The 'Survivor 45' contestants tell EW how they feel about their fellow cast members.
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00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:04 I am loving this cast.
00:05 Like, I'm so excited to get the game going.
00:07 Like, like I said, like, I see a lot of really funny people
00:10 here.
00:11 Like, the vibes are just, like, emitting
00:13 this, like, humorous energy.
00:14 And, like, laughter is truly the key to my heart.
00:16 So, like, I want to work with so many people here.
00:18 So I'm kind of nervous because it's like,
00:20 I don't want to vote you off.
00:21 I don't want to vote you off.
00:21 I don't want to vote you off.
00:22 Like, I just want to hang out with y'all.
00:23 So we'll see what happens.
00:25 But really, really good vibes.
00:27 There's a couple people, I think,
00:28 who are, like, kind of, like, seems
00:29 like they're playing a little too hard too early
00:31 by, like, really trying to, like, make eye contact
00:34 with everybody kind of thing.
00:35 So, like, besides that, like, I'm really excited.
00:38 I think it's going to be a great cast and a lot of really
00:40 fun, friendly, funny people.
00:42 I think the big elephant in the room
00:44 is a big, bald guy named Bruce.
00:46 You know, he's someone that I've had my eyes on.
00:48 And he reminds me a lot of my dad,
00:51 just from, like, his mannerism.
00:52 So I think, you know, he's someone
00:54 that I would really look forward to working with.
00:56 And it'd be interesting to see, you know,
00:57 what he's got in the tank, since we didn't
00:59 get to witness it last time.
01:00 I also think that there's this huge guy, you know,
01:03 he's got, like, this faux hawk going on, super muscular.
01:06 I've been calling him Tank in my head,
01:08 because that's just, like, the vibe that he gives me.
01:11 And I think that he would be really cool to work with.
01:14 But also, he eats so much food that it might be
01:17 hard to keep him, you know, energized.
01:19 Also, there's a guy, he's got, like, this poofy hair,
01:22 little bit of facial hair, got, like, this swag walk
01:25 that he does sometimes.
01:26 And, you know, I think that he would be a really
01:28 cool person to work with.
01:30 He gives me, you know, a lot of good eye contact,
01:31 a lot of smiles.
01:33 Although, what I've noticed is that he
01:34 seems to be doing that a lot with everybody.
01:36 So, you know, if I already feel like he's my number one,
01:39 other people probably think the same thing.
01:41 So he's going to be high on my radar.
01:42 Being a fan for so long, and being in the environment,
01:46 like, I'm with a survivor cast, right?
01:48 I'm with 17 people who went through this process, who
01:50 were, you know, picked from hundreds, thousands of others,
01:53 who are here for a reason, right?
01:55 And I can see the reasons.
01:57 There's a guy here, he's got an afro,
01:59 he's got a beautiful, bright smile.
02:01 He's always smiling at everybody,
02:02 and everybody is smiling back at this guy.
02:05 This guy's going to win.
02:05 Like, I hope I win.
02:06 I really hope that I take the end of this thing.
02:08 But if not, he's my winner pick.
02:10 And if you're listening to this,
02:10 he should probably be yours also.
02:12 - I think in looking at the cast right now,
02:15 we've had a couple of years in a row,
02:18 a couple of seasons in a row,
02:19 of women being voted out first.
02:22 My bold prediction is that there'll be a couple of men
02:24 that we voted out before, the women.
02:26 And it's not going to be me, though.
02:27 I'm going to fight hard as hell to make
02:29 sure that doesn't happen.
02:30 But I can see that, you know, the ladies in this cast,
02:33 they look very strong.
02:34 - As far as the other contestants,
02:36 I think this is going to be a really good season.
02:38 Like, I see that there's going to be
02:39 some big personalities here,
02:41 and I'm excited to, like, to meet them and talk with them.
02:46 Like, we're just here.
02:47 I can tell that people just want to unleash already.
02:49 And like, I can tell that there's going to be
02:51 a lot of funny people on this season.
02:52 Like, this is going to be a fun season to watch.
02:55 So I'm excited.
02:56 I'm really excited.
02:56 Like, I know that a lot of the relationships
02:58 that are going to be built here on this season
03:01 are going to go way past Survivor.
03:03 - My temptation is to say that this is a good cast for me,
03:06 which I'm sure I will regret
03:07 when I'm, like, first boot or something.
03:08 But there are a lot of people who I see,
03:10 and preliminarily, I'd love to work with.
03:12 There's a little bit of a nerdier girl
03:15 who has been playing, you know, Pokemon the whole time.
03:17 Like, oh my God, you know,
03:18 I played Pokemon competitively for a time.
03:20 Like, you're ideal.
03:23 I recognize, I have no spoilers,
03:25 but I recognize a familiar face possibly returning.
03:28 I know that he's an upstanding guy, very, you know, positive.
03:33 He has a background that, you know,
03:35 similar to my stepfather in a lot of ways.
03:37 And so I say, oh my God, this is like, you know,
03:39 this is another great connection I could have.
03:41 I mean, there are really a lot of people I like.
03:43 There's like an extremely buff, young Asian guy.
03:46 He's got long hair.
03:47 That's somebody I pick out and say, like,
03:50 we would make a perfect team.
03:51 You know, I think we really complement each other's strengths.
03:53 There are really not many people I look at
03:55 on this cast and squint at.
03:56 - My first impression of the cast
03:58 is actually how normal everybody looked.
04:00 Everybody seemed kind of average to me.
04:02 I remember thinking, this might be kind of a boring season
04:05 because everybody just didn't strike me
04:07 as overly interesting.
04:08 And as I've sat here with them for a few more days,
04:11 I think that that initial impression may be wrong,
04:14 but there are a couple people that, you know,
04:16 you can already tell that you kind of hit it off.
04:18 The vibes are right.
04:20 There's a guy with long hair, a bit of a beard.
04:23 I think he wears glasses.
04:25 And I just feel like on some maybe nerd level, we connect.
04:29 Now, I feel bad saying that.
04:30 I have no idea if he's a nerd or not.
04:32 So he'd probably get out here
04:33 and he may be some sports superstar
04:34 and have no idea what I'm talking about.
04:36 But I have that connection with him automatically.
04:38 And, you know, there's a girl
04:40 who was reading the same books that I'm reading.
04:43 She has platinum blonde hair
04:44 and seems super smart and funny.
04:47 And, you know, I'm connecting with those people.
04:49 There's a girl who's walking around in Crocs.
04:51 And anybody who walks around in Crocs,
04:53 we're already on great terms.
04:55 Like purple jumpsuit, Crocs.
04:57 I'm like, I'm sold, right?
04:58 Like, that's great.
04:59 But at the same time, there are people who are,
05:02 they're already too much for me.
05:03 Now, I said it before, I'm an irritable person
05:05 and I can be a lot.
05:07 So it's really hypocritical of me to say this,
05:09 but there are some people here who are already a lot,
05:12 trying to bend the rules a little bit,
05:14 trying to, you know, be first in line, speak up,
05:16 be the center of attention.
05:17 And that tends to rub me the wrong way.
05:19 And there's a couple of guys,
05:21 I'm one of who has, you know,
05:22 it's kind of like this big hairdo,
05:23 who is already, you can tell he's a 10 out of 10,
05:26 like big personality.
05:28 And it scares me, the idea of working with somebody
05:30 like that, maybe because I tend to have a big personality
05:33 and that, you know, that's too similar,
05:36 but also because people like that,
05:37 they tend to think they're aligned with everyone.
05:40 They're friendly to everyone.
05:41 But when you're aligned with everyone,
05:42 you're aligned with no one.
05:44 And that's the sort of thing where,
05:46 if I can't tell where you are,
05:47 if I can't tell who you're with and who you're against,
05:49 then I don't know how we can work together.
05:51 There's like my top couple, like roster,
05:54 that I would want to draft on like a fantasy team
05:56 of my tribe.
05:57 And then there are the people that I would want.
05:59 I'm already like, okay, if they're in my tribe,
06:00 we can vote them out first.
06:02 There's a couple of them.
06:03 And the ones who stand out as the ones that I'm like,
06:06 oh, I really don't want them on my tribe,
06:08 or they're an easy target,
06:09 are the ones who have this millennials and Gen Z,
06:12 call it like the pick me vibe.
06:13 You know, like, look at me,
06:15 like I'm gonna stand here and like clear my chi
06:18 in front of everyone.
06:19 Or like, I'm doing yoga at the airport.
06:21 Or like, we're all walking up an escalator
06:24 and I'm gonna take the stairs kind of vibe.
06:26 It's like, we get it.
06:27 We get it.
06:28 Like you have to stand out.
06:29 Or the ones that like, will talk loudly
06:32 so that we can all hear what they're saying.
06:33 We're like, oh.
06:35 And so those, I'm like ready to vote them out already.
06:38 Like I'm already annoyed with them.
06:40 And then I have my like internal Pondy BFFs
06:43 who might not even know,
06:45 but like this one guy, he has long hair and glasses
06:49 and his initials are BD.
06:50 And like, I love him and I feel like we're best friends
06:52 and we've never spoken to each other.
06:53 And I'm just like, I hope he's on my tribe.
06:56 But I also like have such a bleeding heart that I'm like,
06:59 but if his name came up, I wouldn't want to vote him out.
07:02 'Cause I love him.
07:04 - I have to be honest.
07:04 I think everyone's energy has been just exceptionally kind.
07:08 Like I think this is a ridiculously nice group of people.
07:11 It just, it seems like the kindness really emanates
07:13 from the inside with everyone.
07:16 Again, like you mentioned,
07:17 I haven't been able to talk with anyone,
07:19 but I think sometimes you can just get a read
07:20 of people's energies and auras.
07:22 And I just get, I get the vibe
07:24 that we're all gonna get along until we don't.
07:27 We're gonna get along until it's time to drive a knife
07:29 in someone's back.
07:31 But I will say off the bat,
07:32 I think I was so stoked coming into pregame
07:35 to see just so many like powerful women.
07:39 Like I'm just, I'm excited.
07:41 I think some of my favorite alliances in Survivor history
07:45 are alliances of powerful women.
07:47 I think it would be so cool to be a part of one
07:49 in my own Survivor journey.
07:51 And I think I see some awesome contenders here for that.
07:54 And I just have to say like everyone has been,
07:57 has been just so nice.
07:58 And, and you know, also I think there's,
08:01 there's a familiar face in our, in our crew.
08:03 That's, that's no surprise.
08:05 And I love his story.
08:06 I would love to work with him.
08:08 We'll see how it pans out.
08:10 But I think on the whole, I'm just stoked.
08:12 I'm excited.
08:13 And this seems like a really great crew.
08:15 And I, I hope it's a great season.
08:16 We'll see.
08:18 I'm looking at some people, I don't mean to stereotype,
08:21 but I'm kinda like, you're smart, aren't ya?
08:23 Like I see you doing the Sudoku.
08:25 Like I get it.
08:27 How fast you doing it?
08:28 Okay.
08:29 I'll take a smart person on my team.
08:31 So I guess in the beginning,
08:33 I got a good, good smiles from some people.
08:36 You know, they're kinda like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:38 And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:39 And then some, especially the other girls,
08:43 they're just, I mean, stone cold.
08:46 And I'm like, come on ladies, what's going on?
08:49 So I feel like they're warming up, you know,
08:52 we've been around each other and, you know,
08:54 but it could be they're just following protocol, right?
08:58 Like we're supposed to be in lockdown mode.
08:59 So good.
09:00 But I'm like, give me a little love, like, come on.
09:03 So I don't know how it's gonna play out.
09:05 I'm excited.
09:07 And I'm so scared.
09:09 You know, the way I look at it is like,
09:10 okay, we got three younger athletic guys
09:12 that are probably supposed to be like the anchors there.
09:14 So it's myself.
09:15 I got nicknames for them, by the way.
09:17 So let me know if you don't know who they are.
09:18 It's myself, Beefcake.
09:20 I like just walked out of the octagon,
09:21 you know what I'm talking about?
09:23 And then like Johnny Tsunami,
09:26 or I've also been calling him Surfer Frosty,
09:28 if you remember, you know, Survivor China.
09:31 So those are the three guys, I think,
09:33 if they told me I'm yellow, because I'm just a happy guy,
09:36 I'm thinking that guy's red.
09:37 The fighter, and then the surfer is blue.
09:40 So we got that figured out.
09:41 Then I'm looking and I'm seeing a couple smart guys here,
09:43 a little couple brainiacs, you know?
09:45 We got Lenky Blanky, you know, the long, spindly guy.
09:49 And we got Youngblood,
09:52 the guy who looks like he's still in high school, right?
09:54 I think those are kind of supposed to be
09:55 the smart guys of the season.
09:56 So I feel like if I'm looking at it,
09:59 none of those other guys jumped out as like super brainy.
10:02 I think I might be the smartest of the three.
10:04 So I think those two are going to those two tribes.
10:05 We're putting Lenky Blanky with our UFC fighter on red,
10:09 and we're putting Youngblood with the surfer on blue.
10:13 Now, red is looking pretty stacked.
10:14 How do you even that out?
10:15 Well, you got to take the weakest person on the cast
10:18 and you throw them in there.
10:19 And the guy I've been calling Hotter Gio.
10:21 So Hotter Gio on that red team, that is complete.
10:24 And then I look on that blue team,
10:26 and if I think that, you know,
10:28 they're spreading around the love,
10:29 when we look at me and Meat Shield,
10:30 I feel like Unk, our returning castmate,
10:34 is going to be heading over to the blue team.
10:36 Who does that leave me with?
10:37 It's me, Wayne's World, and I've been calling him my guzband.
10:41 Hopefully my island husband, kind of Jesse and Dwight 2.0.
10:44 You know, that's how I think.
10:46 So I've been sending vibes to those two guys
10:48 as much as I can, right?
10:50 Terms of the girls, a little bit less confident,
10:53 not really a hundred percent sure how they break down,
10:55 but you know, that's kind of my take on all of that.
10:57 Fair enough?
10:58 - I actually have two people in mind already
11:00 that I'm like, I really would love to work with.
11:02 And you know, we can't really talk to each other.
11:05 So you're just kind of like, you know, hi,
11:07 giving little smiles here and there.
11:09 And I feel like I chose them
11:11 because they're kind of softer energy people.
11:15 Like they don't seem like they're taking up a lot of space
11:17 or really loud or crazy.
11:19 And I feel like they may be the type of people
11:22 who could get overlooked.
11:23 And that's exactly what I want in an alliance partner.
11:25 Like for my secret alliance,
11:27 I want somebody who people are like,
11:29 ah, that's just so-and-so.
11:30 Like we're not too worried about them.
11:32 They're not a threat.
11:33 They're not a non-threat.
11:34 They're just kind of there, you know.
11:36 I want that person to be working with me behind the scenes
11:38 the whole time.
11:40 That would be great.
11:41 And then there's like two people
11:42 who I definitely got negative energy from.
11:46 Not that they did anything particular,
11:48 just kind of like, I'm getting stank face
11:52 or I'm getting like, you know, squirmy,
11:54 definitely don't trust you kind of energy.
11:57 But the crazy thing is I literally was just writing
12:01 in my little journal, like about each person.
12:03 And I wrote that about them last night.
12:06 And then today, like we did an experience together
12:09 and I was like, oh, huh, they might be kind of cool.
12:13 So I don't know.
12:14 I feel like you just, you know, you'd never know.
12:17 Like somebody asked me that,
12:18 one of the producers asked me, he was like, you know,
12:20 how do you feel about this person or anybody?
12:22 And I was like, oh, I don't like this person.
12:23 And I feel like they have this kind of energy.
12:26 And then he was like, oh, just describe them to me.
12:28 And I was like, no, no, I don't want to describe them.
12:30 And he's like, no, just describe them.
12:32 You'd never know.
12:33 You may end up being best friends with them.
12:35 And then literally today I saw this experience
12:38 and I saw this person in a completely different light.
12:41 And I was like, ah, okay, maybe I do like them.
12:44 But you know, I'm still reserved
12:45 'cause you know, you gotta go with that gut instinct.
12:48 - I mean, I think both sides of the coin,
12:49 there's people that I'm interested in working with
12:51 and who I'm wary of, you know.
12:53 It's, being here is such a bizarre experience.
12:56 It's kind of like mini nonverbal survivor.
12:59 And that's like every little thing you do,
13:00 like who's taking a lot of notes,
13:02 who's making eye contact.
13:03 So for me, you know, I'm trying to like mirror
13:05 what people are giving to me,
13:07 but I definitely feel more inclined to work with people
13:10 who make eye contact, smile,
13:12 and kind of like don't shy away from that.
13:14 And some people are, you know,
13:16 kind of have a little bit more of a poker face
13:18 or a little bit more stoic.
13:19 And I think, you know, I want to be able to read people
13:22 as much as I can out here.
13:23 So that's already a problem.
13:25 It makes me a little nervous.
13:26 You know, and also Bruce is here,
13:28 fricking Bruce is here.
13:29 So I'm excited about that.
13:30 I'm happy for him.
13:31 I see a lot of fun in different characters, for sure.
13:34 I'm very good at reading people.
13:37 I feel like I've been in the restaurant industry
13:38 and bartending for 12 years.
13:40 So kind of comes with the, being good at what I do.
13:43 There's some that I feel like there's like a good blend
13:46 of like extroverted people and introverted people,
13:49 just from like eye contact
13:51 and the way they interact with like the staff members
13:55 or the way, like I'm watching everyone all the time.
13:58 And I know they're probably watching me too,
14:00 but yeah, I think there's a good blend
14:02 of like extrovert, introvert.
14:03 And I just get a genuinely good vibe.
14:06 I feel like a lot of the people
14:07 are just like really good people.
14:08 I feel like everyone's just a good person,
14:12 which is like, you know, in the old days,
14:13 you'd always have like billions or whatever.
14:15 It's a little different now,
14:17 but I just get a generally good vibe from everyone.
14:21 - Well, everyone has journals and stuff like that.
14:24 And I purposely didn't bring a journal
14:26 because I didn't want to be so into my writing
14:31 that I was missing things visually.
14:35 There's a girl that is, I believe she's Indian descent.
14:39 I'm not sure, you know, I'm not trying to be,
14:41 you know, prejudiced or anything,
14:42 but I just, all I have to go off
14:43 is just like the first encounter.
14:44 So she writes down a lot of notes about people,
14:48 which makes me feel like she's a very like intuitive
14:52 kind of like logistical thinker.
14:54 You know, people don't think
14:56 that maybe that's going to give it away,
14:57 but it's the critical moments in which she writes
15:00 that makes me like, hmm, okay,
15:01 she's really recording like mannerisms or, you know,
15:06 in her interactions or just eye contact,
15:08 which is, I mean, 70% of communication is nonverbal.
15:13 So we've been, there's been a lot of interaction,
15:16 you know, it hasn't been talking,
15:18 but there's been a lot of interaction.
15:21 Somebody that I feel really good about was,
15:24 I know his initials are AC,
15:27 very tall Asian descent looking guy.
15:30 I'm a big person with like,
15:32 I don't believe in coincidences.
15:34 And when they came to get us from the hotel,
15:37 he was the only person on my floor.
15:38 And then we had seats that were similar,
15:41 you know, on the way here.
15:42 And then every single boat ride,
15:45 every single, everything that he's just been like,
15:47 this presence is always like in my group.
15:50 And I'm just like, okay, I actually,
15:53 I think that we could work together, you know?
15:55 And it's not an obvious choice.
15:57 I've been trying to make sure that whoever I do pick
16:01 is kind of like a, really, you know, kind of choice.
16:05 Like, I don't want it to be like, oh yeah, no,
16:07 Sabai is definitely gonna be buddy buddy with them
16:11 because that might happen.
16:12 But just cause I'm buddy buddy
16:13 doesn't mean we're in an alliance, you know?
16:16 And I kind of want to have kind of more of a covert,
16:19 you know, without, for lack of a better term,
16:21 stealth RS kind of, you know, situation
16:25 without it being, you know, obvious situation like Phillip.
16:29 But I definitely like the idea of having an alliance
16:33 within the alliance, not really a showboat in it,
16:37 not really, you know, telegraphing it.
16:39 That's what we call it.
16:40 If you're passing a basketball,
16:41 I don't want to telegraph any of my passes.
16:43 I want everybody to kind of know, but nobody else does.
16:46 And I need players that can blend in
16:49 or that don't really seem like they would be my first pick
16:53 to kind of go with me to this end.
16:55 So AC, he's made my list so far.
16:58 Hopefully we end up on the same tribe.
17:00 (laughs)
17:02 - I know we're all looking at each other,
17:04 making a little eye contact here and there.
17:06 We're sussing each other out, trying to determine,
17:09 are you someone that's going to help my gameplay?
17:11 Are you someone that I can connect with?
17:13 And I've definitely gotten good vibes from some people.
17:17 Like, okay, like I feel you, like, let's go, let's do this.
17:21 We can work together.
17:22 And then there are other people who I'm like, okay,
17:24 I don't know what you think of me.
17:27 I'm seeing maybe closed body language.
17:30 And so I'm reading those signals thinking, okay,
17:32 maybe you're not someone that I can align with.
17:35 But honestly, I really am going to try hard,
17:38 even though I have these thoughts already happening,
17:40 I'm going to try hard to come into this game
17:42 and just say, you know what?
17:44 Let me get to know everyone.
17:45 Let me give everyone a fair chance, a fair shot,
17:48 because that's what's going to serve my game the best,
17:51 when I keep myself open to every possibility.
17:54 (whooshing)
17:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]