Since Johnny Depp has played every character under the sun -- a crazed hat-making ginger, dude with scissors for hands, serial-killer-barber, pirate, vampire, gonzo journalist, chocolate factory owner, undercover cop, cocaine dealer, cross-dressing director -- he figured he'd take a leap and play a Native American in the film version of 'The Lone Ranger.'

Which didn't go so well when it required him to ride a horse.

As Depp recounted on 'The Late Show With David Letterman' on Thursday night, Feb. 21, he almost died when a stunt involving a horse went awry. Thankfully for all of us, most of him (in particular, his beautiful face) was unharmed.

After a full day of riding at top speeds, Depp's horse decided it would jump some obstacles, despite the fact that its rider was in a stunt saddle that didn't allow him to stay on said horse when it engaged in such shenanigans.

This resulted in Depp slipping off the horse's back and being forced to either drop or hold onto its mane for dear life. An event which could have left him “horrifically mangled,” as the actor put it.

“One word popped into my head,” recalled Johnny of the near-fatal event. “Hooves.”

That's far more family-friendly than the word that would've popped into our heads in such a scenario, but hey -- he has kids. So apparently even his thoughts have been sanitized for your protection.

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