Cary Elwes Answers Your 'Princess Bride' Questions

Cary Elwes, best known and most beloved for playing Wesley in The Princess Bride is about to release a book about his time on the set of the film. Its title? As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride. It's out on Oct. 14, but Elwes stopped by the Reddit headquarters for an AMA on Thursday, revealing a few secrets about The Princess Bride, his other roles, and some interesting facts, as well (for the record, his name is pronounced like Elvis with a W).

Here are some of Elwes' best Princess Bride secrets:

On his book:

KirbyManofelso: Hey Mr. Elwes! You have been in a diverse range of movies. What was your favorite movie/part to be a part of?Cary_Elwes: Princess Bride, which is why I've written this book.

paronomasiac:I already plan to, but let's pretend that isn't true: why should I buy your bookCary_Elwes:You should buy my book because there are tales in there that you never knew of about the making of The Princess Bride that will make you see the film in a whole new light - in a good way.

On the rest of the cast:

WHOLOCKinOCTOBER: Hello Mr. Cary Elwes! (Or is it Rocky..?) First of all, I still LOVE The Princess Bride and it's remained one of my favorite movies since my nana introduced me to it. What was your favorite thing about the production of that movie? I would love to know.Cary_Elwes: I was just thrilled to be working with such a tsunami of power, starting with William Golden, Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal, Chris Sarandon, Chris Guest, Wally Shawn, Carol Kane, Fred Savage, Mandy Patinkin, Robyn Wright, and of course Andre the Giant...But I was in awe of them all.

DogsaIive: Does Wallace Shawn's voice really sound like that?Cary_Elwes: Yes.

dragonfly1993: Any good Billy Crystal stories?Cary_Elwes: Billy Crystal's medieval Yiddish standup caused Rob Reiner and myself to be banished from the set, and Mandy Patinkin to bruise a rib from laughing.

monkeyboy8me: Cary Love your movies Robin HoodMen In tights , The Crush , Saw and my favortie The Princess Bride! Can you tells us more about Andre The Giant and how much he could drink and what? Thanks Ps the claw is coming to get you!Cary_Elwes: Andre could drink more than anyone I've ever met. And the reason he drank so much was because he was in a lot of pain from back injuries. But he never complained. He always had a smile on his face. And so went drinking with him one night in NY, and all I did all night was sip a beer, and he thought it was quite amusing. He could drink 103 beers in one sitting. One sitting. And not pass out or anything, or even tipsy! It was like Bill Goldman said: it's like the Pentagon. No matter how big people tell you it's going to be, it's always bigger when you're in front of it. He was like the Eighth Wonder of the World. He was one of the sweetest people I'd ever met.

On his fans:

dragonfly1993: craziest fan story ?Cary_Elwes: I met a fan once who had "As you wish" tattooed on the back of her neck... she wanted me to autograph it so she could have my signature added too. Initially I hesitated but her mother insisted.

TheTricksterServal:Do you have any memorable moments with fans? If so, what made the experience memorable?Cary_Elwes: I always like meeting my fans. I never get tired of it. I once met a fan who said "Wait a minute - don't tell me" and I said "Cary Elwes" and they said "No, that's not it." and I said "Yes it is" and they said "No, no it's not." and this went on for a good 5 minutes... so they really had mistaken me for someone else.

Behind-the-scenes trivia:

udomonkeykyle: In the poison drinking scene in "Princess Bride" what was actually in the cup that you drank?Cary_Elwes: Grape juice. It was just regular grape juice.

jonemillard: Hi Cary, I am a big fan of your work. Do you have any funny stories to tell about filming The Princess Bride? Thank you for doing this!Cary_Elwes: My pleasure, thank you. Yes, Andre the Giant could only get around on the Derbyshire Moors set on an all-terrain vehicle. One day, he convinced me that I should try it out. Foolishly, I did, and within minutes I drove over a rock and broke my left toe. It was three weeks before we were due to film the sword fight scene. And so I hadn't fully healed by the time they shot that.

monkeyboy8me: Thanks for the reply . Do you still think ROUS don't exist ? That was a great fight scene . I bet the guy in the suit wasn't to happy getting punched lol.Cary_Elwes: Yes, he had pounds of latex over him so he couldn't feel it.

doubleUsquared:So, how many beers do you think you drank with André while filming The Princess Bride?Cary_Elwes: Just a couple. Everyone paced themselves. Because Andre could drink anyone under the table.

Moozez: As someone who can make people laugh as well as act, did you ever have the opportunity to improvise or write your own scenes in The Princess Bride? If so which ones?Cary_Elwes: I improvised all of the "being mostly dead" physical behavior. The dialogue in the film was pretty much set - the only person who improvised their dialogue was Billy Crystal as Miracle Max. Doing the physical comedy was fun.

And some other trivia:

ThouShaltMakeItClap: What is your opinion on the existence of R.O.U.S.'s?Cary_Elwes:I could spot 'em from a mile away! There's plenty in Hollywood.

courtiebabe420: Hi Cary! Thank you so much for doing this AMA! You've been in so many things over the years, and so many of my favorites, I have to ask. What has been your favorite project and why is it The Princess Bride? Really though, which project was the most challenging for you, and why?Cary_Elwes: Because it was the movie that changed my life. And gave me the career I have today. It was my first big Hollywood movie. And because... I laughed every day on set. People ask me "was it as much fun to make as it looks?" and I say "It was more fun." It was a fairytale come true.

TheTricksterServal: What are your thoughts on the recently talked about Princess Bride stage adaptation? Are there things you think needto appear?Cary_Elwes: Well, all I know is that it's a go on Broadway, and I'm sure they will do a brilliant job on it. They don't need any advice from me. Plenty of song titles to choose from, that's for sure.

peepjynx: ...Also have you ever said, "As you wish," to your wife?Cary_Elwes: Of course.

Image: Giphy (3)