The Moment with Cary Elwes review – a Hollywood charm-bomb

http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/nov/20/the-moment-cary-elwes-princess-bride

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“My God – it’s one of the most quotable movies of all time,” says actor Cary Elwes, guest on Grantland’s pop culture podcast, The Moment (ESPN Radio). It’s a confident assessment, because Elwes is talking about The Princess Bride, the movie he starred in back in 1987, and which he has just written a book about. In case you were wondering, Elwes is a an old-school charm-bomb. The hour flew by so pleasantly, it was a little startling when it ended.

Podcast host Brian Koppelman is a Hollywood veteran himself, which added an insider-y bent to proceedings. Of Elwes’ being recognised almost exclusively for a film he made nearly 30 years ago, he asked almost brusquely, “How do you have such a good attitude?” One imagined Elwes smiling like Westley the farmboy when he replied: “I’m a blessed guy. I’m lucky to be part of a film that is so beloved. Why wouldn’t you embrace that? I call it the gift that keeps on giving.”

Elwes, whose stepfather was a movie producer, worked as a PA on film sets as a teenager (he once chauffeured Roger Moore to the set of Octopussy – “I’m driving James Bond!”), and was cast in The Princess Bride at 23. Talking about the cast brought forth frothy turns of phrase: “I was working with a tsunami of talent,” he says at least three times. He also does impressions: his Marlon Brando is untouchable, his Roger Moore less so.

The best anecdotes were about Andre the Giant, his mountainous co-star. He recalls Andre’s tipple of choice, which helped him with the agony of his back injury, something he called The American: essentially every drink in the cabinet. Elwes once took a sip and described it as aeroplane fuel. He sounded genuinely sad when he said quietly, “I miss him to to this day.” The film was life-altering, and not just for Elwes – Koppelman sent his now-wife a copy of it when they were courting. “I married my Buttercup,” he said, which made Elwes sigh happily. “They’ll probably write “As you wish” on my tombstone. I’m cool with that.”