'Princess Bride' And 'Saw' Star Cary Elwes, 59, Rushed To Hospital After Being Bitten By Rattlesnake

Cary Elwes had to be rushed to Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center hospital on Saturday after he was bitten by a rattlesnake near his home in Malibu, California. The 59-year-old actor who has starred in iconic works like The Princess Bride and Saw had to be air-lifted by helicopter to the hospital, according to Comic Book. The incident took place outside his home where he was working. The scary bite was a serious enough injury to be considered life-threatening. The actor is currently recovering and even shared a picture of the bite on Instagram.

Elwes referred to his classic 1987 movie The Princess Bride in the caption, writing: "Bit not by a ROUS but a rattlesnake." "Grateful to the staff of Malibu Urgent Care, LA County Fire Dept. and the staff and medical professionals at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for their great care," he added. "Am recovering well thanks to all these wonderful folks. 🙏" Many celebrities commented in response, including Stranger Things co-star Randy Havens who wrote: “Oh my gosh Cary! Please feel better! Sending healing thoughts your way.”

This isn't the first time the actor has faced such a terrifying incident. In his book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride, the Robin Hood: Men in Tight star recalled getting injured on the set of The Princess Bride, in which he played heartthrob protagonist, Westley. He was hit in the head with a sword by Christopher Guest as part of the script. Elwes wrote, according to Looper, "Chris swung the heavy sword down toward my head. However, as fate would have it, it landed just a touch harder than either of us anticipated. And that, folks, was the last thing I remember from that day's shoot. I woke up in the emergency room, still in costume, to the frightening sound of stitches being sewn into my skull … and of course Chris felt absolutely terrible about the whole thing, even though I kept telling him it wasn't his fault." Elwes continued, "It was my dumb idea."

Fortunately, this time, Elwes will make a full recovery from the injury. Fans can see the actor in Mission: Impossible 7 alongside Tom Cruise, which is scheduled to be released on July 14, 2023. Will he ever return to the Saw franchise? Elwes played Dr. Lawrence Gordon in James Wan's first film. "I never say never – but I pretty much feel like I have explored that character as far as it can go," Elwes said to The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. "I am open if the filmmakers wanted to discuss it, but I feel we have run the full gamut of Dr. Gordon's life. We made that picture in 18 days. I was averaging 12 to 16 pages of dialogue a day, which was a great challenge. We never sat down, there were no chairs on the set. We never put the camera on a dolly or a tripod, it was on our wonderful cinematographer's [David A. Armstrong] shoulder for the entire movie. So when we set up shots it was like, 'OK move the camera here and roll.'"