---

After Cary Elwes auditioned for Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride (1987), he was convinced he wasn’t going to get the role. It was 1986, and the then-24-year-old was shooting the historical drama Maschenka (1987) in Berlin. Wanting Elwes to read for Wesley, the dashing, Douglas Fairbanks-styled male lead, Reiner flew into Germany and had the actor perform one of the character’s monologues while he had a break from shooting. Elwes, though, got only about halfway through his lines when Reiner stopped him — something Elwes knew well in his still-young acting career was another way of confirming the part wasn’t his.

“And my heart sank,” Elwes, who had been a fan of the William Goldman book on which the movie is based, remembered. He got the dreaded “we’ll let you know” from Reiner and prepared for the worst. But only a week of nervous anticipation had to be suffered through before getting the call he was sure wouldn’t come: that he was going to be flown out to London for costume fittings. 

Read the full feature on South Sound.