Mandy Patinkin shares the emotional connection between his Princess Bride role and late father

Mandy Patinkin shared a moving story on Tuesday about the deeply personal inspiration behind his famous role in The Princess Bride following a request from a grieving TikTok user.

Over the weekend, TikTok user Amanda Webb posted a video asking if a rumor was true that the line Iñigo Montoya (Patinkin) says during his duel with Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) — "I want my father back, you son of a bitch" — was delivered while Patinkin was thinking of his own dad who had passed from cancer. In a previous video, Webb shared that her own father — a Princess Bride and Patinkin fan — had died due to cancer and that the film, and that line, in particular, were meaningful to her.

Clearly moved by Webb's posting, Patinkin responded, revealing that not only was the rumor true and the line was delivered in remembrance of his dad, but he also took the role of Iñigo Montoya as a tribute to his memory.

"It is true — 100 percent true," Patinkin replied in his TikTok video. "I went outside in this castle and walked around. And I kept talking to my dad and I said, 'Dad, I'm going to get this guy.'"

He continued, "From the minute I read the script I knew… I said, 'I'm going to do this part because in my mind, if I get the six-fingered guy [Count Rugen], that means I kill the cancer that killed my dad, and I'll get to visit my dad.'"

Patinkin filmed the scene and used the moments afterward to remember his father.

"And I went and I played that scene with Chris, and then I went back out there and talked to my dad," Patinkin said, suggesting to Webb, "you could talk to your dad anytime you want, anywhere you want."

Watch the emotional TikTok exchange, below:

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