Mandy Patinkin explains emotional backstory to his famous The Princess Bride scene

Mandy Patinkin in The Princess Bride — (Image credit: 20th Century/Disney)

Mandy Patinkin has shared the emotional backstory behind his famous scene in The Princess Bride.

Patinkin plays Inigo Montoya in the movie, who is determined to take out the person who murdered his father, Count Rugen, AKA the Six-Fingered Man (Christopher Guest).

When the moment finally comes, Patinkin's character speaks the famous words: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." The scene is made even more of a tearjerker when the Six-Fingered Man offers Montoya anything he wants, and the swordsman responds: "I want my father back, you son of a bitch."

On TikTok, a fan named Amanda Webb posted a video about the scene, sharing that her father had recently died, that they both loved The Princess Bride, and that Montoya was her father's favorite character. Webb continued that she had heard Patinkin was thinking of his own late father in the scene, and wondered if the story was true. (H/T The Hollywood Reporter)

@mandypatinktok
@alaska_webb thank you for finding us and sharing this! ✨ Sending big love and light to you and yours. More in comments. #grieving #cancer #dads
♬ original sound - Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn G

"It is true, a hundred percent true," Patinkin said in a video response. "I went outside in this castle and walked around... and I kept talking to my dad. And I said, 'Dad, I'm gonna get this guy.' From the minute I read the script, I knew, I said to Kath [Patinkin's wife], I said 'I'm gonna do this part because in my mind if I get the Six-Fingered guy, that means I kill the cancer that killed my dad and I'll get to visit my dad.'"

He continued: "That moment was coming, and when I played that scene with Chris, and then I went back out there and talked to my dad. And so, you can talk to your dad anytime you want, anywhere you want."

The actor then expanded on his response in a Twitter thread about dealing with parental loss, which you can see below.

To Alaska (aka Amanda - we figured it out!) Thread - Thank you for sharing this with us. My dad died of cancer when I was 18. Kathryn's parents died within a year of each other when she was 25, her dad of a heart attack while her mom was sick with cancer.... pic.twitter.com/xbjC7pVI3pAugust 25, 2021

Patinkin will next have a voice role in animated movie The Magician's Elephant, and can currently be seen in Paramount Plus's The Good Fight.

If you're on the hunt for something to watch, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows.

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.