Olivia Wilde says Walton Goggins 'saved my life' after horse accident

Charlie Carballo, USA TODAYTue, June 30, 2026 at 12:34 AM UTC

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Olivia Wilde recalled the moment her "Cowboys & Aliens" costar Walton Goggins "saved my life" after a horse accident on the set of the 2011 sci-fi Western.

"I've ridden horses my whole life. I have a lot of confidence riding a certain style, like English style, but this was Western, different," she said on the Monday, June 29, episode of the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast.

The movie also starred Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Sam Rockwell and Paul Dano. After two months of filming, the cast had become comfortable in the saddle.

"And we were pretty competitive," she said. "And it was me and Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford galloping like full sprint across the desert with like 40 horses behind us."

Wilde said the accident happened while filming an intense scene without a helmet. As she approached a nearly 6-foot ditch, she assumed her horse would clear it.

"We were leading the charge to fight the aliens or whatever," she explained. "Sure enough, this horse jumps and bucks me off in the craziest way, and I fell off."

The “Don’t Worry Darling” actress said she hit her head and back during the fall.

"I was on the other side of this kind of like lip of dirt, so meaning that the 40 horses behind me couldn't see me. And there was a lot of dust," she recalled. "I remember having my ear to the ground, and I could hear it, and it sounded like thunder."

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Wilde thought she was about to be trampled.

"I had the thought, 'It'll be quick. It'll be like pulverized applesauce out,'" she said. "And I was waiting for it to happen."

Instead, the “White Lotus” star sprang into action.

"And then Wal 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," she said.

"And people split the two sides around us thinking he had just gone insane, but he was protecting my body on the ground."

"So I owe him my life," she added. "It's crazy. He's a real-life hero."

Despite the accident, Wilde said she still looks back fondly on making the film.

"The experience was the most fun I've ever had," she said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Olivia Wilde says Walton Goggins 'saved my life' after horse accident

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