‘The White Lotus’ Star Walton Goggins reveals he was bitten by snake on set
‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, the actor liberates a bunch of caged, venomous snakes, resulting in his character’s girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) getting bitten before being rushed to the hospital,
Published on Mar 7, 2025
By IANS

- LOS ANGELES — Obsession
with work can sometimes become unhealthy or in the case of Hollywood actor
Walton Goggins, potentially fatal.
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- In the third episode of ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3, the
actor liberates a bunch of caged, venomous snakes, resulting in his character’s
girlfriend Chelsea (Aimee Lou Wood) getting bitten before being rushed to the
hospital, reports ‘Variety’.
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- But in real life, Walton was the one bitten by a snake. The
actor, who plays miserable Thailand tourist Rick Hatchett on the HBO series,
told the story on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’, prefacing it by saying, “I am terrified
of snakes. I don’t just have a phobia, it’s like a missing link when it comes
to snakes. There’s something, like, genetically wrong with me when it comes to
snakes”.
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- As per ‘Variety’, the scene, which takes place at a snake
sanctuary of sorts, required the actor to open various terrariums and pick up
the snakes to let them free.
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- A snake handler on set gave him a rundown on which of the
reptiles were fine to touch, and which “could kill you”.
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- “For Rick Hatchett, the snakes represented him, and
metaphorically speaking, he was releasing these snakes because he wants someone
to release him from his pain,” Goggins said, setting up the scene. “That meant
nothing on the day. When I picked up the snake for the very first time, I
started crying uncontrollably”.
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- When he was pulling one of the snakes out, it “didn’t want
to come”, lunging toward him and biting him.
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- “I wish I could have been cool”, Goggins said of his
reaction to the bite, but instead he yelled, “Oh my God, I’ve been bit by a
snake”, Since the actor had nine hours left to shoot that day, his wound was
treated with some Neosporin and he moved on to the next take. But the next day,
a ‘White Lotus’ producer called him and said, “We’ve been thinking about it …
maybe you should go to the hospital”. Goggins replied, “For what? You said the
snake was non-venomous. Am I dying a slow death?” Nonetheless, he did end up
going to the hospital and was given a precautionary shot.