White Lotus actor rushed to hospital after being bitten by snake on set
They were terrified.
Walton Goggins has revealed he was bitten by a snake while filming The White Lotus.
The 53-year-old actor, who plays Aimee Lou Wood’s grumpy onscreen husband in the series, Rick Hatchett, revealed the incident occurred on set in Thailand.
The third season of the hit series, which also stars Jason Isaacs and Patrick Schwarzenegger, was filmed at the Four Seasons Resort on Koh Samui.
However, while filming in the luxurious setting, Walton was rushed to hospital.
In one scene, his character Rick, under the influence of cannabis, ends up releasing venomous snakes from their cages, with his wife Chelsea (played by Sex Education’s Aimee) getting bitten.
But Walton has now revealed he was the one to actually get bitten, admitting: ‘I don’t just have a phobia, it is like a missing link when it comes to snakes.
‘I am terrified of snakes, really, really terrified, and there’s something genetically wrong with me when it comes to snakes.’
Walton was terrified around the snakes, he revealed (Picture: HBO/AP)Speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Fallout star went on to explain he was given safety instructions before shooting the scene, but his panic from his fear of snakes led to him forgetting everything.
‘I had the snake handler right off camera because when I picked up the snake for the very first time, I started crying like uncontrollably,’ he said.
‘When we were getting ready to do that very first scene… they walked you through the entire experience, they’re walking around the cages, and they’re like, “Don’t touch this cage because this snake will kill you. This cage here, there’s some snakes in here, but just don’t touch the brown ones, and there’s green ones here and this cage, don’t open that one.”
‘All I’m thinking about is the very first cage where the snake will kill you, don’t open that, and the rest of it just goes out of my mind.
‘Then they yell “Action”. And it’s like, “Don’t open the first one because they’ll kill you”. The next one, was it green or was it brown? Which one has a big, big bite?’
He revealed: ‘I started to pull the green one and as I was pulling the snake out he didn’t want to come. So the snake turns around and he bit me.
‘I haven’t told that story to anyone!’
Recalling his reaction, he added: ‘I swear to God, it was like, “Oh my God, I’ve been bit by a snake! Oh my God!”‘
The actor struggled to keep his cool after seeing all the snakes (Picture: Lisa/AFF-USA/Shutterstock)Filming continued after Walton was treated with antibiotic ointment Neosporin, but he was still urged to go to hospital by producers.
He said: ‘I finally got it out of my system, like, “You’re okay.” The next day, I get a phone call from the producer saying, “Hey, you know what? We’ve been thinking about it and we’re thinking maybe you should go to the hospital.”
‘I said, “For what? You said the snake was nonvenomous, right? Am I dying a slow death? Is there something you know I don’t know?”‘
‘So, I did go to the hospital, and I got a [tetanus] shot,’ he added, with host Jimmy replying: ‘So, in other words, they got a call from the lawyers at HBO.’
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Previous Page Next PageWalton quipped that’s ‘exactly what happened’ and that he had to sign a release, saying: ‘And they made me sign that day! Somebody just came up and said, “I’m sorry you’re not feeling too good. Listen, can you just sign this little bitty piece of paper?” I thought, “You want my autograph, or I’ve just lost all of my rights?”‘
This comes after Harry Potter icon Jason revealed filming in Thailand ‘wasn’t a holiday’, despite the lavish-looking set.
Filming took place over seven months, with the cast staying in hotels ‘on top of each other’ the entire time, Jason, who plays wealthy guest and dad-of-three Timothy Ratliff, revealed.
During an appearance on The One Show, he shared: ‘Nobody should be that jealous of me, it wasn’t a holiday.’
Jason Isaacs revealed filming in Thailand ‘wasn’t a holiday’ (Picture: Home Box Office, Inc. All Rights Reserved)He continued: ’40 men and women, crammed into a villa with the air conditioning off. It’s over 100 degrees (45 Celcius).
‘We’re all covered in makeup and there’s lights and you’re there all day. It’s quite gamey is what I’m saying.’
‘Most people got on with each other, most of the time,’ he joked. ‘But there were alliances formed and broken.
‘There’s an off-screen White Lotus as much as there’s an on-screen White Lotus, just with hopefully fewer body bags.’
The White Lotus is available to stream on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.
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