Arnold Schwarzenegger recalls biting dead vulture for Conan the Barbarian scene

For title role in 1982 action film, the former bodybuilder went above and beyond with his stunt work

Arnold Schwarzenegger has reflected on a bizarre moment in his career dead vulture for a film scene.

The action movie star, 76, first gave fans some insight into his life earlier this year with a three-part Netflix documentary series, simply titled Arnold.

Schwarzenegger has since released his guidebook, Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, comprising the seven rules that have helped him gain international success.

In the memoir, published on Tuesday 10 October, the former bodybuilder and California governor recalls the discipline he displayed while filming the 1982 sword-slinging action movie Conan the Barbarian.

Schwarzenegger played the title character in the John Milius-directed feature, for which he was required to perform several impressive stunts.

“I learned to ride horses and camels and elephants. I learned how to jump from large rocks, how to climb and swing from long ropes, how to fall from a height,” he writes in the book.

“I basically went to another vocational school, this one for aspiring action heroes.”

Schwarzenegger then delves into describing some of the more unpleasant requirements and effects of taking on the role, including a wound on his back that needed 40 stitches.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (right) as Conan the Barbarian (Twentieth Century Fox)

He writes: “Then on top of that, Milius had me doing all kinds of terrible s***. I crawled through rocks, take after take, until my forearms bled. I ran from wild dogs that managed to catch me and pull me into a thorn bush.”

Then, the Kindergarten Cop actor mentioned having to bite a dead vulture several times for the scene in which Conan is tied to a tree.

“I bit a real, dead vulture that required I wash my mouth out with alcohol after each take. (Peta [the animal rights organisation] would have a field day with that one.),” he jokes.

Elsewhere, the Twins star has recently reflected on his life and spoke of feeling a sense of contentment in his mid-seventies.

“Today, I feel good where I am,” he told People magazine. I feel I’m much wiser. I’m much smarter. I’m not as crazy. I think more about people. I think more about people’s feelings.

“In your 20s, you don’t do any of that. It’s me, me, me, me. As time goes on, you learn from your mistakes.”

Schwarzenegger shares four children with his ex-wife Maria Shriver: Katherine, 33, Christina, 32, Patrick, 30 and Christopher, 26. He shares one son, 26-year-old Joseph, with Maria Baena.

He is also a grandfather to his eldest child Katherine’s two daughters with husband Chris Pratt: Lyla, three, and one-year-old Eloise.

Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life is out now.