Mel Brooks has a weird superpower. He can take a legendary story, dress it in spandex, and somehow make it more memorable than the serious versions. Honestly, when most people think of the Prince of Thieves now, they don't see Kevin Costner's mulleted intensity or Russell Crowe’s grit. They see a guy in green silk singing about being "manly men."
The actor in Robin Hood Men in Tights who anchored that entire fever dream was Cary Elwes. He wasn't just a guy playing a part. He was a response.
At the time, the world was still recovering from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. You know the one—the 1991 blockbuster where the hero had a thick California accent in the middle of medieval England. Elwes walked onto the screen in 1993 and immediately threw shade, famously telling the audience that, unlike some other Robins, he could actually speak with an English accent. It was the perfect meta-joke.
Cary Elwes: The Hero Who Knew It Was All a Joke
Cary Elwes was already a cult legend before he picked up the bow. He’d done The Princess Bride. He had that perfect blend of swashbuckling charm and a face that looked like it was carved from expensive soap. But in Men in Tights, he turned the "dashing hero" trope inside out.
He didn't play it like a clown. That's the secret.
If you watch him closely, he plays Robin Loxley with 100% sincerity. When he’s fighting or romancing, he’s doing it with the intensity of a Shakespearean actor. That’s why it’s funny. The absurdity of the script—like his "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" mole movement gag or the way he checks his script during a duel—only works because the lead actor is so committed to the bit. Elwes has since written about his time on Brooks' sets, noting that Mel encouraged a specific kind of disciplined chaos.
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It wasn't just about being funny. It was about being physically funny. Elwes had to nail the rapier choreography while also delivering lines that were essentially pure slapstick. It’s a rare skill set. Most actors either do the action well or the comedy well. He did both simultaneously.
The Supporting Players Who Stole the Show
You can't talk about the actor in Robin Hood Men in Tights without acknowledging the absolute murderer's row of talent surrounding Elwes. This movie was a launching pad for some, and a victory lap for others.
Take Dave Chappelle.
This was his film debut. He played Ahchoo (a play on the "Azeem" character from the Costner version). He was barely twenty years old. You can see the raw energy he brought to the screen—the "sneaker" joke, the "Blinkin, I'm over here" line. It was clear even then that he had a timing most veterans would kill for. He wasn't just the "sidekick." He was the audience's surrogate, reacting to the madness of 12th-century England with 1990s logic.
Then there’s Richard Lewis.
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The late, great King of Neurosis. Playing Prince John as a man-child with a migrating facial mole was a stroke of genius. Lewis brought his signature stand-up anxiety to the role. Instead of a menacing villain, he gave us a guy who was clearly terrified of his own shadow and deeply insecure about his brother, King Richard.
And we have to talk about Roger Rees as the Sheriff of Rottingham. If Elwes was the straight man, Rees was the human cartoon. His ability to twist his words—"I was merely stating the obvious!"—made him one of the most quotable parts of the film. He played the Sheriff with a frantic, desperate energy that felt like a tea kettle about to explode.
- Amy Yasbeck (Maid Marian): She had to play the "damsel" while wearing a literal iron maiden chastity belt. Her comedic timing often gets overlooked, but her chemistry with Elwes was the glue of the movie.
- Isaac Hayes (Asneeze): The deep-voiced legend brought a gravity to the role that made the ridiculous dialogue even better.
- Tracey Ullman (Latrine): She went full "hag" for the role, creating a character so repulsive and desperate that she became a highlight of every scene she touched.
- Patrick Stewart: A literal cameo that brought the house down. He showed up at the end as King Richard, spoofing Sean Connery’s cameo in the 1991 film.
Why the Comedy Holds Up in 2026
Is it dated? Sure. Some of the pop culture references are firmly rooted in the early 90s. But the core of the humor—the satire of "prestige" filmmaking—is timeless.
Mel Brooks wasn't just making fun of Robin Hood. He was making fun of how Hollywood treats history. He saw that big-budget movies often take themselves way too seriously, and he used his cast to puncture that balloon.
The casting was surgical. Brooks didn't just hire "funny people." He hired actors who could handle the specific rhythm of his jokes. Brooksian humor relies on a "setup-setup-punchline" cadence that is surprisingly hard to master. If you’re a millisecond off, the joke dies.
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Look at the "Men in Tights" musical number. It’s objectively ridiculous. Yet, the actor in Robin Hood Men in Tights (Elwes) and the Merry Men perform it with the precision of a Broadway troupe. That contrast is where the gold is.
Beyond the Tights: The Legacy of the Cast
After the film, the careers of the main players went in wildly different directions. Cary Elwes became a mainstay in everything from Twister to the Saw franchise. He’s one of those rare actors who can transition from a Mel Brooks comedy to a gritty horror movie without losing the audience's trust.
Dave Chappelle, obviously, became one of the most influential (and controversial) comedians in history. Richard Lewis continued his run as a comedic icon, most notably on Curb Your Enthusiasm.
But for a specific generation, they will always be the group that gathered in Sherwood Forest to mock the establishment.
What You Should Do Next
If you haven't revisited the film lately, do it with an eye on the background characters. The movie is packed with "Easter eggs" and visual gags that fly by in seconds.
- Watch for the "Blinkin" gags: Mark Blankfield’s performance as the blind servant is a masterclass in physical comedy that often happens in the periphery of the main shot.
- Compare the "Accents": Watch ten minutes of the 1991 Prince of Thieves and then switch to Men in Tights. The parody becomes ten times funnier when you see exactly what they were mocking.
- Check out Cary Elwes’ Memoir: He wrote a book called As You Wish about The Princess Bride, but he has frequently discussed the "Brooks Method" in interviews. It gives a lot of context to how these scenes were built.
The magic of the actor in Robin Hood Men in Tights wasn't just in the lines they spoke. It was in the fact that they were all clearly having the time of their lives. That joy is infectious, and it's why we’re still talking about a movie where a guy uses a "PATRIOT" arrow to win an archery tournament thirty years later.