Mandy Patinkin Suffered An Inconceivable On-Set Injury While Filming A Rob Reiner Classic

Film productions historically haven't been the safest places in the world, with plenty of actors suffering serious injuries spawned from stunts and equipment mishaps. However, for Mandy Patinkin, his on-set injury during the filming of "The Princess Bride" tells a wholesome story, rather than a dangerous one. 

Playing Inigo Montoya, a clever swordsman, Patinkin finds himself at a wizard, Miracle Max's house. The magic man was played by Billy Crystal, a comedian and acting star who appeared alongside Patinkin. Though Crystal's role was nothing more than a singular scene, his improv and quick-witted tongue left the cast in stitches, including Patinkin. "The only injury I got was when Billy Crystal was doing 13th-century period jokes, ten hours a day for three days straight," Patinkin related to the New York Post in a June 2025 interview. "I bruised a rib holding in my laughter." The actor added that his muffled laughter was so bad that, "I had to be off camera holding a straight face because [Billy] couldn't see, because he had cataract contacts." 

Typically, bruised ribs occur after an individual receives a blow to the side or a fall that results in a hit to their chest. However, internal motions can also cause this harm. Through coughing, sneezing, or, yes, laughing, the harsh stretching of muscles, blocked and absorbed by the bone, can cause a ribcage to bruise. In hindsight, for Patinkin, bruised ribs from laughter were probably a rather preferable way to sustain the injury.

Because ribs are an internal part of our bodies, you might think that identifying such an injury must be difficult. However, our bodies are reactive to injury and give us little hints about what may be causing us pain or discomfort. In the case of bruised ribs, the skin around the area of the bone typically also develops a bruise. In addition to the discoloration, bruised ribs can cause a fair share of discomfort for the individual. They frequently cause difficulty breathing, tenderness in the torso, and pain when coughing or sneezing. 

However, distinguishing a bruised rib from a rib fracture can be difficult. Both injuries result in similar symptoms, such as pain, discomfort, and bruising. However, for a broken rib, motions like bending over or twisting at the waist can cause deep, noticeable pain around the area of the fracture. Additionally, though they both are painful, broken ribs cause a sharper and harsher discomfort in comparison to simply a bruised rib. The good news is that these injuries are easily identifiable through X-rays and CT scans, so stopping by a doctor's office can clear up any confusion and offer treatment plans for recovery. 

"The Princess Bride" set had other injuries as well; lead actor Cary Elwes saw a fair number of them while filming the Rob Reiner classic. After accepting a ride on costar Andre the Giant's all-terrain vehicle, the "Stranger Things" actor's toe got caught between the pedal and a stray rock on his riding path. The incident jerked Elwes' toe backward, causing it to break. In fear of being fired from the film, Elwes hid his injury from Reiner before being forced to come clean due to the actor's hopping style of walking that failed to conceal his broken toe.

His dangerous experiences on set didn't end there. Later in production, while shooting a scene with the six-finger man, played by Christopher Guest, Elwes' character received a hit on the head from Guest that knocked him unconscious. However, when the director yelled cut, Elwes didn't wake up from his fake slumber. It turned out that the hit to his noggin actually did knock the actor unconscious. As a result, Elwes had to be taken to the hospital for further evaluation.