Martin Sheen Remembered Rob Reiner With A Sweet Story Involving The Princess Bride And The American President

Before Martin Sheen played the American president in The West Wing, he played the chief of staff in Rob Reiner’s movie, The American President. Now, that great rom-com did lead him to the beloved series set in the White House. However, Sheen wanted to remember the late director by making it clear that he landed the part in the film where Michael Douglas played the commander-in-chief because of a conversation he had with Reiner about The Princess Bride.

It’s not a secret that The American President inspired The West Wing, seeing as both were penned by Aaron Sorkin. There was some cast crossover, too, as Sheen went from playing Chief of Staff AJ MacInerney in the movie to President Jed Bartlet in the show. However, he got the role of AJ because he had a meeting with The American President’s director, Rob Reiner. But they didn’t talk about the Oval Office. No, they discussed a far-off and beloved fantasy land instead, as Sheen explained during a panel at C2E2 (via Josh Horowitz):

Now, while we cannot really agree on Rob Reiner’s best film (because he simply has too many masterpieces), I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t adore The Princess Bride. The movie, which you can stream with a Disney+ subscription, is hilarious and whimsical. It’s fun and action-packed and also deeply romantic. In short, it’s wonderful, and I can see why Sheen only wanted to talk to the director about it when he met with him for The American President.

I also love that this meeting led to Sheen’s casting in the rom-com starring Douglas and Annette Bening. As someone who grew up on both movies and loves The West Wing (you can stream it with an HBO Max subscription), this story makes my heart swell.

The deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner also make it that much more emotional. In the months since their passing, tons of artists who worked with them shared tributes and stories. This also included a wonderful tribute at the Oscars for the Reiners, which featured Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Fred Savage, Carol Kane and Billy Crystal from The Princess Bride and Annette Bening from The American President, among many others.

Sheen was not at the ceremony. However, his love and adoration for Reiner are clear. He also explained why it's so important for him to share stories about the late director:

I think we all want to “remember him very lovingly,” and I love that Sheen took a moment to do just that. It’s worth noting that he wasn’t asked about Reiner. He was asked about how Reiner and Sorkin's movie, The American President, led to The West Wing. However, he took a moment to first tell this story about the director who hired him for the movie. Hopefully, more stories like this will come up as actors continue to discuss projects that Rob Reiner helped make iconic.

Now, if you want to go back and watch the movie that helped Martin Sheen land The American President, you can stream The Princess Bride on Disney+. If you are looking to see his collaboration with Reiner, The American President is available to rent.