Olivia Wilde reveals Walton Goggins saved her after near-death experience on ‘Cowboys & Aliens’

The 42-year-old remembered the incident during an episode of the ‘Armchair Expert’ podcast
Olivia Wilde calls Walton Goggins 'a real-life hero' ( Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Searchlight and Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Olivia Wilde calls Walton Goggins 'a real-life hero' ( Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Searchlight and Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Olivia Wilde has shared that if it were not for Walton Goggins, she would not be alive today.

The 42-year-old appeared on a recent episode of the ‘Armchair Expert’ podcast, where she revealed how Goggins became her savior when she experienced a near-death experience on the set of ‘Cowboys & Aliens’.

Olivia Wilde shares about 'a very bad horse accident'

Wilde told Dax Shepard, “Walt Goggins saved my life on that movie. He did. I had a very bad horse accident, and he saved me.”

Olivia Wilde attends the Tiffany & Co. Celebration of the launch of Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Céleste at The Beverly Estate on April 25, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.)
Olivia Wilde attends the Tiffany & Co. Celebration of the launch of 'Blue Book 2024: Tiffany Céleste' at The Beverly Estate on April 25, 2024, in Beverly Hills, California (Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Tiffany & Co.)

The filmmaker, who’s skilled in horse riding, faced a fatal accident two months into the shooting of the 2011 movie by Jon Favreau. She explained, “It was me and Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford galloping, like, full sprint across the desert with 40 horses behind us. And it was like we were leading the charge to fight the aliens or whatever.”

Olivia Wilde believed that she would die that day

But at one point, Wilde saw a “large ditch” and knew that her horse would jump and buck me off in the craziest way.

“I fell off. I hit my head and my back, and I was lying [on the ground], but, unfortunately, I was on the other side of this kind of lip of dirt, meaning that all the horses behind couldn’t see me. And there was also a lot of dust,” she shared.

VENICE, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 05: Olivia Wilde attends the
Olivia Wilde attends the 'Don't Worry Darling' red carpet at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 05, 2022, in Venice, Italy (Getty Images)

Wilde further disclosed to Shepard that in that moment, she understood that her end had come.

“I remember having my ear to the ground, and I could hear it, and it sounded like thunder, like they were coming towards me. And I had the thought — it sounds so dramatic — but I thought, it'll be quick. It'll be like, pulverized applesauce. Out,” she added.

Walton Goggins attends the 83rd annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Walton Goggins attends the 83rd annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on January 11, 2026, in Beverly Hills, California (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)

Olivia Wilde calls Walton Goggins 'a great rider' and owes her life to him

But Goggins became her messiah that day. The ‘House’ actress said, “Walt Goggins had seen it ahead of him and in a split second thought to turn his horse sideways right in front of me and let everyone kind of bash into him. And he's a great rider, so he was able to handle that.”

“People split the two sides around us, thinking he had just gone insane, but he was protecting my body on the ground. And so I owe him my life. It’s crazy. He’s a real-life hero,” Wilde added.

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 24: Olivia Wilde arrives at 2026 SFFILM Festival Opening Night at Swedish American Hall on April 24, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images)
Olivia Wilde arrives at the 2026 SFFILM Festival Opening Night at Swedish American Hall on April 24, 2026, in San Francisco, California (Miikka Skaffari/Getty Images)

But despite the horrifying experience, the mother of two described her time on the set of ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ as “the most fun I’ve ever had”.

“It was like riding horses with Han Solo. It was literally Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig and me and Sam Rockwell, who became one of my best friends,” Wilde added.

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