‘Survivor 51’ Cast Reveals One Thing Fans Need to Know About Them Before Episode 1
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Jeff Probst told TV Insider that the Survivor 51 cast has “the privilege and the responsibility” to launch the new era of the game. “So don’t mess it up,” he told them. This cast of 21 players, according to Probst, is a group of 21 stars that the casting department felt they couldn’t live without in this specific season. But we don’t know as much about this cast as we usually do two days out from a Survivor premiere.
TV Insider caught up with the players at Survivor Island (a.k.a. The American Dream mall) in New Jersey on September 19 to get to know them a little more, except for contestant An “Thien An” Nguyen, who wasn’t able to attend the event. Here, we’ve compiled their answers for the one thing they think fans need to know about them before Survivor 51: The Open Era premieres on September 23.
One player, Kristin Flickinger, has been applying since Survivor Season 2, with only a few years off here and there. Some of her applications have gone unanswered, but she spent 15 years working with the casting department, almost making the cut for previous seasons. Survivor 51 was finally her time.
“In casting, I defined the Open Era,” Flickinger told TV Insider, saying she described this season’s theme long before she even knew what it was.
“I said, ‘Listen, I want to play now. I want to play for 51.’ We’ve just gone through 50, we’ve seen so many seasons, people understand what’s happening, but we know it’s going to change in 51,” Flickinger explains. “Drop the four, keep the one, what’s going to happen in 51? For me, it was a moment of great opportunity. If people are freaking out and you can keep your feet planted under you, you can convince people you know what’s going on. So this is what I was hoping for. When [Probst] said. ‘Permanent uncertainty,’ I said, ‘Let’s go.'” So did everyone in this cast.
Below, learn one thing about each Survivor 51 contestant that will help you understand their player personas during this season where every advantage and every twist from the show’s history could appear at any time. (And for an in-depth explanation on what that actually means, read our interview with Probst about The Open Era.)
Survivor 51, Premieres Wednesday, September 23, 8/7c, CBS
Aaliyah Puglia
“So many things happen from the very first episode to the last. There is no boring pre-jury or, ‘Oh, you kind of knew that was going to happen’ vibes. Every single episode is a hit in my eyes, so I’m just excited to see if my vision is the reality that we get to see on TV.”
Alexis Levine
“The biggest thing about me is I am who I am every day in my personal life, in my professional life. I am a criminal defense attorney, so I’m very loyal, I’m very good at sticking with people, and I believe in that as a value. Regardless of whatever happens in the show, I hope everybody knows that that’s the kind of person I am.”
Ana Sani
“I am coming in ready to play. I want to make some big moves. I am definitely a little bit mischievous, and I don’t mind playing dirty.”
Angelica “Jelly” Loblack
“I want the fans to know that I’m an academic, I’m a professor, but I’m so fun. I was a mascot. I won Most Comedic at mascot camp. I’m someone who really wanted to go in and play a fun game, not a really calculated, strategic [game], but a let’s do it all while we’re here.”
Brady Booker
“I just want them to know that I went out there and I did my best for the Brodies. And I’m a high-energy, high-fun guy, high-competitive, high intensity in those competitions. I just want to put my best foot forward and be the best person I can be. That’s how I took on the game of Survivor. That’s how I take on life. That’s how I’ll take on tomorrow.”
Carter Krull
“I want the fans to know that I love kids. I’ve got a snow cone truck and I absolutely love running it. It’s all about the kids. One thing that I think inspired me to come out here is I am a small-town kid. You can have a dream and run with it.”
Cristian Chavez
“As much of a fan of Survivor as I am, I’m not a superfan. I can’t watch anything earlier than [Season] 20 because I can’t stand the quality of the show. I love the gameplay and I love the contestants, but the actual camera quality is so hard for me to get past. I didn’t know a lot of the stuff going into the season, so I’m not a superfan, I’m a regular fan.”
Danny “Kilby” Kilby
“I think I have a unique ability to make every person ever fall in love with me. I really think I can make them care about me. I have a superhuman empathy or something. I can make anybody laugh, I can make anybody cry. And I’m OK in a game using that offensively.”
Devin Way
“Something I want fans to know about me before the season premieres is that I took this really serious. I came to play. And I had the most fun doing it.”
Eric Macksoud
“A very odd flex I have is that I am a human IMDb. I love movies, I love TV. I’m that person where I’m watching a movie and I’m like, ‘Oh my god! It’s that actor from so and so.’ I think that’s important for fans to know because I interpret the world as references. I love movie references, I love music references. So sometimes the way that I choose to communicate is to make a movie reference, because it makes sense. And it’s also just to recommend that people watch good movies. So, people at home, go watch good movies.”
Jenna Doore
“This was such a dream for me. I applied for so long without hearing anything back, and I feel like I just had to have this sense of internal resolve to be like, ‘You know what, whether this dream happens or not, I feel like I’m going to have the vision internally and run with it.’ I feel like the fact that it came true is a reminder that literally, what isn’t possible?”
Kristin Flickinger
“I applied to Survivor during Season 1 for Season 2, so I’ve been doing this for 26 years. Why I did it is I watched the first episode, I saw the little ship, I heard the little music, and I said, ‘Oh my god, what is this? I have to play.’ That’s it. I just kept applying over and over and over, because I knew from that moment, I would play one day. There were times where I took a year off [from applying] here or there, but I very consistently for 26 years have been applying. I’ve been working with casting for 15 years. It’s really exciting.”
Lewis Kelly
“I applied for Survivor because I moved to America, found Survivor, fell in love with it [because] it’s bloody brilliant. I got my American citizenship last year, and the day I did, I sent in my audition tape. Now I lived out my American dream. Absolutely phenomenal.”
Linnea Capobianco
“I want them to know that I am a sales boss queen. I own four adult boutiques across New York City and New Jersey, and my entire job is selling crazy things, helpful things to women and upselling, making money, convincing people to buy things. I’m really good at it. I know how to make people trust me, how to make them feel comfortable, and I’m persuasive.”
Maggie Nestor
“I applied for Survivor because I’ve been a fan since Season 1. I am a longtime fan. I absolutely love it. I watched it as a child, throughout college, as a newlywed, even as a mom nursing my babies going through postpartum depression. I have just always loved Survivor. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but I do watch Survivor. So when Jeff was on there and he was like, ‘You need to apply!’ I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s my time.'”
Mike Pinsky
“I am bringing what I hope is the right cocktail of ingredients for this game. I am playing to win. I don’t do anything for second place. I am here to win the game.”
Ori-Jean Charles
“I know this might sound cliché, but I’m a lot more than just muscle, a lot, a lot more than just muscle. It’s one of those things where I’ve never walked into a room without being one of the biggest people there. I’ll admit that. But a lot of people might have me mistaken for just a big, dumb jock.”
Patt Cannaday
“Something that’s fun to know is growing up, I was from a military family, so I jumped around a lot. So I have, since birth, been creating new tribes everywhere I go. That’s something that maybe the fans could hopefully see in the way that I move on the island. You have to be able to adapt. You have to be able to meet new people. You have to make people love you fast.”
Rob Antonson
“I want fans to know that I’m like a lasagna. There are a lot of different layers to me. People see me, right away they think I’m an alpha-jock. But I have a big heart. I’m sensitive, too. You might see crying on Survivor 51. We’ll see. But there’s a lot of different layers to me that people are going to find out. It’s a lot of crying on Season 51.”
Sharonda Cox
“I want them to know that I’m approachable, but I can get spicy. So I am kind of the best of both worlds.”
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