Editing The Princess Bride (film) (section)

===Casting===
Reiner had quickly decided on Cary Elwes for Westley, based on his performance in ''[[Lady Jane (1986 film)|Lady Jane]]''; however, during the casting period in Los Angeles, Elwes was in West Germany on set for ''[[Maschenka (1987 film)|Maschenka]]''. Reiner flew out to [[West Berlin]] to meet with Elwes, confirming his appropriateness for the role. While Reiner and casting director [[Jane Jenkins]] auditioned other actors for Westley, they knew Elwes was perfect for the part.<ref name="vice casting">{{Cite web |last=Vineyard |first=Jennifer |date=September 29, 2017 |title=What It Was Like Finding the Legendary Cast of 'The Princess Bride' |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-it-was-like-finding-the-legendary-cast-of-the-princess-bride/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180204075910/https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/xwg5xq/what-it-was-like-finding-the-legendary-cast-of-the-princess-bride |archive-date=February 4, 2018 |access-date=December 29, 2017 |website=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]}}</ref> Elwes had read the book in his childhood and associated himself with the character of Westley, but never believed he would have the opportunity to play him.<ref name="abc elwes 30th">{{Cite web |last=Messer |first=Leslie |date=September 25, 2017 |title='The Princess Bride' turns 30: Cary Elwes shares stories from the set |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/princess-bride-turns-30-cary-elwes-shares-stories/story?id=49990697 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230114733/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/princess-bride-turns-30-cary-elwes-shares-stories/story?id=49990697 |archive-date=December 30, 2017 |access-date=December 29, 2017 |website=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]}}</ref>

Robin Wright was cast late in the process, about a week before filming.<ref name="abc elwes 30th" /> [[Uma Thurman]], [[Meg Ryan]], [[Sean Young]], [[Suzy Amis]], [[Courteney Cox]], [[Alexandra Paul]] and [[Whoopi Goldberg]] all auditioned for the role.<ref name="Lyttelton-2012">{{Cite web |last=Lyttelton |first=Oliver |date=September 25, 2012 |title=5 Things You Might Not Know About 'The Princess Bride' on its 25th Anniversary |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-princess-bride-on-its-25th-anniversary-105642/ |access-date=October 21, 2021 |website=[[IndieWire]] |archive-date=August 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210807091322/https://www.indiewire.com/2012/09/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-princess-bride-on-its-25th-anniversary-105642/amp/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Wright's agent had heard of the casting call and encouraged Wright to audition. Though initially shy, Wright impressed Jenkins, and later Reiner. They invited Wright to come meet Goldman at his house. Jenkins recalls: "The doorbell rang. Rob went to the door, and literally, as he opened the door, [Wright] was standing there in this little white summer dress, with her long blonde hair, and she had a halo from the sun. She was backlit by God. And Bill Goldman looked across the room at her, and he said, 'Well, that's what I wrote.' It was the most perfect thing."<ref name="vice casting" />

Mandy Patinkin and Wallace Shawn were early choices for the cast; Shawn in particular was chosen as Vizzini due to his diminutive size to contrast that of the giant Fezzik.<ref name="vice casting" /> [[Danny DeVito]] was considered for the role of Vizzini.<ref name="Lyttelton-2012" />

When Goldman originally shopped his novel in the early 1970s, his first choice for Fezzik was [[André the Giant]], whose wrestling schedule left him unavailable for filming. Goldman's second choice was [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], who at that time was almost unknown as an actor. However, by the time ''The Princess Bride'' was finally green-lit, Schwarzenegger was a major film star and the studio could not afford him. Jenkins contacted the [[WWE|World Wrestling Federation]] to ask about hiring André, but were told that the filming conflicted with a wrestling match in Tokyo that would pay him $5&nbsp;million. Jenkins auditioned other tall men, including [[Kareem Abdul-Jabbar]], [[Lou Ferrigno]] and [[Carel Struycken]], but these did not pan out. André was hesitant to take the part on the account of the fact that the film's dialogue was in English while he was French and because he was a professional wrestler, not an actor.{{sfn|Elwes|Layden|2014|p=50}} Furthermore, André was suffering much pain resulting from his acromegaly, which was to eventually lead to his early death.{{sfn|Elwes|Layden|2014|p=118}} [[Liam Neeson]] also auditioned for the role, but he was turned down due to height.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Russian |first=Ale |date=October 12, 2020 |title=Liam Neeson Says He Met for Princess Bride's Andre the Giant Role But Was Told He Was Too Short |url=https://people.com/movies/liam-neeson-says-he-was-not-tall-enough-for-princess-bride/ |access-date=October 21, 2021 |website=[[People (magazine)|PEOPLE.com]] |archive-date=October 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020032523/https://people.com/movies/liam-neeson-says-he-was-not-tall-enough-for-princess-bride/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Near the end of casting, the World Wrestling Federation told Jenkins that André's match in Tokyo had been cancelled, clearing him to play the role of Fezzik.<ref name="vice casting" /> For his part, André found his participation was a gratifying experience considering that no one stared at him on set during production as a kind of freak, but instead simply treated him as a fellow member of the cast.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 22, 2017 |title=12 Inconceivable Facts That Prove That 'The Princess Bride' Isn't Just Another 'Kissing Book' |url=https://www.throwbacks.com/12-inconceivable-facts-that-prove-that-the-princess-bride-isnt-just-another-kissing-book/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920114025/https://www.throwbacks.com/12-inconceivable-facts-that-prove-that-the-princess-bride-isnt-just-another-kissing-book/ |archive-date=September 20, 2020 |access-date=August 22, 2020 |website=Throwbacks}}</ref>