Olivia Wilde has revealed that co-star Walton Goggins saved her life after a horse stunt went wrong on the set of the 2011 film Cowboys & Aliens. The 42-year-old actress shared the story on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, describing how she was nearly trampled to death by a herd of horses.
Near-fatal accident on set
Wilde recalled a scene where she was galloping across the desert with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, leading a charge with 40 horses following behind. During a take, her horse jumped over a large ditch, bucking her off. She hit her head and back and lay on the ground on the other side of a dirt ridge, invisible to the approaching horses.
“I remember having my ear to the ground and I could hear it and it sounded like thunder, like they were coming towards me,” Wilde said. She thought, “It'll be quick. It'll be like, pulverized applesauce. Out.”
Goggins' heroic act
Walton Goggins saw Wilde on the ground and, in a split second, turned his horse sideways in front of her, creating a barrier. “He let everyone kind of bash into him,” Wilde explained. “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.”
Film background
Cowboys & Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau, also starred Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano. Released in July 2011, the film blended Western and sci-fi genres, following a group of outlaws, cattlemen, and Apache warriors uniting to fight alien invaders. Despite positive reviews, it was a box office disappointment.
Wilde's recent comments on Harry Styles
Earlier this month, Wilde praised her ex-boyfriend Harry Styles for handling his fans during their relationship. Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, she said, “I think it also had a lot to do with the kind of parasocial relationship people have with him, which is a burden that is very weighty and not something I envy. He carries it with grace.” Wilde and Styles dated for nearly two years before splitting at the end of 2022.
