The Princess Bride: Where Are They Now?

Quotable, swashbuckling, and wistfully hilarious, The Princess Bride crept into our hearts alongside Westley and a R.O.U.S. or two. It’s been thirty years since the Rob Reiner comedy (based on William Goldman’s novel of the same name) introduced us to the alternative meaning of “As you wish” and took us to the Cliffs of Insanity and back. Oh, and made us all believe in wove — twue wove.

Take a look at what the cast of this fantastical comedy has been up to since it first premiered. 

Since her turn as Princess Buttercup, Wright has become a household name, starring in films like Forrest Gump (RIP Jenny), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Wonder Woman, as well as Blade Runner 2049 and Justice League. Of course, we know her best as the Lady Macbeth-esque Claire Underwood on Netflix’s political drama House of Cards. For her role as Claire, Wright has garnered numerous awards and nominations – fitting, for a Princess.

Everyone’s favorite farmboy/pirate (who’s only mostly dead) went on to steadily appear in movies like 1989’s Glory and the Mel Brook’s 1993 comedy Robin Hood: Men In Tights. He also starred as Lawrence Gordon in — unexpectedly — the Saw franchise, and returned that same year to his royal roots by playing the villainous King in Ella Enchanted (alongside Anne Hathaway). Elwes has since written a memoir about the making of The Princess Bride, appropriately titled As You Wish. Swoon.

Even before he first uttered Inigo’s famous line, Patinkin was an accomplished film and theater actor and singer, winning a Tony for his role as Che in Evita and going on to originate a handful of other key Broadway roles. In 1995, he won an Emmy for playing Dr. Jeffrey Geiger on Chicago Hope but achieved his most memorable television status with a career turn as Saul on Showtime’s Homeland. With movies, too, Patinkin has truly done it all (including voicing the iconic Papa Smurf) and when he’s not doing all of that, Patinkin is busy calling out Princess Bride superfan Ted Cruz. Say it with me:”My name is…”

Nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World, professional wrestler André the Giant stood over 7 feet tall as a result of his gigantism. Shortly after the release of The Princess Bride, André the Giant very publicly feuded withh Hulk Hogan, which resulted in Wrestlemania III. His last role as an actor –and only role post-Fezzik — was a cameo 1994’s Trading Mom. In 1993, André the Giant died in his sleep of congestive heart failure at the age of 46. WWE and HBO have signed on to produce an upcoming biopic based on the wrestler’s life. 

So we learned never to go against a Sicilian when death is on the line, but (spoiler) that point proved to be moot. Since his ridiuclously quotable appearance in The Princess Bride, Shawn’s recognizable voice lent itself to animation — Toy Story and The Incredibles, anyone? His live-action roles include Clueless, The Cosby Show, The Good Wife, Crossing Jordan, The L Word, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and most importantly, an arc as Blair’s lovable stepfather Cyrus on Gossip Girl. 

The Six-Fingered Man is, arguably, one of the funniest men alive with only five fingers. Guest is known mostly for his improv and mockumentary-style movies like the pre-Princess Bride film This Is Spinal Tap as well as Best in Show, For Your Consideration, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind, in which he frequently collaborates with a repertory of comedians. Most recently, his film Mascots premiered on Netflix in 2016. And here’s a fun fact: Christopher Guest is technically Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest, and served in the British House of Lords from 1996 to 1999. 

Humperdinck! Humperdinck! Humperdinck! Post-Princess Bride, the Academy Award-nominated actor most famously lent his voice to the misunderstood hero Jack Skellington in Tim Burton’s ambiguous (which one is it?!) holiday movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. In 2006, he appeared on Broadway in The Light in the Piazza and in 2007, in Cyrano de Bergerac as Comte de Guiche.

By the time The Princess Bride and Crystal’s medieval Yiddish came out in 1987, the multiple award-winning actor was already beloved to comedy fans. He starred in the rom-com classic When Harry Met Sally… as well as City Slickers. His autobiography 700 Sundays was published in 2005. He also notably lent his vocal talents to the lovable, one-eyed Mike Wazowski in Pixar’s Monsters Inc. and reprised it in Monsters University. Crystal has hosted the Academy Awards a record nine times from 1990 to 2012. Crystal’s performance as Miracle Max was so hilarious that Mandy Patinkin bruised a rib from laughing so hard and both Rob Reiner and Cary Elwes had to be banned from set for not keeping it together. 

She’s his wife, not a witch! If you don’t know her as scene-stealing defender of true love and Miracle Max’s wife Valerie, you might know Oscar-nominated actress Kane from her huge résumé: Annie Hall, Flashback, Scrooged, Dog Day Afternoon, Hester Street, Addams Family Values, and of course, an iconic run on Taxi. (This list of credits barely even scratches the surface.) Kane also played the evil Madame Morrible in various productions of the musical Wicked across the country from 2005 to 2014. Currently, she’s stealing scenes and fighting off gentrifiers as Lillian on Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. 

When Savage’s cheek was squeezed at the beginning of the film, we all felt it and cringed for him. Since his turn as the grandson who does actually love his storytelling grandfather, Savage gained notoriety in the ’90s for his role as Kevin Arnold on the hit ABC show The Wonder Years. He also recently appeared in Netflix’s new comedy Friends From College and had a resurgence in comedy with the short-lived series The Grinder. Savage has also gained quite the experience as a director in the young adult world with projects like Drake & Josh, That’s So Raven, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Modern Family, and 2 Broke Girls. We wonder if his views on kissing have changed since 1987. 

In an interview, Savage recalled that he and veteran actor Peter Falk were incredibly close during filming and loved running into each other in the years since then. Falk starred in the long-running show Columbo from 1971 to 2003, earning him several Emmy wins and nominations, and following the release of The Princess Bride, Falk appeared in dozens of influential films. The actor died in 2011 at the age of 83; his final film role was 2009’s American Cowslip.