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Some of the most memorable movie lines in the history of comedy came from The Princess Bride<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/a>, director Rob Reiner\u2019s classic \u201880s adaptation of William Goldman<\/a><\/strong>‘s novel<\/span> (which was widely believed to be unadaptable). And many of the movie\u2019s best lines were recited, drolly, by a relatively unknown 24-year-old British actor named Cary Elwes<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Appearing in an ensemble filled with a litany of legends\u2013 including Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Christopher Guest, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, Peter Falk and more\u2013 Elwes emerged as a star, nailing what Goldman described as \u201cthe greatest sword fight of all time\u201d and coming across like a modern-day Errol Flynn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n He\u2019s since gone on to star in movies ranging from Mel Brooks\u2019 Robin Hood: Men In Tights<\/i><\/span> to Saw<\/i><\/span>. But Elwes will forever be best-known as Westley, the farm boy who becomes the Dread Pirate Roberts. And that\u2019s clearly okay with him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elwes recently came to Atlanta\u00a0to promote his new book, As You Wish<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/a>, in which he recounts some of his favorite behind-the-scenes secrets from the making of the film. With copious quotes from Reiner, Goldman and most of the surviving cast members, it\u2019s a treat for rabid Princess Bride<\/i> fans. We were fortunate to get some time to speak with Elwes about his book, and the book and movie that inspired it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s personal. I had a grandfather who passed away during the making of the film who was very much the hero in my life. He led an incredible life. He worked for British Intelligence during WWII. He was a larger-than-life figure for me. He used to recount his exploits to me as a kid. When I read Goldman\u2019s book when I was about 13 years old, the whole father reading for his son thing really resonated with me. I was a huge fan. I collect screenplays as one of my hobbies, so I have all of William Goldman\u2019s works<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. He\u2019s a legend in the literary world.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You mention\u00a0initially\u00a0being intimidated by the film’s \u00a0seasoned cast. How long after landing the role of Westley did it take you to get over the feeling of \u201cAm I in over my head here?!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n I was 23 years old when I got the part, and I turned 24 during filming. The first week we had a sequence where we were filming all of the fire swamp stuff. On the first day I got my first jolt of feeling part of the team when I suggested an idea of diving into the quicksand, and Rob loved the idea and we used it. But it took about halfway through the movie before I really felt like I hit my stride, and by then I had injured myself so badly that I was concerned I might get fired.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How did you get to the heart of the Westley\/Dread Pirate Roberts character?<\/strong><\/p>\n I had a lot of help. First of all, it was extremely well written by Bill Goldman. Goldman does a lot of the homework for you, which is why he is such a successful writer. It\u2019s like what Rob said to me, \u201cIt\u2019s all there on the page. You don\u2019t have to try to figure it out too much.\u201d He didn\u2019t want us to play up the comedy too much. He wanted us to play it straight. So I just watched a ton of pirate movies. I thought that, if we get this right, this will be a pirate that people will remember.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In As You Wish<\/i>, you talk about the complexity of Goldman\u2019s book and how the studio didn\u2019t know what to do with the movie in terms of marketing and promotion. What is the reward for you in seeing how it\u2019s become such a beloved classic over the past 25 years?<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s an incredible blessing. I think I can speak for everyone involved and say that we had no idea. You hope, when you make a film, that it will resonate with people and be a success, but you never really know. The film didn\u2019t gain much traction when it came out because it was so unique and the studio didn\u2019t know how to sell it. It tackles a lot of genres simultaneously, which not many movies had ever done before. The title put boys off because they thought it was a girlie movie, and adults thought it was a kid\u2019s movie. It was only when it came out on VHS that people started renting it, buying it and giving it as gifts, and it became this cult thing. It had this resurgence and became this wonderful thing that everybody seems to have taken to heart.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Other than mastering the greatest sword fight of all time, what did you learn from the process of making The Princes Bride<\/i> that has helped you as you\u2019ve gone forward in your career the last couple of decades?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned not to try out new stunts that are not on the call sheet, because that\u2019s how I injured myself! (Laughs<\/em>) I became a man on that film. It was really a growing process. I was working with people I admired a great deal. It was the first film where I had a significant role on an expensive budget.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you have any favorite memories of encounters with fans of the movie?<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s all in the book. I call it the gift that keeps on giving, from generation to generation. I still get fan mail from kids all over the world. I really want people to be aware of the book. The reason why I wrote the book is because fans were always asking me what was it like to work on the film. I try to answer as many of those questions as I can with the book.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the things I love about As You Wish<\/em>\u00a0are the sidebars with new quotes from Rob Reiner, Bill Goldman, Christopher Guest, Mandy Pantinkin, etc. How did you manage to get everyone involved in this book project?<\/strong><\/p>\n [Co-author] Joe Laden did most of the interviews, but I did some of them. It was great because everybody contributed to the book. Even though my name and Joe\u2019s are on the cover, we really share the book with Rob, the producers and the cast. I think Bill valued this film more than his other movies, which was extraordinary for us to realize because here was a man who had won Oscars for Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid<\/i>, All The President\u2019s Men <\/i>and Marathon Man.<\/i> And yet The Princess Bride<\/i> is his favorite adaptation of his work.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What do you think it is about this movie that makes people adore it even more now that they did back in the 1980s?<\/strong><\/p>\n I think it\u2019s because it was made with a lot of heart. But I don\u2019t really know. It\u2019s a wonderful phenomenon. If I knew the answer to that question, I would be making a ton of these movies! (Laughs<\/em>) It\u2019s like Bill Goldman says, \u201cNobody knows anything.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo by Gage Skidmore<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n How has the success of this film impacted your later career? Do you feel like you\u2019re chasing vapors trying to capture lightning in a bottle in the same way?<\/strong><\/p>\n I feel very grateful for my career. Princess Bride<\/i> gave me the career I have today. I don\u2019t regret a thing. I always approach every project with the same enthusiasm that I did with the first one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Did writing this book whet your appetite for doing more writing in the future?<\/strong><\/p>\n It was quite a journey for me, and an incredible learning experience. At some point down the line I would love to. It\u2019s a bit of a solitary experience: You really have to spend some time sequestered away from everything and everyone. I had enormous help with my co-writer, Joe Laden, so I\u2019m very grateful and thankful for that. I don\u2019t think I could\u2019ve done it on my own at this point in my life.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Other than promoting the book, what other projects are you working on now?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve got two dramatic films coming out. One is called The Greens Are Gone<\/i>, which I just finished filming in Boston. The other is called Sugar Mountain<\/i>, with Jason Mamoa. There\u2019s a big fight sequence with Jason , and I remember thinking as we started to rehearse it that this is definitely the tallest guy I\u2019ve fought since Andre the Giant. Andre was just a phenomenon. He had to be in a wide shot just to fit his whole body in the frame on the television set. Jason is another lovable giant\u2013 a sweet guy. We had a lot of fun! \u00a0\u2013Bret Love<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n CARY ELWES’\u00a0CAREER\u00a0HIGHLIGHTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Princess Bride<\/em>– 1987<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Glory<\/em>– 1989<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Days of Thunder<\/em>– 1990<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Dracula<\/em>– 1992<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Robin Hood: Men In Tights<\/em>– 1993<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Twister<\/em>– 1996<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n From the Earth to the Moon<\/em>– 1998<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The X-Files<\/em>– 2001-2002<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Saw<\/em>– 2004<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n![\"Cary](\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/img_6717.jpg\")
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\nYou wrote that you were a fan of The Princess Bride<\/a> long before you read the screenplay. Why did the book resonate with you so strongly?<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Robin](\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/1410958031836.cached.jpg\")
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<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Cary](\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Cary_Elwes_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"As](\"http:\/\/culturated.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/9781476764023_custom-a68d1d3da31c06e0651bc9baac26a43f75dcd757-s300-c85.jpg\")
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