Survivoris the ultimate contest.
And that’s before the show even begins.
And what exactly are producers looking for in aSurvivorplayer?
The cast of ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
“First of all, there has to be drive,” says host and showrunnerJeff Probst.
“That should seem obvious, but it’s not always the case.
The second thing Probst is looking for is simple self-awareness.
The cast of ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
“Do you know who you are?”
“Where some people can trip themselves up a little is trying to be something that they’re not.
The final tip of the casting trifecta is finding players who are simply good at… talking.
Brandon Donlon on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
“You have to be able to tell a story,” says Probst.
“Because we task the players with a giant responsibility.
They are the narrators for their season.
Brandan Donlan of ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
Kendra McQuarrie did her casting interviews while making a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
(She got a call back that same day.)
Julie Alley ignored her daughter’s pleas “Mom, that’s so embarrassing!”
Dee Valladares on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
to stop texting a casting producer after getting ahold of her number.
What is an actual voyage through theSurvivorcasting process like?
This is the casting story ofSurvivor 45, as told by those who went through it.
Dee Valldares of ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
“So the producers will work with them to create a great audition video.”
“The pressure ratchets up when the room is full of producers and CBS executives.
This too is by design.
Kaleb Gebrewold on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
Once those in-person L.A. interviews are complete, the casts for the next twoSurvivorseasons are finally set.
It’s a long, arduous experience.
But for Brandon Donlon, the casting journey started much, much earlier than all of that.
Kaleb Gebrewold of ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
Brandon still remembers watchingSurvivorfor the first time during theGabonseason in September 2008.
“It felt like this religious experience,” he explains.
Whatever this thing is, you have to do it.'”
Kellie Nalbandian on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
He immediately sent in an app.
Just one problem: Brandon was 11 years old.
“I sent in videos before I was 18 and eligible to apply,” he laughs.
Kellie Nalbandian on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
“Which I understand now, having met with casting people very annoying.”
Once Brandon turned 18, the videos continued.
As did the radio silence back from the casting department.
Austin Lee Coon on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
“I knew that I had the sauce,” says Brandon.
“ButSurvivordid not care about my sauce.
Zero percent interested in my sauce.”
Austin Li Coon of ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
“I was in a room with Ovi, and Cliff, and Jackson Michie.”
And he was like, ‘Nobody’s ever done this.
By all means, kick off your questions.'”
Apparently, the approach which also included Brandon crying in excitement at some point in every single interview worked.
“He’s engaging, self-deprecating.
He’s very aware of the influence social media has had on his life and shaping who he is.
Just like withBig Brother, he made it through every step but the last one.
“I got mine saying, ‘You’re off.'”
Calls like the one Brandon received for season 44 are not easy for theSurvivorcasting team to make.
“It’s hard because we get invested in their stories,” says Tannenbaum.
We don’t treat our cast like pawns in a game of chess.
We treat them as people.
We would never even consider doing that.”
But even that featured a few twists and turns.
“I grabbed the phone and I just hung up.
She was like, ‘What the f— are you doing?'”
Once she pressed the record button, he knew.
“I’m like, ‘Oh s— !’
I was already crying before she even said it.
I lost it.”
At the same time, Brandon Donlon also won.
He had finally made it ontoSurvivor.
The Social Media Savant
When it comes toSurvivorcasting, Dee Valladares is an anomaly.
And the video she sent almost got her banned from the process.
The video itself was not the problem.
It’s what Dee did with it.
Like all the otherSurvivorhopefuls, she submitted the clip through the official casting website.
But then, not unlike the Grinch, Dee had an idea.
A wonderful, awful idea.
“I told myself, ‘How can I get above the noise?'”
“Because there are thousands of people that are auditioning forSurvivor.
And then I’m like, ‘You know what?
I’m just going to post my audition video on Instagram.'”
And she did not stop there.
“I was stalking him,” Dee reveals.
“He was on a trip to Hawaii.
I was like, ‘Okay, this is the time zone difference.
I need to tag him when I know he’s in bed scrolling on Instagram.'”
And I was just like, ‘Oh my God, I hate her.'”
“The video kind of blew up,” laughs Dee.
You’re driving my boss crazy.'”
“I’m like, ‘Okay, that’s good.
That means he saw it, right?’
And she’s like, ‘Yeah, hedefinitelysaw it.'”
“I feel like Jesse and I vibed as people,” says Dee.
“But he was annoyed for sure.
I would tell him, ‘Dude,Iwould be annoyed if I were you.
I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry.'”
As for Tannenbaum, he concedes that “I loved working with Dee… Part of that love came from the applicant’s unbridled energy.
But she first had to get past Probst.
I’m like, ‘I need a room right now!
Do you have any rooms available?'”
Like Tannenbaum, Probst was won over.
His notes from that first interview read as follows:“LOVE HER!
So engaging and bright.
Instantly likable out of the gate.
She is super likable.
I love her, love her, love her.
She picks up on every cue.
She’s very tight with her family.
She knew she would be an entrepreneur.
I see her on the show.
“I was in 100 percent within the first three minutes,” Probst adds now.
“I was always in.
I knew she was going to be on the show.
It was just a matter of will she end up on season 45 or 46.”
Yet after receiving the news, she started her celebration with someone even closer.
We cracked a Corona outside, and we were just like, ‘Wow, this is happening.
And my life is about to change.'”
The Natural
Jesse Tannenbaum’s phone was ringing, and it was Daniel Gradias on the line.
Nothing unusual about that.
“Jesse, you are going to freak out when you see this guy’s audition video.”
Tannenbaum’s response: “Okay, let’s do it.”
Gradias forwarded the video and Tannenbaum pressed play.
“Within 30 seconds, I was like, this guy’s a star.”
That guy was Kaleb Gebrewold.
Like many in theSurvivor 45cast, Kaleb started watchingSurvivorduring the pandemic.
Then I went back and watched all the other great seasons.
And then I just went back and watched everything else."
A Canuck himself from Vancouver, Kaleb was excited when Canadians won seasons 41 and 42.
“And what do they do on season 43?”
“They don’t even put a Canadian on the cast!
I was so morally upset.”
It was time to take action.
So he turned to a professional.
But they come at a cost.
He also has “Premium” and “Fresh Start” packages reaching up to $445.
“Quote me on this in capitals and bold letters,” says Tannenbaum.
“Don’t hire anybody to help you through the casting process.
Fall on the Sword is, essentially, the hidden immunity idol of the casting process.
Explains Probst: “If the casting producer said, ‘Look, I know it didn’t go well.
I’m falling on the sword,’ that’s them saying they need to be on the show.
And that personwillbe on the show.
You fell on the sword.
That person’s on the show.
Let’s move on.”
Of course, it didn’t come to that with Kaleb.
“He had this beautiful look,” he recalls.
“And he was walking around his apartment basically just saying, ‘Jeff, I slay in life.’
And I found myself going, ‘I want to come watch you do that!'”
The notes Probst took from the interview reflect the host’s enthusiasm.
“He’s amazing!!!
He leaps off the screen.
An incredible story of resilience.
Fans will love him.
“I don’t need that.
Don’t worry about kissing my ass.
I kiss my own ass plenty of times.
And Kaleb, for all of his confidence, was very respectful.
I was all in from the go.”
Just as Kaleb predicted.
The Alternates
Kellie Nalbandian’sSurvivorstory begins like so many others.
She sent in her casting video.
She did all her interviews.
She made it through the casting finals.
She got on a plane to Fiji.
But then, on the day the game began, she flew home.
That was in April 2021.
And the season wasSurvivor 43.
No, Kellie did not suffer a game-ending injury in the opening moments.
Instead, she flew out to Fiji as an alternate.
Instead, it was only the beginning.
The thing that ultimately kept Kellie off of season 43 was timing.
The video was great.
The fact that she sent it in on New Year’s Day 2022 was not.
It still got Kellie a call back from casting producer Caitlin Moore, who then reported back to Tannenbaum.
“I remember specifically when Caitlin called me about Kellie,” says the casting director.
“She’s like, ‘This girl is a force of nature.
She was dealing with being a nurse during the height of the pandemic while in grad school at Yale.
She’s funny, charming, competitive.’
She kind of reminded Caitlin of an East Coast version of [Survivorlegend] Parvati.
And when she said that to me, I was like, ‘Sold.'”
“I was like, ‘Okay, what’s happening?’
Because I thought there was no chance.”
But Kellie kept impressing everyone she spoke with.
“F—ING HOME RUN!
“Probst wrote down after his first interview with the hopeful.
“She’s really comfortable.
She’s a great talker.
She will be devious.
Only question: Squeeze into 43 or wait for 45?
“All the time, time was running out.
“I remember meeting her and saying to Jesse, ‘What’s the decision?'”
“Do we bump somebody from 43 or do we just hold her for 45?”
It wasn’t a yes.
But it wasn’t a no, either.
We’re not just constantly trying to upgrade people.
“Owen was sitting near me and looking at me a lot.
He’s kind of bro-ey, but also kind of nerdy, and that’s totally my vibe.
And I just liked Cassidy’s vibe.
She gives off this very positive flower girl aura.
He’s here to play.'”
Eventually, the jig was up.
“Everyone’s like, ‘Okay, why is she not in it?'”
Kellie recalls of the cast realizing she was an alternate.
“I was obviously upset about it.
But Kellie was just down, not out.
I know how many days we’re going be out here.
I know what it’s like to not talk.
I know how to examine other people and take notes.
I’ve refined my note process.
So there’s a lot of upside.”
Kellie backs up what the host is saying.
“Super likable, smart, excitable,“read Probst’s notes from his interview with the contestant.
“Understands the game is about one thing: relationships.
Will play the first time like he’s playing the second time.
He grew up insecure, so he still has that underdog living inside him.
Kids, women, men everyone will love Austin.”
I still get to hang out with Jeff Probst for a little bit.
I still get to go to Fiji and do all these really cool things.
I really would only regret it if I did not accept it.
And once I had that clear in my mind, there was no other option for me.”
But that choice brought other complications.
Namely, his studies.
For Austin, “I felt like it was too risky.
So I stayed in classes.”
This is amazing!’
And then finally that tenth guy came and I was devastated again.”
He saw other players writing in their journals obsessively, but could not bring himself to do the same.
“I’m like, ‘I guess I should take notes’” recalls Austin.
“They position me overlooking this beautiful valley jungle thing,” the player remembers.
And, I was like, ‘Wait?
Just take the picture!'”
But Diefenbach was not actually taking a picture.
“He starts recording.
I’m thinking he is taking pictures and I’m just smiling.
And he’s like, ‘So, you’re on!’
I’m like, ‘WHAT?!’
And at that point, I didn’t even know how to react.
I remember almost falling down and putting my hands to my face and saying ‘Oh my gosh!
Oh my gosh!’
The cast was now complete.
After eight months, a pool of 25,000 applicants at long last narrowed down to just 18 contestants.
Because I’m still registered.”
