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Inigo Montoya is a fictional character in
William Goldman William Goldman (August 12, 1931 – November 16, 2018) was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays '' ...
's 1973 novel '' The Princess Bride.'' In
Rob Reiner Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performa ...
's 1987 film adaptation, he was portrayed by
Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...
. In both the book and the movie, he was originally from Spain and resided in the fictional country of Florin.


Character background

In ''The Princess Bride'', Inigo Montoya is portrayed as a
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
fencer and henchman to the Sicilian criminal Vizzini. Inigo's father Domingo was a great
swordsmith Bladesmithing is the art of making knives, swords, daggers and other blades using a forge, hammer, anvil, and other smithing tools. Bladesmiths employ a variety of metalworking techniques similar to those used by blacksmiths, as well as woodw ...
, but he remained obscure because he disliked dealing with the rich and privileged. When Count Rugen, a nobleman with a six-fingered right hand, asked him to forge a sword to accommodate his unusual grip, Domingo labored over the sword for a year. When Rugen returned, he would not pay his promised price. Thus, Domingo refused to sell him the sword, not as a matter of money, but because Count Rugen could not appreciate the great work of the sword. He proclaimed that the sword would now belong to Inigo. Rugen then promptly killed Domingo. Eleven-year-old Inigo witnessed the crime and challenged Rugen to a fight, wherein Rugen disarmed Inigo in under a minute, but was genuinely disconcerted by the boy's skill at fencing; recognizing Inigo's talent, Rugen spared his life and allowed him to keep the sword, but gave him two scars, one on each cheek. Inigo then went to live with his father's friend and fellow swordmaker Yeste for two years; devastated by the loss, he devoted himself to becoming a great swordsman to be able to avenge his father. His training included tutelage under the most skilled
fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...
masters of his time. In the 30th anniversary version of "The Princess Bride", it is revealed that, while training for his revenge against Count Rugen, Inigo falls in love with a servant girl, Giulietta. He woos her, and she reveals that she is a Countess and is in love with him as well. The two dance, and it is implied that Inigo leaves the next day. After ten years of training, Inigo becomes the greatest swordsman of his generation and the only living man to hold the rank of "wizard" (a fictional fencing rank above "master"). It seems likely that he was inspired by the real-world Ignatius of Loyola, whose birth name was Iñigo, due to a similarity in their name and the fact that both sought revenge at a point. It's never mentioned if Domingo's wife was alive when he was killed.


In ''The Princess Bride'' film

Unable to find his father's killer and fearing that he would never fulfill his quest, Inigo sinks into depression and
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
before the criminal Vizzini (
Wallace Shawn Wallace Michael Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, playwright, and essayist. His film roles include Wally Shawn (a fictionalized version of himself) in '' My Dinner with Andre'' (1981), Vizzini in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987) ...
) finds him. Vizzini, Inigo, and a Turk named Fezzik ( Andre the Giant) are hired by an unknown man to kidnap and kill the "princess bride", Buttercup. Subsequent events lead to Inigo's duel with the "Man in Black" (Westley), an extended sequence in both the book and the movie, in which both contestants begin fencing left-handed and eventually convert to their dominant right hands as the contest intensifies. Westley eventually bests Inigo in the battle, but spares his life (knocking Inigo unconscious instead) out of respect for his abilities. When Inigo regains consciousness, he enters the Thieves' Quarter of Florin City, falls into depression, and becomes a useless drunkard once more. Eventually, Fezzik finds him and helps him regain his health. They eventually rescue Westley from Rugen's
torture chamber A torture chamber is a room where torture is inflicted.
but find, to their chagrin, that he appears to be dead. In desperation, they take him to Miracle Max, the king's former "miracle man", who tells them that Westley is only "mostly dead". Inigo persuades Max to help by appealing to Max's hatred of Prince Humperdinck, who had fired him, and they bring Westley back to life. That night, Inigo joins Westley to fight Humperdinck, and finally confronts his father's killer with the words he had waited half his life to say: : "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." Rugen runs away. Inigo chases him throughout the castle until Rugen suddenly throws a knife at him and seriously wounds him, mocking his quest as he prepares to deliver the fatal blow. At the last second, Inigo recovers his strength and duels his father's murderer, repeating his fateful words as he corners Rugen, inflicting on him the same dueling scars. Rugen begs for his life and offers to give Inigo anything he wants before trying to attack him again; Inigo catches Rugen's sword arm and replies, "I want my father back, you son of a bitch," as he kills him. That scene from the film was ranked #86 by
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa dist ...
in their list of "Top 100 Movie Moments". Mandy Patinkin has said that his inspiration for the scene was the real-life loss of his father to cancer and the feeling that his character killing Rugen would bring him back. At the end of the film, having avenged his father and thus no longer in "the revenge business", Inigo ponders what he will do with the rest of his life. In response, Westley offers Inigo a position as successor to "The
Dread Pirate Roberts The Dread Pirate Roberts is the identity assumed by several fictional characters in the novel '' The Princess Bride'' (1973) and its 1987 film adaptation. Various pirates (including Westley, the main protagonist) take on the role of Roberts and u ...
". The novel ends with Inigo's wounds reopening while he is on the run from the Brute Squad, leaving his future in doubt.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Montoya, Inigo Adventure film characters Characters in American novels of the 20th century Comedy film characters Fantasy film characters Fictional alcohol abusers Fictional fencers Fictional Spanish people Fictional swordfighters Fictional vigilantes Literary characters introduced in 1973 Male characters in film Male characters in literature Orphan characters in literature The Princess Bride Orphan characters in film