Cary Elwes has appeared in dozens of films, from the Academy Award-winning Glory to the gruesome thriller Saw, but to legions of fangirls (and boys) he’ll always be flaxen-haired farm boy Westley from 1987’s The Princess Bride. His new tell-all As You Wish chronicles his favorite role to date. He gave us the scoop before his Oct. 17 appearance at the Brattle Theatre.

You were in town this summer working on The Greens Are Gone, due out next year. Are you excited to be back again?
I love your city. Oh my God, I had forgotten how beautiful it was and how incredible it is to have the water right there.…I love the energy, I love the beauty of it, I love the culture, I love the history—the history just gets me always.

You’re making us blush! On to the book: What made you want to write it?
Myself and the cast often get asked by fans what it was like to make the film—was it really as much fun as it looked? And I always say to them, it was more fun than you think. It was an incredible experience, and it’s very hard to try to explain that in person. I thought, why not put it all in a book and share it all with the fans?

What’s something new that fans will learn?
I broke my toe early on in the shoot. Oh yeah, riding around on Andre [the Giant]’s ATV. He kept teasing me—“You want to try my toy, boss?” … He kept trying to goad me to have a go on his all-terrain vehicle, and eventually I caved and went, “OK, fine.” I had no business getting on it at all. I didn’t go more than 2 feet, and I broke my toe riding over a rock.

After nearly 30 years, what’s your most memorable fan encounter?
Somewhere, there’s a young lady with my name tattooed on her neck. I find it inconceivable.