Cary Elwes 'hit the jackpot' with Princess Bride role

Cary Elwes "hit the jackpot" when he landed a starring role in 1987 movie 'Princess Bride'.

The 61-year-old actor was catapulted to fame playing Westley in Rob Reiner's fantasy comedy and Cary admits the film kickstarted his Hollywood career and holds a special place in his heart because it is still loved by fans almost 40 years later.

He told PEOPLE: "Once I got that part, that really kind of opened the door for me and that's how I got the role of Robin Hood with Mel Brooks [in 'Robin Hood: Men in Tights'].

"So that was really Rob basically saying, ‘I believe that you can do comedy and I can believe you do serious as well.’ So, yeah."

He went on to add that 'Princess Bride' is still a big part of his working life, explaining: "I have sold-out shows. I tour with the movie and I sell out everywhere I go. It's crazy. It's really beautiful."

Cary concluded: "You're lucky as an actor to have anyone resonate with your work and I seem to hit the jackpot with that one."

In the film, Cary starred alongside Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Peter Falk and Billy Crystal and it became a cult classic despite failing to score huge numbers at the box office.

In 2016, 'Princess Bride' was selected by America's Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".

Cary went on to appear in films such as 'Glory', 'Days of Thunder', ' Bram Stoker's Dracula' and 'Liar Liar'. His latest project, spy thriller 'The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare' was released this month.