. It was one big happy family."
5. Elwes Was Injured on Set: When asked about an injury he sustained on set, Elwes declined to go into detail, except to say that it happened. "It’s fun. They’ll find out just how clumsy I really am," he told Smashing Interviews. (Spoiler alert: Vulture reported that he broke his toe while riding Andre the Giant's ATV.)
