Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has been exploring his thespian side over the last few campaign appearances, reciting whole sections of dialogue from his favorite film, The Princess Bride, from 1987.
Cruz would reportedly watch the movie with friends over and over, memorizing long paragraphs of dialogue from the film's script.
According to the New York Times, actor Mandy Patinkin is questioning just how deeply Cruz's understanding of the film runs. Patinkin played the role of Inigo Montoya in Princess Bride. Cruz has been aping Patinkin's signature line on the campaign trail, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
“I would like to be with Senator Cruz for a moment and I would like to respectfully ask him, since he quotes all the lines from ‘The Princess Bride’ and certainly all of my character, Inigo Montoya’s, lines, I would like to know why he doesn’t quote my favorite line?” Patinkin told the Times.
Montoya's final line in the beloved film was, "I have been in the revenge business so long, now that it’s over, I don’t know what to do with the rest of my life.”
Cruz, Patinkin said, is trafficking in fear and resentment, with his calls to "carpet-bomb" the Middle East and block immigration into the United States by Hispanics and Muslims.
“Senator Cruz, if you’re going to say those lines, you’ve got to say the other line, too,” Patinkin said.
“This man is not putting forth ideas that are at the heart of what that movie is all about. I would love for Senator Cruz, and everyone creating fear mongering and hatred, to consider creating hope, optimism and love. Open your arms to these people, these refugees trying to get into our country, and open your hearts," he went on.
Cruz spokeswoman Catherine Frazier told the Times, "Having some fun with a cult classic like ‘The Princess Bride’ should be something we can all get behind, politics aside."
Watch video of Cruz reciting lines from The Princess Bride, embedded below:
