Walton Goggins Saved ‘The Invite’ Star Olivia Wilde From a Terrifying Horse Accident on ‘Cowboys & Aliens’ Set

Olivia Wilde has shared a terrifying story from the set of Cowboys & Aliens, revealing that Walton Goggins once saved her life during a dangerous horse accident.

The actress talked about the frightening moment during an appearance on the Armchair Expert podcast. According to Wilde, the incident happened while filming Jon Favreau’s 2011 Western sci-fi action movie, which starred Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford alongside Wilde, Goggins, Sam Rockwell, and Paul Dano.

Wilde explained that the cast was filming a major action scene that involved a large group of horses running through the desert. The scene required the actors to ride at full speed, with dozens of horses following behind them.

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

She described the scene as a massive action sequence where she was riding with Craig and Ford while leading a group of around 40 horses. “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,” she recalled.

During one take, things went wrong when Wilde’s horse jumped over a large ditch. The jump caused her to lose control and fall off the animal. “So sure enough, this horse jumps and bucks me off in the craziest way,” Wilde said. “I fell off. I hit my head and my back, and I was laying [on the ground] but, unfortunately, I was on the other side of this kind of lip of dirt, meaning that all horses behind couldn’t see me.”

The situation became even more dangerous because dust from the running horses made it difficult for others to notice where Wilde had fallen. She said she could hear the horses approaching while she was still lying on the ground.

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

Wilde said Goggins immediately realized she was in danger. Instead of continuing with the scene, he made a quick decision to move his horse directly in front of her to block the other riders and animals.

“Walt Goggins had seen [me] 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,” Wilde explained.

She added that Goggins’ riding skills helped him control the situation and prevent a much worse accident.

“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 said.

Cowboys & Aliens, directed by Jon Favreau and based on the graphic novel of the same name, was released in 2011. The movie featured a mix of Western and science-fiction elements but struggled financially, earning about $175 million worldwide against a production budget reported to be around $160 million.

While the film did not become a major box office success, Wilde’s story shows that one of its most memorable moments happened away from the cameras, when Goggins stepped in and helped protect his co-star during a genuinely dangerous situation.

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