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Sandahl Bergman From ‘Conan The Barbarian’ Was Cast Because Of Her Dance Skills

by Dana Daly

Published March 10, 2024

Few warriors are also dancers like Sandahl Bergman

Conan the Barbarian represented a new wave of unprecedented popularity for the sword and sorcery brand of fantasy. It helped establish Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s career as an actor and it put him opposite perhaps the only person who could keep pace with the muscled Austrian: Sandahl Bergman. But what happened to the athletic actress who could win hearts and slay foes at the same time?

IMDb puts Bergman’s birthday as November 14, 1951, in Kansas City, Missouri. She ended up in the state of Kansas to graduate from Shawnee Mission East High School. As she grew up, she shot up to a solid six feet, but she always said her height as five feet, twelve inches because, in her words, “No girl should have to be six feet.”

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The actress started as a larger-than-life dancer

Sandahl Bergman showed off her athletic prowess in All That Jazz
Sandahl Bergman showed off her athletic prowess in All That Jazz / YouTube screenshot

Bergman quickly established herself as a strong, athletic presence and immediately pursued dancing in earnest. Dancer, singer, choreographer, theatre director, and ten-time Tony Award winner – all around Renaissance man – Tommy Tune discovered Bergman and by age 15, she had an advocate and a foot in the door as a dancer.

She was chosen to play Valeria because of her powerful physique and background as a dancer
She was chosen to play Valeria because of her powerful physique and background as a dancer / © Universal/courtesy Everett Collection

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Bergman also drew the attention of choreographer Bob Fosse and the two became business partners in building and cementing her celebrated dance career. She went from stage to film seamlessly, showing off Bergman’s skills at a national level. Fosse recruited Bergman for Dancin’, which Bergman would consider one of the most important movies of her career because of just how hard it pushed her. It pushed everyone, with grueling practices and far less time between dance numbers than musicals usually have.

But passing this trial by fire told others loud and clear: Bergman was made of tough stuff and proved herself time and again. Jump ahead to 1979’s All That Jazz and Bergman captivated the nation. The highly-acclaimed “Take Off With Us” number has been touted as one of the most electrifying, sensual dance routines of all time, with Bergman standing out in a sea of powerful performances. It was this that secured her the role of Valeria in Conan the Barbarian because director John Milius felt she would bring a ballerina’s poise and grace to the warrior’s movements. He was right.

What is Sandahl Bergman doing now?

She was chosen to play Valeria because of her powerful physique and background as a dancer
She was chosen to play Valeria because of her powerful physique and background as a dancer / (c)MGM/courtesy Everett Collection
Conan the Barbarian would prove as powerful for Bergman’s career as it was for Schwarzenegger – but both had to literally fight tooth and nail to finish it. In Bergman’s case especially, there was no believable stunt person to stand in, so she had to do all her stunts. One time, Bergman was sword fighting with an untrained extra who was wielding a very real blade. They got into an accident and Bergman’s finger was nearly cut off. Reportedly, instead of asking if she was all right, Milius yelled, “Valeria would never let that happen!” Bergman called the work “tough,” yet readily asserted, “But that was nothing compared to what the stunt men went through.”
Likewise, the Governator actually suffered a bad knee injury after falling off a horse. He couldn’t catch a break filming this film, as it was also his very first time filming a love scene; the same could be said for Bergman, so they shared that similarity.
REVENGE ON THE HIGHWAY, Sandahl Bergman
REVENGE ON THE HIGHWAY, Sandahl Bergman, 1992. ©Saban Int’l/courtesy Everett Collection
For her nearly-literally backbreaking troubles, Bergman was awarded the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year—Actress. Playing Valeria also earned Bergman the Saturn Award for Best Actress. Now a proven dancer of excellent skill and a decorated actress, Bergman’s career was guaranteed to flourish. However, it didn’t play out exactly like that. Bergman did dabble further in the sorcery and sword genre, playing the titular character in 1984’s She, based on the book She: A History of Adventure. There, she played a matriarchal warrior queen who went from hindering to helping the heroes.
On the opposite end, she also played the vile Queen Gedren in Red Sonja, and the love interest Spangle in Hell Comes to Frogtown. Although it was a low-budget project, especially compared to the staying power of Conan the Barbarian, it produced two sequels; neither included Bergman. However, she did become a familiar face on some television programs, including Hart to Hart, Moonlighting – which featured some solid dance choreography – Cheers, Designing Women, and Murder, She Wrote.
Bergman reportedly stays involved through conventions
Bergman reportedly stays involved through conventions / YouTube screenshot
Bergman’s passion project would be serving as a spokesperson for the FIRM exercise videos, for which she worked as an instructor throughout the ’80s. However, her final television appearance was 1999’s Sliders. In terms of film, she appeared as a dancer in 2003’s The Singing Detective and appeared in Guys and Dolls at the Hollywood Bowl. After that 2009 appearance, Bergman was formally retired from acting. Her romance life was similarly quiet; she briefly dated a few actors and ended up marrying Josh Taylor of Beverly Hills, 90210 and Days of Our Lives fame, but at some point their romance became a soap opera and they ended up splitting.
After exiting the limelight, Bergman maintained a quiet life in California, which she still enjoys today at 72, broken up by a few appearances at sci-fi fantasy conventions – like the true warrior princess she is!
Next up: John Wayne Nearly Quit Acting Because Of A “Ridiculous” Rom-Com
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