Cary Elwes calls the fantasy adventure comedy The Princess Bride (1987), for which he played Westley, the big breakout role of his career.
Some 36 years after the film premiered, the British actor feels that over the years it has been “the gift that keeps on giving,” according to People.
The native of Westminster, London, England, also credits the now-cult classic and director Rob Reiner for enhancing his comedic chops.
“Well, Rob Reiner really helped me with that,” Elwes, 61, said when asked if he felt the need to prove he had the comedic ability to hold his own early in his career.
“Once I got that role, it really opened the door for me and that’s how I got the role of Robin Hood with Mel Brooks,” the actor said, in reference to his titular role in Robin Hood: Men In Tights (1993) .
Cary Elwes, 61, considers his role as the reckless farmhand named Westley in The Princess Brie (1987) to be his career breakthrough.
‘So that’s basically what Rob said, “I believe you can do comedy, and I can believe you can do serious too.” So yes,” Elwes continued.
The actor elaborates on how much The Princess Bride meant to his career, claiming that it remains an integral part of his career to this day.
‘I have sold out shows. I’m touring with the film and I’m sold out everywhere. It’s crazy,” he told the publication, before expressing his appreciation: “It’s really beautiful.”
For Reiner, now 77, The Princess Bride was his fourth time directing a feature film, working from a screenplay by William Goldman, who adapted his own 1973 novel of the same name.
Elwes starred alongside lead actress Robin Wright, who played Buttercup/The Princess Bride, as well as Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant, Peter Falk and Billy Crystal.
Although the film did not become a major box office hit, grossing $30.9 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $16 million, it was well received by critics at the time. Over the years, however, the film achieved cult classic status and is now considered one of the best films of the 1980s.
To further its lasting impact, the film was selected by the Library of Congress in 2016 for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Borrowing a well-known phrase from the film, Elwes called The Princess Bride’s lasting impact on his career “unimaginable.”
Elwes co-starred with Robin Wright in The Princess Bride, which wasn’t a blockbuster but over time has become a cult classic with fans
The British actor also praised the fantasy adventure comedy’s director Rob Reiner for believing he could “do both comedic and serious.”
“You’re lucky as an actor to have someone resonate with your work, and I seem to have hit the jackpot with that,” he said of the film that tells the story of a reckless farmhand named Westley, who is accompanied by companions that he is. along the way, who must save his true love Princess Buttercup from the odious Prince Humperdinck.
And like the novel The Princess Bride, the film maintains the metafictional storytelling style by presenting the story as a book read by a grandfather to his sick grandson.
In addition to his titular role as Robin Hood, Elwes has starred in a slew of popular films over the decades, including Glory (1989), Days Of Thunder (1990), Hot Shots! (1991), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), The Crush (1993), The Jungle Book (1994), Twister (1996), Kiss the Girls (1997), Shadow Of The Vampire (2000), Saw (2004, Saw 3D (2010), No Strings Attached (2011) and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023).
“You’re lucky as an actor to have someone resonate with your work, and it seems like I hit the jackpot,” he said of The Princess Bride; Wallace Shawn, Robin Wright and André the Giant were among the cast that starred in the film
‘I have sold out shows. I’m touring with the film and I’m sold out everywhere. It’s crazy,” Elwes told People, before expressing his appreciation: “It’s really beautiful.”
For his latest role in Guy Richie’s The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Elwes has a special bond with Brigadier General Colin Gubbins, the man personally chosen by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to lead the Special Operations Executive.
“My grandfather was actually recruited by the character I play in the movie,” he revealed. “He was parachuted into Albania in 1943 to create a partisan brigade to fight the Italians and the Germans.”
Elwes called his grandfather his “real hero” who “regaled me with stories as a child. So this is a very personal project for me.’
The spy action comedy, which only premiered in the US on April 19, also stars Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun and Henry Golding.