Arnold Schwarzenegger shared a gruesome experience from his time shooting a film, in his book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life. Schwarzenegger didn’t hold back on any details, even prompting some fans to question its place in a self-help book. The Terminator actor did some wild things for his 1982 cult film, Conan the Barbarian, including getting his back gashed and biting into a dead vulture.
Schwarzenegger revealed that director John Milius subjected him to intense and brutal scenes. The Predator actor even shared that the film was more like a vocational school for training action heroes.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Shared One Of The Disgusting Scenes He Had To Film
Arnold Schwarzenegger underwent 18 months of training before the filming of Conan the Barbarian began. In his training, he learned rope climbing and horseback riding, among other skills, but nothing could have prepared him for the sheer intensity and wildness of the production. During filming, the Total Recall actor learned the hard way about the demands of being an action hero.
If the hardships of the stunts weren’t enough, Schwarzenegger revealed that director John Milius insisted on several grueling scenes. Milius, known for his macho films like Dirty Harry, put Schwarzenegger through hell, including crawling through rocks, take after take. Milius also had wild dogs chase after the Twins actor for a realistic scene.
However, nothing, not even a gash on his back that required 40 stitches, bothered the True Lies actor as much as one particularly disgusting scene. In this scene, Schwarzenegger had to bite into a real dead vulture, an experience the Escape Plan actor recounted in his book (via Insider):
“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.”
In the movie scene, Schwarzenegger’s character, Conan, is tied to a tree after being tortured by Thulsa Doom. When a vulture tries to attack him, Conan bites into the vulture’s neck, killing it.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dedication To The Movie Paid Off
All the climbing on rocks, swinging from long ropes, and even biting into the vulture, eventually paid off as the movie became commercially successful. Made on a budget of $20 million, the film grossed somewhere between $68.9 million and $79.1 million. The success of the film even spawned a sequel in 1984, titled Conan the Destroyer.
Schwarzenegger admitted that Conan was the film that established him as an action hero in the entertainment industry, right after his bodybuilding career. The Kindergarten Cop actor was paid a handsome $250,000 salary and put on a retainer for further films. At the same time, Schwarzenegger was bound by a contract not to act in any similar sword and sorcery films.
Fans interested in Schwarzenegger’s life experiences and his inspiring stories can find them in his book, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, which was released in the U.S. on October 10.
