One of the last panels of New York Comic-Con on Sunday night, Cary Elwes, Farmboy/Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley of The Princess Bride, spoke to a packed house about his new book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride, on sale October 14th.

Cary Elwes’ first order of business was to thrill the panel with his signature line, “As you wish” (see clip below).

Elwes was on fire, regaling the audience with tidbits from on the set (and in the book), complete with Andre the Giant impressions, of whom Elwes loved very much. Of him he said, “I think that Andre knew that his time on this planet was limited, and he understood the meaning of cherishing every moment that we’re here. And he imparted that to me and that’s what I want to share with you.”

He spoke about his audition for director Rob Reiner, and said he ended up doing a Fat Albert impression, which he instantly regretted. It ended up being the reason he was chosen. “So any budding actors out there, you never know when Fat Albert can help you out.”

Right before he was to film the swordfight scene with Mandy Patankin (Inigo Montoya – clip below), he tried to drive Andre the Giant’s ATV (the only way HE could get around), and promptly broke his toe. He tried to hide the worst kept secret on the set because of fear of getting fired. “I thought, that’s it. I’m fired. This numbnut British actor was fooling around on Andre the Giant’s all-terrain vehicle and busted his toe. The producers are gonna go why we gonna waste all this time on this jerk.”

At the end, he conducted a synchronized audience Amazon pre-order of his book. “On the count of three, we’re gonna upset Amazon” (make it crash).

Video

Cary Elwes NYCC 2014 “As You Wish”

“As You Wish” clip from the film:

Fezzik and Westley fight

Inigo and Westley fight

Photo Gallery

[Photo gallery images by Olympus Athens for Geeks Of Doom.]