Arnold Schwarzenegger acted in a sword-and-sorcery epic.
Arnold Schwarzenegger . His breakthrough film was the sword-and-sorcery epic Conan the Barbarian in 1982 , a box office hit that resulted in a sequel . Conan the Barbarian (1982 film) . The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Earl Jones , and tells the story of a young barbarian ( Schwarzenegger ) who seeks vengeance for the death of his parents at the hands of Thulsa Doom ( Jones ) , the leader of a snake cult . Critics also negatively reviewed Schwarzenegger 's acting and the film 's violent scenes . Conan has been frequently released on home media , the sales of which had increased the film 's gross to more than $ 300 million by 2007 .