Olivia Wilde was nearly trampled on Cowboys & Aliens set
DIRECT ANSWER: Olivia Wilde was nearly killed in a horse stampede while filming the 2011 western Cowboys & Aliens, she told Monday's Armchair Expert podcast. Co-star Walton Goggins made a split-second decision to turn his horse sideways and shield her body from roughly 40 charging riders behind them.
Key Takeaways
- Olivia Wilde was nearly trampled after being bucked off her horse during a desert gallop on the Cowboys & Aliens set.
- Walton Goggins turned his mount sideways in a split second to block the stampede and protect Wilde on the ground.
- Wilde, Daniel Craig, and Harrison Ford were leading a charge with about 40 horses behind them when the accident happened.
- Hidden by a dirt lip and dust, Wilde feared she would be "pulverized applesauce" before Goggins intervened.
- Wilde credited Goggins as a "real-life hero" and said she owes him her life.
What happened on the Cowboys & Aliens set?
Speaking vulnerably on Monday's episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, Wilde recalled a near-fatal accident from Jon Favreau's 2011 western Cowboys & Aliens. Two months into filming alongside Goggins, Daniel Craig, and Harrison Ford, she said the cast had grown competitive and "really cocky" on horseback.
The group was galloping at full sprint across the desert while leading a charge to fight aliens, with roughly 40 horses thundering behind them. Wilde spotted a six-foot ditch ahead and believed her horse would attempt the jump. Riding Western style in a Western saddle with no helmet—unlike the English riding she knew—she was thrown when the horse jumped and bucked her off.
"I hit my head and my back," Wilde said. She landed on the far side of a lip of dirt, invisible to the riders behind her. Dust filled the air as she pressed her ear to the ground and heard the approaching hooves sound "like thunder."
How did Walton Goggins save Olivia Wilde?
Wilde told hosts she thought her death would be quick—imagining she would be "pulverized applesauce out"—and waited for the stampede to reach her. Then Goggins, who had seen the fall ahead of him, made what she described as a split-second decision.
He turned his horse sideways directly in front of her body and let the other riders bash into him. Goggins is a strong rider and held his ground while the group split around them, Wilde said. Others initially thought he had "gone insane," but he was shielding her on the ground.
"So I owe him my life. It's crazy. He's a real-life hero," Wilde concluded. In the film, she played Ella Swenson and Goggins portrayed Hunt. The story was first reported by Page Six.
Why is Wilde talking about the incident now?
Wilde shared the harrowing memory during a wide-ranging Armchair Expert interview that also touched on her early casting-intern days and her admiration for Paul Dano. Revisiting the 2011 set story puts a spotlight on how quickly dangerous stunt work can turn—and how one co-star's reflexes can change the outcome.
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What did Wilde say about her riding experience?
Despite riding horses her whole life, Wilde explained that Western riding felt different from the English style she was confident in. She admitted the competitive energy on set contributed to the risky gallop that day. Her candid retelling underscores that even experienced riders face unpredictability when horses, dust, and large ensemble stunt work collide on a major production.