Olivia Wilde reveals Walton Goggins saved her life after she was almost stampeded to death by charging horses on the set of Cowboys & Aliens

Olivia Wilde has revealed that Walton Goggins saved her life after a shocking incident on the set of their 2011 movie Cowboys & Aliens.

The actress recalled how she was nearly stampeded to death by a herd of galloping horses whilst filming the Western action movie.

The film featured an all-star cast with one scene seeing Olivia join forces with the movie's leading men Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford for a riding scene across the desert.

It wasn't Bond star Daniel or Indiana Jones legend Harrison who became Olivia's hero though.

'Walt Goggins saved my life on that movie,' the actress told the Armchair Expert podcast. 'He did. I had a very bad horse accident, and he saved me.'

'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 explained that whilst she has ridden horses her entire life, riding Western style was different. Plus months into filming the entire cast had 'got real cocky with it. And we were pretty competitive.'

Adding that she was not wearing a helmet, 'because I'm playing like an old-timey lady,' Olivia explained that during this one riding scene there was a 'large ditch' that her horse jumped over, inadvertently causing her to suddenly be thrown to the ground. 

'So sure enough, this horse jumps and bucks me off in the craziest way,' she explained. '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.'

'And there was also a lot of dust. 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.''

Enter Olivia's hero. '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,' the star continued. 

'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.'

Olivia's latest directorial effort is the film The Invite, which she stars in with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton. The film is slated for US release July 10.