Hear this now: we will always come for The Princess Bride. Nearly 40 years on, The Princess Bride remains one of the most beloved and charming movies of the 1980s, a perfect combination of fantasy, romance and action – with some swordplay and, sorry, Grandson, a little kissing thrown in. As for its success and all that it granted him, star Cary Elwes, appropriately enough, called it “really inconceivable, to use a word that’s famous from the movie.”
While not his first movie, Cary Elwes knows that 1987’s The Princess Bride is essentially responsible for his entire career, giving much credit to director Rob Reiner, who was adamant on casting him after his turn in 1986’s Lady Jane. This allowed him to work with some other premiere directors, telling People, “Once I got that part, that really kind of opened the door for me and that’s how I got the role of Robin Hood with Mel Brooks,” referring to 1993’s Robin Hood: Men in Tights. While Elwes was offered a lot of swashbuckler-type roles after The Princess Bride, he turned all of them down except for Robin Hood just so he could work with Brooks. But even prior to that he landed roles for the likes of Tony Scott (Days of Thunder) and Francis Ford Coppola (Bram Stoker’s Dracula).
Elwes has maintained a steady enough career in the decades since, but it’s really The Princess Bride that people still most remember him for. On this, he said, “You’re lucky as an actor to have anyone resonate with your work and I seem to hit the jackpot with that one…I have sold-out shows. I tour with the movie and I sell out everywhere I go. It’s crazy. It’s really beautiful.”
The Princess Bride has garnered a number of accolades over the years, with the American Film Institute naming it one of the best American romances (and nominated as one of the best comedies), something that’s hard to argue. How “As you wish” didn’t land on their list of the 100 greatest quotes is absolutely befuddling, however…In 2016, it was even selected by the National Film Registry for preservation.
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