Arnold Schwarzenegger became known as a major action star in the 80s. The film that solidified his breakthrough was probably Conan the Barbarian. However, the filming of the movie did not always go smoothly. Schwarzenegger was injured on the very first day.
Conan the Barbarian was a breakthrough for Schwarzenegger: After his debut film Hercules in New York in 1970, there was a period of silence until 1982 when Conan the Barbarian was released, starring Schwarzenegger.
At the time, the film was a huge hit. According to CBR, the film grossed over 70 million dollars (approximately 64 million euros) against a budget of 20 million dollars (about 18 million euros). For Arnold Schwarzenegger, this film marked his first breakthrough that established him as a tough action star. However, an accident on the first day of filming could have ended the movie right away.
Schwarzenegger also had an accident while filming True Lies: James Cameron mocked Arnold Schwarzenegger as the “village idiot” during the shoot of an action-comedy
A first trailer for Conan the Barbarian can be found here:
The dogs were not well trained
What happened during the filming? On the very first shooting day in Spain, a spectacular accident occurred during the filming of Conan the Barbarian. In one of the first scenes in the film, Conan flees from wild dogs. These dogs, however, do not seem to have been well trained.
In his autobiography Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, the actor spoke about the terrible accident during the filming of the movie. It is said that raw meat was attached to his costume to lure the dogs. However, they were released too early. One of them got Schwarzenegger.
They bit my pants and dragged me off the rock, and I fell ten feet down on my back.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on the dog accident on the set of Conan (Source: Essentiallysports.com)
During the attack, he fell into a thorn bush and was injured. Schwarzenegger screamed in pain until the dog trainer intervened. Schwarzenegger was reportedly stitched up with 12 stitches. You can see this in an outtake on YouTube:
An accident like this on the first shooting day was not a good sign, but Schwarzenegger and the other participants continued to work on the film, which proved financially rewarding for the studio and for Schwarzenegger’s career. In 1984, the sequel Conan the Destroyer was released.
Not the only incident on set
It was not the only incident on the film set. There were several reports of stuntmen getting injured, and there was criticism regarding animal welfare in the film. Schwarzenegger reportedly bit into a real, dead vulture because there were no other options. CGI was not an option, and other possibilities did not look good. To this day, Conan remains one of his iconic roles. Soon you will even be able to beat your friends with him: Mortal Kombat 1 introduces new characters – Soon you can fight as Arnold Schwarzenegger again
