Mandy Patinkin fought back tears as he shared an emotional story on Tuesday behind a famous line in "The Princess Bride" after he watched a video from a fan who shared that she was grieving the loss of her father, who was a huge fan of the movie.
The 68-year-old actor posted a TikTok video of him responding to a question from TikTok user Amanda Webb about whether the death of his own father from cancer served as his motivation in a memorable scene in the movie.
As fans may recall, Patinkin's character in the 1987 hit, Inigo Montoya, is told by the the six-fingered Count Rugen in a duel that Rugen will give him anything he wants, to which Montoya replies, "I want my father back, you son of a b----."
Webb shared in a previous video that her father, Dan, died in March from mantle cell lymphoma, and Montoya was his favorite character in the beloved movie.
"I saw on the internet the rumor that when Mandy Patinkin said that line, he was thinking of his own father who had passed away from cancer," Webb said while crying. "And it was a very raw emotion. Ever since then, it's kind of really stuck with me."
With his wife Kathryn by his side, Patinkin shared that the rumor is absolutely true as he cried tears of his own.
"First of all, your dad is taking care of you," he said. "Secondly, it is true, 100% true. I went outside in this castle and walked around and I kept talking to my dad.
"The minute I read the script, I knew, I said to Kath, I said, 'I'm going to do this part because in my mind, if I get the six-fingered guy, that means I killed the cancer that killed my dad and I'll get to visit my dad."
The memory of that scene with Christopher Guest, who played Count Rugen, is still fresh to Patinkin decades later.
"That moment was coming, and I went and I played that scene with Chris, and then I went back out there and talked to my dad," Patinkin said.
Patinkin then had a heartwarming request for Webb.
"And so, you can talk to your dad anytime you want, anywhere you want," he said. "If you could somehow let me know your dad's name because I say prayers for anyone I've ever known. Now I feel like I know you, and therefore I know your dad, and I will list his name in my prayers every day, and they make me feel like they're with me, wherever I go, and I'd like your dad to hang out with me."
Webb then posted a tearful reply of gratitude on TikTok after seeing Patinkin's post.
"I am so overwhelmed right now," she said, adding her dad's name. "I am beside myself."