Mandy Patinkin's Emotional Princess Bride Reveal Has TikTok Sobbing
A beloved movie classic, Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" has enchanted generations of viewers. The film has a little bit of everything, from romance to swashbuckling adventure, and of course, a vast array of memorable quotes. Released in 1987, "The Princess Bride" was not a huge financial success at the box office, yet it later found new life as a cult classic following home release. Word-of-mouth over the last few decades has turned the film into a must-see for any movie buff.
One of the film's most memorable characters is the enigmatic expert swordsman, Inigo Montoya, played by the illustrious stage and screen actor, Mandy Patinkin. Inigo reveals early in the film that his one true motive is to find and kill the man who murdered his father when he was just a boy — the elusive, unnamed "six-fingered man." In the movie's third act, Inigo finally gets the showdown he's been waiting for when he duels Count Rugen (Christopher Guest), the man with six fingers who murdered his father so long ago. He succeeds in killing the wicked Rugen, thus fulfilling his purpose for vengeance and allowing his father's soul to rest.
What some fans of "The Princess Bride" may not know is that there is a very personal behind-the-scenes story related to that scene — one that Patinkin has spoken about during interviews, which can be found in the bonus features of "The Princess Bride" 30th-anniversary edition on Blu-ray. A recent tearjerker video on TikTok brought the story to light once again, along with a heartfelt message from Patinkin to one of his fans.
The TikTok that brought Mandy Patinkin to tears
Earlier this week, TikTok user @alaska_webb posted a video in which she spoke about her father who recently died from cancer. She went on to say how she and her father were avid fans of "The Princess Bride," and that she had heard an intriguing rumor about the scene in which Mandy Patinkin fights the six-fingered man as Inigo Montoya. The rumor states that while filming, Patinkin's father had also recently died of cancer, and he used his grief over his father's death to fuel his performance during the duel, imagining that he was killing the disease that took his own father.
In @alaska_webb's tearful video, she asks Patinkin to confirm the story, and also thanks him for his performance in the film, as it meant so much to her and her father. Viewers who saw the video brought it to the attention of the actor, who is also on TikTok, and his reaction was one that moved many viewers to tears.
A stitched reply from Patinkin first showed him watching the TikTok with his wife, Kathryn Grody, and then addressing @alaska_webb personally. His voice wavering with emotion, Patinkin said: "First of all, your dad is taking care of you. Secondly, it is true, 100% true." He went on to describe how he "spoke" to his father before filming the scene. "I said, 'Dad, I'm going to get this guy.' From the minute I read the script, [I said] I'm going to get this part because in my mind, if I get this six-fingered guy, that means I kill the cancer that killed my dad and that means I get to visit my dad."
Patinkin went on to say that he would be happy to pray for @alaska_webb and her dad and asked that she let him know his name. You can check out the TikTok for yourself — just be prepared to have a few tissues on hand.