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Inconceivable secrets from behind the scenes of a beloved classic! Discover the fascinating stories that shaped this fairy tale adventure, from painful on-set injuries to heartfelt character motivations. Did you know Christopher Guest actually knocked Cary Elwes unconscious? Or that Billy Crystal's improvised jokes bruised Mandy Patinkin's ribs from suppressed laughter?
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00:00Buttercup was raised on a small farm in the country of Florida."
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're sharing behind-the-scenes stories about The Princess
00:09Bride that you might find surprising, maybe even inconceivable.
00:14Inconceivable.
00:17Number 10.
00:19Alternate Casting Choices
00:20The Princess Bride almost beat twins to the punchline, at one point considering Danny
00:26DeVito for Vizzini and Arnold Schwarzenegger for Fezzik.
00:30What did I do?
00:31Finish him.
00:32Finish him!
00:33Your way!
00:34Oh, good.
00:35My way.
00:36Thank you, Vizzini.
00:37Which was my way?
00:38When Schwarzenegger's name first came up, he wasn't an established star.
00:42By the time the film adaptation of William Goldman's book finally moved forward, Schwarzenegger's
00:48schedule was swamped.
00:50So the filmmakers went with Andre the Giant, who had always been Goldman's first choice.
00:55That's enough!
00:56That's enough!
00:57Where is this rogue now?
00:59Some might kill him.
01:00He's with the prince in the castle.
01:02But the castle gate is guarded by 30 men.
01:06How many could you handle?
01:12I don't think more than 10.
01:14For Buttercup, Goldman envisioned Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher.
01:19Courtney Cox, Meg Ryan, Uma Thurman, Sean Young, Susie Amos, Alexandra Paul, and Whoopi Goldberg
01:26were in contention for the role that ultimately went to then-newcomer Robin Wright.
01:31Boo!
01:32Boo!
01:33Why do you do this?
01:37Because you had love in your hands, and you gave it up.
01:41But they would've killed Wesley if I hadn't done it.
01:44Christopher Reeve was once attached to potentially play Wesley.
01:47Ironically, Carrie Elwes worked on the original Superman as an assistant to Marlon Brando.
01:52We'll never survive.
01:53Nonsense.
01:54You're only saying that because no one ever has.
01:579.
01:58This Is Spinal Tap Easter Egg
02:01Multiple creative figures attempted to adapt The Princess Bride before Rob Reiner threw
02:05his hat into the ring.
02:07Reiner was a fan of the book, which he had received from his father.
02:10And I said, you know, they make movies out of books.
02:13And then I started thinking of all the books that I loved that I had read.
02:17After speaking with Reiner, William Goldman watched his feature directorial debut This Is
02:22Spinal Tap.
02:23What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?
02:28Put it up to 11.
02:2911, exactly.
02:30One louder.
02:31Why don't you just make 10 louder, and make 10 be the top number, and make that a little
02:35louder?
02:39These go to 11.
02:40The 1984 mockumentary cracked Goldman up, giving Reiner his blessing.
02:45Since Spinal Tap helped him get the gig, it's only fitting that Reiner worked in a nod
02:50to that comedy.
02:51Among the various trinkets adorning the grandson's bedroom is the USS Oral Sea hat that Reiner
02:56wore in Spinal Tap.
02:58This Easter egg was included as a favor to Dire Straits member Mark Knopfler, who agreed
03:04to compose The Princess Bride if Reiner included a Spinal Tap reference.
03:08Number 8.
03:13Real Fire in the Fire Swamp The Fire Swamp sequence was shot on a soundstage
03:19with practical effects.
03:20This included the fire that gave the swamp its name.
03:23Well, that was an adventure.
03:26One shot required Buttercup's dress to be set ablaze before Wesley promptly extinguishes
03:31it.
03:32With any hazards, Robin Wright's flame-retardant dress was given an extra layer of fireproof
03:37fabric.
03:38William Goldman didn't realize this when he showed up on set, interrupting the shoot because
03:43he thought the leading lady was on fire.
03:45I scream, her dress is on fire, totally destroying the shot.
03:50That wasn't the only challenge The Fire Swamp brought.
03:53Danny Blackner, one of the little people who played the R.O.U.S., had been pulled over
03:58a night earlier.
03:59The filmmakers had to get him out of jail so he could dress up as a giant rat.
04:04We had to go and get the guy out of jail in order to suit up in a rat suit to run around
04:09and be a rodent of unusual size.
04:12This is the magic of moviemaking.
04:14Number 7.
04:15Christopher Guest really knocked out Cary Elwes
04:18Count Rugen's infamous sixth finger might not be real, but the bop on the head that Christopher
04:23Guest gave Cary Elwes most certainly was.
04:26Come, sir, we must get you to your ship.
04:30Although Guest didn't want to hit his co-star too hard, Elwes pushed him to make it look
04:35real.
04:36As they shot the scene where Rugen knocks Wesley out with his sword, Guest swung harder than
04:42intended.
04:43The next thing that Elwes knew, he was in the emergency room getting stitches in his skull.
04:47Ironically, the doctor tending to Elwes' head injury was the same one who had treated him
04:53for a broken toe he received while horsing around on Andre the Giant's ATV.
04:58Elwes didn't blame Guest, who nonetheless felt awful.
05:02On the plus side, they got the shot.
05:04Then I'm here till I die.
05:06Till I kill you.
05:07Number 6.
05:08Mandy Patinkin's sad motivation behind You Killed My Father
05:13Mandy Patinkin had no idea You Killed My Father would become such an immortal quote.
05:18Hello.
05:19My name is Inigo Montoya.
05:22You killed my father.
05:25Prepare to die.
05:27Yet the line always carried great significance for Patinkin, who had lost his father to cancer
05:33years before being cast as Inigo Montoya.
05:36To capture Inigo's intense hatred for Count Rugen, Patinkin envisioned the six-fingered
05:41villain as if he were the cancer that had claimed his father's life.
05:45I'd lost my father in 1972.
05:48It just hit a chord with me that I want my father back just like he does.
05:51Patinkin might have gotten a little too into character, as he accidentally stabbed Christopher
05:56Guest in the thigh during a rehearsal.
05:59Guest was alright, although he feared Patinkin might actually kill him when the cameras rolled.
06:04So, right before we shot, I said to the fencing master, I think he's gonna try to kill me.
06:10So all that stuff that I learned, I'm basically throwing out, I'm basically now gonna defend
06:14myself.
06:15Despite this hiccup, Inigo's quest for revenge proved therapeutic for Patinkin, who walked
06:20away with it with some form of closure concerning his father's death.
06:24Offer me everything I ask for.
06:27Anything you want.
06:29Number 5.
06:30Peter Falk wanted to wear old man makeup.
06:33Peter Falk became a TV icon as Lt. Columbo, but to a certain generation, he'll always
06:39be the grandfather from The Princess Bride.
06:41I brought you a special present.
06:43What is it?
06:44Open it up.
06:45By the time he was cast in the 1987 film, Falk was nearly 60 years old.
06:51Although he was an appropriate age, Falk wasn't convinced that he looked old enough to be
06:56a grandfather.
06:57And this is a special book.
06:59It was the book my father used to read to me when I was sick and I used to read it to
07:04your father.
07:05And today I'm gonna read it to you.
07:07Falk asked if he could wear prosthetics, an idea that Rob Reiner humored.
07:12After seeing the results of the makeup test, Falk reportedly told Reiner that he resembled
07:16a burn victim.
07:17Reiner suggested that they do it without the elderly makeup.
07:21To which Falk replied, I think you're onto something.
07:24No stills of that makeup test are available, although we imagine Falk might've looked something
07:30like Deadpool.
07:31Did you reconstruct the bedroom set from the Princess Bride?
07:36Inconceivable!
07:37Oh God.
07:38Yeah.
07:39I always wanted to say that.
07:40Billy Crystal's ad-libs were painfully funny.
07:43Although his screen time is limited, Billy Crystal completely threw himself into the role
07:48of Miracle Max.
07:49What?
07:50What?
07:51Are you the Miracle Max who worked for the King all those years?
07:54The King's stinking son fired me and thank you so much for bringing up such a painful
07:58subject.
07:59If you're at it, why don't you give me a nice paper cut and pour lemon juice on it?
08:02We're close!
08:03He even played a role in his makeup design, suggesting the character looked like a mix
08:08between his grandmother and Casey Stengel of the New York Yankees.
08:12Crystal and Carole King, who played Valerie, also conceived a backstory for the old, odd couple.
08:18Liar!
08:19Liar!
08:20Get back, witch!
08:21I'm not a witch!
08:22I'm your wife!
08:23But after what you just said, I'm not even sure I want to be dead anymore!
08:26You never had it so good.
08:28Although Reiner encouraged Crystal to improvise, the director couldn't be on set for his scenes.
08:34Reiner knew he wouldn't be able to contain his laughter if he were in the room, tasking
08:38Mandy Patinkin with giving the off-camera lines, while Patinkin managed to restrain himself.
08:44It wasn't easy.
08:45In fact, Patinkin claims that he bruised a rib fighting his urge to laugh at Crystal's
08:51antics.
08:52You got money?
08:5365.
08:54Phew!
08:55I never worked for so little.
08:57Except once.
08:58And that was a very noble cause.
08:59This is noble, sir.
09:013.
09:02Andre the Giant's Back Problems On Set
09:05When Andre the Giant was cast as Fezzik, the filmmakers were concerned about his line
09:11delivery, but figured he wouldn't have any physical issues given his wrestling background.
09:14Faster!
09:15I thought I was going faster.
09:17You were supposed to be this colossus.
09:19You were this great legendary thing, and yet he gains.
09:23Well, I'm carrying three people, and he got onto himself.
09:27Ironically, Andre's performance was spot-on.
09:31But he couldn't do stunts because of a back surgery.
09:35As Fezzik faced off against Wesley, Andre required a stunt double for certain shots.
09:40For the close-ups, where Wesley hangs from Fezzik's back, Elwes walked up a flight of unseen
09:45ramps.
09:46I just figured when you give me so much trouble.
09:50Why is that?
09:53Do you think?
09:54In the end, when Buttercup leaps from her window into Fezzik's arms, Robin Wright needed
09:59to be suspended with cables.
10:01He couldn't even hold me.
10:03I had to be hooked up to cables when I'm supposed to fall into his arms.
10:06And, you know, 100 pounds, he couldn't â it killed him.
10:10To combat his horrible back pain, Andre often drank.
10:14How much?
10:15During the film's production, Andre stayed at a hotel, where he accumulated a bar tab of
10:20roughly $40,000.
10:23Number 2
10:24The duel initially ran short.
10:27Although Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin had no prior sword-fighting experience, they learned
10:32to duel with both hands.
10:33You seem a decent fellow.
10:35I hate to kill you.
10:36You seem a decent fellow.
10:37I hate to die.
10:38Peg in.
10:39The two received guidance from fencer Bob Anderson and stunt coordinator Peter Diamond, who share
10:48credits like Highlander and Star Wars in common.
10:50The initial sword fight was the thing that impressed me, because it was described as the
10:55greatest sword fight since Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster.
10:57I've worked with both of these people, so it was a great challenge to me.
11:01After months of training, the actors performed the duel in front of Rob Reiner on set for
11:05the first time.
11:07Everyone appeared satisfied, except Reiner, who asked, that's it?
11:10You're amazing.
11:11I ought to be after 20 years.
11:14Not because the choreography was underwhelming, but that the scene ran short.
11:18Elwes and Patinkin became so skilled that they were able to complete their duel in just
11:23over one minute.
11:24Reiner said it needed to be at least three minutes, so the team had to devise a few new
11:30tricks.
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11:481.
11:51An almost fairytale ending
11:53The film ends on a simple, sweet note, as the grandson asks if his grandfather can read
11:58the book again tomorrow, to which he replies,
12:01As you wish.
12:03Originally, fantasy and reality would've clashed.
12:06The grandfather left the book with his grandson, who reads it himself.
12:10The grandson is then drawn to his window, where he sees four white horses with the heroes atop.
12:15This ending was shot, although it wasn't easily executed.
12:25Since Andre was too heavy for a normal horse to carry, he had to be lowered onto the animal
12:31with a pulley system.
12:33While they pulled it off, Reiner felt this ending didn't work.
12:36We can't argue with the new ending that was written, but this deleted scene needs to see
12:41the light of day.
12:47Are you a Princess Bride superfan?
12:49Share your surprising facts in the comments.
12:52He didn't fall?
12:53Inconceivable!
12:54You keep using that word.
12:55I don't think it means what you think it means.
12:59What do you think it means?
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