“How Do You Do All This Sense-Memory S**t?”: Arnold Schwarzenegger Struggled to Perform, Despite Attending Countless Acting Lessons Before Conan the Barbarian

Transitioning from bodybuilding to acting seemed easy for Arnold Schwarzenegger, considering his looks and charisma. However, coming from Austria with a thick accent and different mannerisms, he needed some training before he could enter the arena. Several speech classes and acting lessons later, nothing could’ve prepared the champion for what happened on set.

In his book, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, Schwarzenegger recounted his experience while shooting Conan the Barbarian. While he worked his way around his setbacks, what he saw on the set was different from his expectations. Let’s dive in to find out more!

Arnold Schwarzenegger revealed the chaos

Before shooting for one of his first movies, Schwarzenegger dedicated himself to acting and speech classes so he could be more relatable to the American audience. He picked up on various nuances of acting, getting into character, how to say certain words, and so on. However, things didn’t go as planned when he entered the set for the first time.

He mentioned how the reality was entirely different from what he expected. No one taught him “what to do when the wind machine is blowing snow in your face” or “when somebody’s holding a measuring tape up to your nose to mark the focus on a shot”. That’s when Arnie realized that acting was a very different experience from that advertised.

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Trying to focus over the noise of hundreds of others was the biggest challenge. Practicing dialogues while various crew members spoke to him or with each other was something that the former bodybuilder never came across before. He questioned, “how do you do all this sense-memory s**t? All that stuff about being in the moment goes out the window”. But Arnold Schwarzenegger’s challenges didn’t end there.

Mishaps on the set and Arnie’s fall

The actor met with an accident so bad that he needed some medical help before getting back to business.

Since the scene required him to escape from a bunch of wolves and climb up a hill, the actor tried getting used to the wild dogs they had on set for the purpose. However, when the time came to shoot the scene, the timing was off and the dogs were released by their trainer earlier than needed. This resulted in them catching hold of Arnie, dragging him, and a big fall. In the end, the star walked away with 12 stitches on his back, and a terrifying story to tell.

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