Arnold Schwarzenegger was almost cast as Fezzik in The Princess Bride, instead of professional wrestler Andre the Giant. Had it not been for the long process of adapting the beloved novel into a movie, it's possible that Schwarzenegger's big break might have come from playing the strongest man in the world in William Goldman's fractured fairy tale rather than Conan the Barbarian.
First published in 1973, The Princess Bride was a smash hit novel. It was fast-tracked for adaptation into a film, largely based on the reputation of author William Goldman, who had won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid three years earlier. Despite this, the film spent several years in developmental hell until Goldman bought the film rights back with his own money and sat on them until he could find a director he felt truly understood the material.
During the first attempt at producing The Princess Bride, Goldman decided that professional wrestler Andre Roussimoff (professionally known as Andre The Giant) was the ideal person to portray the character of Fezzik; a gentle giant and would-be poet. Goldman reportedly approached Andre, but he wasn't interested in any acting jobs that required him to speak extensively. A native of Coulommiers, France, Andre had a thick French accent that, coupled with his deep voice, made him difficult for many to understand, and Andre was quite sensitive about his voice.
Hollywood legend has it that Andre suggested William Goldman talk to a friend of his: a bodybuilder who had done a few films and had dreams of becoming a movie star. Regardless of how it happened, Goldman did wind up speaking to a then-unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger about the role of Fezzik and left the interview satisfied that he had the strength of character necessary to bring his creation to life. It is a testament to Schwarzenegger's charisma that he was able to win over Goldman despite being a mere 6'2" compared to the 7'4" Andre the Giant.
Unfortunately, Goldman gave up on getting the film produced sometime after his meeting with Schwarzenegger. Years later, when Goldman was persuaded to try and adapt his novel again with This Is Spinal Tap director Rob Reiner, he remembered his promise to cast Schwarzenegger in the role of Fezzik. Unfortunately, by that time, Schwarzenegger had achieved stardom after appearing in two Conan the Barbarian movies and playing the title role in The Terminator. As much as Schwarzenegger wanted to play Fezzik, his value as an actor had risen to the point that they couldn't afford to hire him.
Ironically, this led Goldman and Reiner to approach Goldman's first choice to play Fezzik. This time they were able to persuade Andre The Giant that they could work around his accent, with Reiner personally recording all of Fezzik's dialogue phonetically so that Andre could listen to his lines and practice his pronunciation. Yet, while it is impossible to imagine anyone but Andre the Giant playing Fezzik in The Princess Bride today, we might have seen Arnold Schwarzenegger testing his comedic chops long before he made movies like Twins or Kindergarten Cop — had it not been for a simple twist of fate.