"I bit a real, dead vulture": Arnold Schwarzenegger recalls shooting for action sequence in 'Conan the Barbarian'

Dec 26, 2023

Washington [US], December 26 : Veteran actor Arnold Schwarzenegger shared a few anecdotes from his long career as an action movie star in his new book, 'Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life'," reported Deadline.
He spoke about the time he bit a dead vulture. It all happened when he was filming 'Conan the Barbarian'.
Schwarzenegger recollects having to repeatedly bite a dead vulture during the scene where Conan is tied to a tree.
For the sequence in which Conan is bound to a tree, Schwarzenegger remembers having to repeatedly bite a dead vulture.
"I bit a real, dead vulture that required I wash my mouth out with alcohol after each take," he writes.
According to Deadline, that wasn't the only hardship. "On one of the first days of filming, I tore a gash on my back that required forty stitches. Schwarzenegger was pushed to do his stunts because of the lack of suitable doubles.
"Conan was brutal because there weren't stunt guys big enough yet, so I had to crawl until my knees and elbows bled, get attacked by those dogs, and bit that real dead vulture. Luckily, lifting weights became popular, and muscular stunt guys became available."
Recalling another noteworthy event in his career, he talked about a swimming sequence in the movie 'The 6th Day', that caused him to drown.
"On Sixth Day, I probably had my most dangerous stunt. It was supposed to be simple, a scene where I am swimming. But there was a cover on the pool. I was supposed to come out the same place I went in, but I got turned around and started to run out of air. I couldn't find my way back to the exit, and I tried to stay as calm as possible but knew I didn't have long. Luckily, my stunt double Billy Lucas realized what was happening and came in to save me," reported Deadline.