When "The Princess Bride" opened on September 25, 1987, it was only a modest box-office success. Rob Reiner directed it, and William Goldman adapted it from his own 1973 novel. Over the years it became a beloved cult classic. It won the 1988 Hugo Award, and in 2016 the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry. In 2020, most of the original cast reunited for a virtual script read to raise money for charity. Here is what the people behind Westley, Buttercup, Inigo and the rest went on to do.
Cary Elwes
Cary Elwes was born in London on October 26, 1962. He became a romantic hero to a generation as Westley, the farm boy who answers every request with "As you wish." In the years after the film, he appeared in "Glory" (1989), led Mel Brooks' "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993), and took roles in "Twister" (1996) and "Liar Liar" (1997). On TV he played Hawkins mayor Larry Kline in season three of "Stranger Things" and made repeat appearances on "Psych." In 2014 he published "As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride," a behind-the-scenes memoir co-written with Joe Layden, and it became a New York Times bestseller. His recent films include "BlackBerry" (2023) and the "Mission: Impossible" films "Dead Reckoning Part One" (2023) and "The Final Reckoning" (2025).
Robin Wright
Robin Wright was born in Dallas on April 8, 1966. She was playing Kelly Capwell on the NBC soap opera "Santa Barbara" when she got her breakthrough film role as Princess Buttercup. In 1994 she played Jenny opposite Tom Hanks in "Forrest Gump," which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She played Claire Underwood on "House of Cards" from 2013 to 2018, won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama in 2014, and directed ten episodes of the series. She also played General Antiope in "Wonder Woman" (2017). Her feature directing debut, "Land," which she also starred in, premiered at Sundance in 2021. She reunited with Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis for "Here" (2024), and in 2025 she starred in the limited series "The Girlfriend."
Wallace Shawn
Wallace Shawn made the word "inconceivable" famous as the scheming Vizzini. He was born in New York City on November 12, 1943, the son of longtime New Yorker editor William Shawn. He graduated from Harvard in 1965 and later studied at Oxford. He is also an acclaimed playwright who has won Obie Awards, and his plays include "Aunt Dan and Lemon" and "The Designated Mourner." With Andre Gregory, he co-wrote and starred in the art-house favorite "My Dinner with Andre" (1981). Families know his voice as Rex the dinosaur in the "Toy Story" films. He also played Mr. Hall in "Clueless" (1995) and Dr. John Sturgis on "Young Sheldon," which ran from 2017 to 2024.
Billy Crystal
Billy Crystal was born in New York City on March 14, 1948. He stole his scenes as Miracle Max, the cranky miracle man. Before that, he had played Jodie Dallas on "Soap" and joined the "Saturday Night Live" cast for the 1984–85 season. Afterward he starred in "When Harry Met Sally…" (1989) and "City Slickers" (1991). He hosted the Academy Awards nine times and voiced Mike Wazowski in "Monsters, Inc." (2001). On Broadway he won a 2005 Tony Award for his one-man show "700 Sundays." He received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2007 and was a Kennedy Center honoree in 2023. In 2024 he took a dramatic turn in the Apple TV+ thriller "Before," starring as a grieving child psychiatrist and serving as an executive producer.
Chris Sarandon
Chris Sarandon was born in Beckley, West Virginia, on July 24, 1942. He played the scheming Prince Humperdinck. More than a decade earlier, his role as Leon in "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975) earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Horror fans know him as the vampire Jerry Dandrige in "Fright Night" (1985) and as Detective Mike Norris in "Child's Play" (1988). He also provided the speaking voice of Jack Skellington in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" (1993). On Broadway his credits include "The Light in the Piazza" and a 2007 revival of "Cyrano de Bergerac." Since 1994 he has been married to actress and singer Joanna Gleason. The two met while working on the musical "Nick & Nora."
Carol Kane
Carol Kane was born in Cleveland on June 18, 1952. She played Valerie, the outspoken wife of Miracle Max. She had already earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for "Hester Street" (1975) and won two Emmy Awards for playing Simka on "Taxi." A year after "The Princess Bride," she played a memorable Ghost of Christmas Present in "Scrooged" (1988). She later played Madame Morrible in "Wicked" on Broadway and on tour, and played landlord Lillian Kaushtupper on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt." She also had a main role on "Hunters." Since 2023 she has played Chief Engineer Pelia on "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." She won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for "Between the Temples" (2024).
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_Bride_(film)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Elwes
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cary_Elwes_at_2010_Collectormania.jpg
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cary_Elwes_at_82nd_Venice_International_Film_Festival-1.jpg
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Wright
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_Josh_Jensen_-_Robin_Wright_Penn_(cropped).jpg
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robin_Wright_Cannes_2017_(cropped).jpg
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallace_Shawn
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wallace_Shawn_2014_(cropped).jpg
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wallace_Shawn_Jay_Kelly-37_(cropped).jpg
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Crystal
- https://www.fox5ny.com/news/kennedy-center-honorees-billy-crystal-queen-latifah-dionne-warwick-and-more-celebrated-at-star-studded-gala
- https://screenanarchy.com/2024/10/before-trailer-billy-crystal-stars-in-apple-tv-psychological-thriller.html
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Billy_Crystal_Soap_1977.jpg
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Billy_Crystal_by_Gage_Skidmore.jpg
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Sarandon
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chris_Sarandon_2009.jpg
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chris_Sarandon_(54427941527).jpg
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Kane
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carol_Kane_(49489867821).jpg
- https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carol_Kane_(2018).jpg
