Arnold Schwarzenegger On The "Terrible Sh*t" He Was Required To Do While Filming CONAN THE BARBARIAN

Arnold Schwarzenegger On The "Terrible Sh*t" He Was Required To Do While Filming CONAN THE BARBARIAN

Arnold Scharzenneger has spoken about how difficult the Conan the Barbarian shoot was in the past, but the iconic action star has now shared some more eyebrow-raising details...

By MarkCassidy - Oct 12, 2023 01:10 PM EST
Filed Under: Conan
Source: Via SFF Gazette

Before the likes of Terminator and Predator, Arnold Schwarzenegger got his big break when he landed the title role in 1982's sword-and-sorcery adventure, Conan the Barbarian, but the iconic actor, former body builder and Governor of California did not have the easiest time shooting the fantasy film.

Schwarzenegger has spoken about some of the hardships he was forced to endure while filming Conan in the past, but in his new self-help book and memoir, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, he goes into detail on the crazy stuff director John Milius asked him to do in order to complete the film.

While he admits to learning quite a few new skills, Arnie also reveals that he was requited to do some "terrible shit," including taking a bite out of an actual dead vulture!

“I learned to ride horses and camels and elephants. I learned how to jump from large rocks, how to climb and swing from long ropes, how to fall from a height,” Schwarzenegger writes (via Insider). “I basically went to another vocational school, this one for aspiring action heroes.”

“Then on top of that, Milius had me doing all kinds of terrible shit. I crawled through rocks, take after take, until my forearms bled. I ran from wild dogs that managed to catch me and pull me into a thorn bush,” he continues. “I bit a real, dead vulture that required I wash my mouth out with alcohol after each take. (PETA would have a field day with that one.). On one of the first days of filming, I tore a gash on my back that required forty stitches.”

The scene in question saw a flock of vultures gathers on the tree Conan is tied to, and when one of them gets a bit too close to a wound on his chest, he takes a chunk out of the bird's neck. Fans always assumed that he was biting the fake vulture that was used in the previous shot, but evidently not!

Despite his experiences working on the movie, Schwarzenegger reprised the role for the 1984 sequel, Conan the Destroyer, and has expressed interest in returning for the long-rumored "King Conan," which now appears to have been shelved for good.

Check out the vulture scene for yourselves below.

"Orphaned boy Conan (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is enslaved after his village is destroyed by the forces of vicious necromancer Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), and is compelled to push "The Wheel of Pain" for many years. Once he reaches adulthood, Conan sets off across the prehistoric landscape of the Hyborian Age in search of the man who killed his family and stole his father's sword. With beautiful warrior Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) and archer Subotai (Gerry Lopez), he faces a supernatural evil."

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Forthas
Forthas - 10/12/2023, 1:14 PM
Wow! I guess that is why we have an actors union. I am not sure I would have agreed to do all that. Hopefully the did not really make James Earl Jones transform into a snake.
MarvelZombie616
MarvelZombie616 - 10/12/2023, 1:17 PM
Probably the best fantasy movie ever made.
Goldboink
Goldboink - 10/12/2023, 2:17 PM
@MarvelZombie616 -
Totally withstands the test of time. Still watchable from beginning to end.
GeneralZod
GeneralZod - 10/12/2023, 3:59 PM
@MarvelZombie616 - Among the many great fantasy/sword-and-sorcery films. Jason and the Argonauts (1963) is great. I also put Flash Gordon (1980) more as fantasy than sci fi. That is a great fantasy movie.
RolandD
RolandD - 10/12/2023, 6:29 PM
@MarvelZombie616 - Any of the three LOTR movies say hello.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 10/13/2023, 2:23 AM
@MarvelZombie616 - while it is very difficult to counterman this statement, I would, personally, put ‘Excalibur’ just a hair above ‘Conan,’ but it IS really close to my mind
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 10/13/2023, 2:25 AM
@RolandD - phenomenal, phenomenal undertaking by Jackson et al but benefits GREATLY from the evolution of CGI (which the 80’s legacy movies did not) and Howard Shore. Jackson strays, A LOT, from the source canon but pulled off a not-so-minor miracle in bringing Tolkien’s work to the big screen
Android
Android - 10/13/2023, 3:21 AM
@MarvelZombie616 - solid action film , crap Conan movie
dracula
dracula - 10/12/2023, 1:19 PM
You know most of that stuff can just be passed off as part of the job

but the wild dogs and the vulture......

one is legit needlessly risking his life

one is needlessly risking his health
dracula
dracula - 10/12/2023, 1:21 PM
Wonder if he still plans to do king conan.

He planned to do it after Terminator 3, then he became governor

He planned to do it after Terminator Genesis, then he just did Dark Fate

Like really Terminator 5 and 6 failed. Try reviving a different franchise.
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 10/12/2023, 1:26 PM
@dracula - He wanted to but the rights and licensing of the property belongs to some young dude right now who doesn't want to make it. the young dude wants to turn it into an epic fantasy tv show like game of thrones instead of letting arnold do 1 more.

TBH he could do both, but its his choice not arnolds sadly
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 10/13/2023, 2:28 AM
@mastakilla39 - the time to strike was when Triple H, at the height of his sculpted pop-culture exposure, was heavily rumored to be playing his tyrannical offspring. Unfortunately that ship linda sailed ‘roundabout 20 or so years ago
ModHaterSLADE
ModHaterSLADE - 10/12/2023, 1:26 PM
And that's why he's one of the action movie greats.
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 10/12/2023, 1:29 PM
2023 will be remembered as the year of actors and actresses whining about old roles that made them famous.
Razorface1
Razorface1 - 10/12/2023, 6:02 PM
@AnthonyVonGeek - guy literally risked his life uneccessarily, thsts not whining.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 10/12/2023, 6:42 PM
@AnthonyVonGeek - How dare they bring up gross and unhealthy working conditions
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 10/13/2023, 6:14 AM
@Razorface1 - he signed on and knew what he was getting into.
AnthonyVonGeek
AnthonyVonGeek - 10/13/2023, 6:15 AM
@dagenspear - he knew what was up when he signed on.
Razorface1
Razorface1 - 10/14/2023, 1:47 PM
@AnthonyVonGeek - how could you know that? Its not like you know if biting dead vultures was on his contract.
JoeInTheBox
JoeInTheBox - 10/12/2023, 1:30 PM
John Milius is a madman. Great documentary about him, Milius. He's also the inspiration for John Goodman's character in The Big Lebowski.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 10/13/2023, 2:30 AM
@JoeInTheBox - dude legit did Consn AND Red Dawn in successive short order. Guy was a powerful influence of the legacy of the 80’s
dragon316
dragon316 - 10/12/2023, 1:31 PM
We read about this now not then ?
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 10/12/2023, 2:32 PM
@dragon316 - maybe he did mention it at the time, but seeing how the information technology wasn't that advanced, it never got out (or atleast reached a bigger audience)
mastakilla39
mastakilla39 - 10/12/2023, 1:34 PM
The embodiment of the American Dream. Come from overseas with little to no english and succeed by honing a craft. He definitely got taken advantage of as a foreigner but you don't really have a choice. To his benefit it was worth it though as an opportunity is still an opportunity.
SethBullock
SethBullock - 10/12/2023, 3:00 PM
@mastakilla39 -

?si=jV21I1ttrhafq_4k
dagenspear
dagenspear - 10/12/2023, 6:42 PM
@mastakilla39 - LORD willing, it really shouldn't matter where he's from.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 10/13/2023, 2:35 AM
@mastakilla39 - Arnie was a genetic freak in his prime. Watch that scene where Ferrigno is painfully restricting calories to make physique for Mr. Olympia and Arnold is chowing down, HARD, on a full continental breakfast while being interviewed. The look on Ferrigno’s face is priceless
Android
Android - 10/13/2023, 3:22 AM
@mastakilla39 - much better than his brownshirt father
DarthAlgar
DarthAlgar - 10/12/2023, 1:41 PM
Love me some Ah-nold.
LexScarhooks
LexScarhooks - 10/12/2023, 2:33 PM
Isn't that just basic life in the middle east..🤔
marvel72
marvel72 - 10/12/2023, 2:35 PM
Such a classic movie, release it on 4k blu-ray.
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