“I bit a dead vulture”: Arnold Schwarzenegger recounts the grueling filming of Conan

“I bit a dead vulture”: Arnold Schwarzenegger recounts the grueling filming of Conan



Arnold Schwarzenegger, a towering barbarian

It was 1982Arnold Schwarzenegger had his first major role playing one of his cult characters: Conan! With Conan the Barbarianthe actor showed everything his physical strength play this barbaric warrior who evolves in an imaginary world where wizards and various creatures are present and where conflicts are resolved with the sword. The film first shows the hero’s youth, marked by the massacre of his family. After being enslaved, he finds the tyrant responsible and decides to take revenge.

Conan the Barbarian it could have been an anecdotal series B, but the film, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, arrived at the right time and the fantastic universe that was offered in it came together A big success. So much so that the sequel was released two years later, Conan the destroyer (1984)visually more controlled and with a slightly lighter tone.

Although this role helped make Arnold Schwarzenegger a legend of cinemait looks like the filming of Conan the Barbarian it wasn’t just fun for the actor. This is what we learn from his book Be Helpful: Seven Tools for Lifeand excerpts of which were shared by Internal. In it, the actor looks back at some of his and his emblematic roles what he had to endure to get to where he is.

The complicated filming of Conan the Barbarian

Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals in his book the crazy things he had to do while filming Conan the Barbarian. He tells it first intensive training who had to learn a lot of skills.

I learned to ride horses, camels and elephants. I learned to jump from large rocks, climb and swing on long ropes, fall from heights.

Arnold Schwarzenegger - Conan the Barbarian ©Universal Pictures
Arnold Schwarzenegger – Conan the Barbarian ©Universal Pictures

The actor explains that he attended a special school designed to train actors to become “action heroBut the film’s director, John Milius, would go even further by putting it in situations that are not possible. The actor thus evokes an attack by wild dogs or even a dead vulture that must have bitten.

Milius made me do all kinds of terrible shit. I crawled across the rocks, hold after hold, until my forearms bled. I ran away from the wild dogs who managed to catch me and drag me into a thorny bush. I bit a real dead vulture, forcing me to wash my mouth out with alcohol after each bite.

On the injury side, Arnold Schwarzenegger would have been a large gash on his back from the first days of filming, which would have required forty points. However, despite this experience, the actor agreed to reprise his role Conan the destroyer, this time directed by Richard Fleischer. The fact remains that the star has only bad memories of this experience. For example, she still has in her possession the immense sword of Conan that she pulled out of her for the release of her book.

Source: Cine Serie

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