Cary Elwes

Cary Elwes is the author of As You Wish and the leading actor of The Princess Bride. Along with co-writer Joe Layden, Elwes recounts the making of The Princess Bride in non-linear fashion; his first chapter opens on the film’s 25th anniversary celebration and flashes back to his audition process, and then shooting the film proper. In chronicling the movie’s evolution, Elwes also chronicles his own evolution as an actor. He is fresh out of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts when he is cast as Westley in the film. Elwes loves the source material, having read it as a child, and shooting the picture makes him feel like a real-life hero. He begins as an insecure young performer who believes he has gotten the part mostly through luck and that he is at risk of being replaced. He does not realize...