Fred Savage Reveals Andre the Giant Story That Will Absolutely Make You Tear Up
Fred Savage has been acting for over 30 years, and one of his most memorable roles was playing the [...]
Fred Savage has been acting for over 30 years, and one of his most memorable roles was playing the grandson in the film The Princess Bride. One of the other notable stars in the film was late WWE star Andre the Giant, and Savage shared a story about how he met Andre. Because the two stars never shared a scene together, Savage and Andre didn't get to meet until Andre finished filming his parts. And when they met, they became good friends.
"The rest of the movie had already been shot, all that was left were the parts with the boy and his grandpa," Savage wrote on Instagram. "It was an all-star cast, but there was only one person this 10 year-old WWF superfan wanted to meet. He made a surprise visit to set one day and he was gentle and kind and charming and funny and answered every question I had. He sent me a Christmas card every year until he passed away. It was the one I looked forward to the most."
View this post on Instagram
The Princess Bride was released in 1987, and it was a big success in the eyes of the critics. Savage was praised for his role as the grandson while Andre gained attention for his role as Fezzik. However, the interesting thing is Andre didn't want to be in the film at first. However, director Rob Reiner and producer Andrew Scheinman flew to Paris to convince him he was right for the role, according to The Wrap.
Born Andre Roussimoff, Andre the Giant was one of the most dominant figures in WWE. After his death in 1993, Andre became the inaugural inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame. "In WWE, there have been many Superstars who are larger than others, but Andre the Giant has proven to be larger than WWE itself," Andre's WWE bio states. "Throughout the '70s and well into the '80s, the so-called 'Eighth Wonder of the World' was the company's leading attraction, towering over the competition at seven feet, four inches and tipping the scales at a gargantuan 500-plus pounds."
During his time in WWE, Andre remained undefeated for 15 years. However, his biggest match was when he lost to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania III in front of over 93,000 fans in Pontiac, Michigan. That ended Andre's 15-year winning streak, and Hogan went on to become one of the biggest stars in WWE history.