He's probably still best known to film fans for his role as Fezzik in 1987 fantasy comedy classic The Princess Bride, but Andre the Giant Roussimoff lived a fascinating tough life outside of that film part. Now a team including his daughter, Robin Christensen-Roussimoff, is putting together a biopic of the man.
Producers Scott Steindorff and Dylan Russell have hatched a deal with Christensen-Roussimoff and Lion Forge Comics to base the film on authorised graphic novel biography Andre The Giant: Closer To Heaven, which hit shelves last year, written by Brandon Easton and illustrated by Denis Medri. It chronicled his life from working on the family farm in France to his rise as part of the World Wrestling Federation, which itself was helped by his burgeoning celebrity. But his size and stature came with a price. "Andre the Giant rode the wave of the rise of wrestling in America, while suffering from the painful health condition of gigantism – there’s an Elephant Man story here,” Steindorff tells Variety.
“I’m really excited to watch this story come to life on the big screen,” Robin Christensen-Roussimoff adds. “It’s been a labour of love for everyone involved, and we’re really looking forward to making it available to a larger audience.” Roussimoff died in 1993.
The next step will be to find a writing and directing team and, crucially, someone who can portray Roussimoff.