Nobody fit the role better than André the Giant as Fezzik in The Princess Bride. Known for being one of the premiere superstars in professional wrestling, André was recruited to play the oversized sidekick to Wallace Shawn’s Vizzini in what seems like a no-brainer choice. After all, at 7’4”, André was basically a real-life giant. But a certain Hollywood star was also vying for the role: Liam Neeson. It’s just too bad he’s so short…
When it came time to casting Fezzik in The Princess Bride, Rob Reiner and his casting director, Jane Jenkins, were tasked with finding someone who could actually come across as a giant. So when Liam Neeson entered the room, he – who stands well over six feet, a desirable height by many measures – just wasn’t tall enough. As Neeson recently recalled, “It’s very true. He turned to the casting director and said, ‘I asked for a giant. What height are you?!’” When Neeson told Reiner he was 6’4”, he was immediately dismissed. “No ‘Hello,’ ‘Thanks for coming.’ Nothing like that. It was a little embarrassing for the casting agent. I felt bad for her. I really did.”
André the Giant (real name André Roussimoff) was actually author and screenwriter William Goldman’s first choice to play Fezzik in his adaptation of The Princess Bride, although names like NBA superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (7’2”), Carel Struycken (7’0”) and even Lou Ferrigno (6’5”, just a hair above Neeson) were also tossed around. Struycken would later play The Giant in Twin Peaks and Lurch in the Addams Family movies.
Of course, it’s impossible to not imagine André the Giant as Fezzick, as he brings so much character and charm to The Princess Bride, a movie already bursting with it. André had a number of other credits on screens both big and small, but The Princess Bride easily points to him being one of the better wrestler-actors out there. Sadly, it would be his final movie before his 1993 death.
What is your favorite quote from The Princess Bride? Share your choice – and any peanuts you may have – in the comments section below.
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