‘Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance’ exclusive: Joe Anglim on passing out, being a threat, bond with Keith
Joe Anglim is the sort of contestant who 99% of the time, is going to make it to at least close to the merge on “Survivor.” The problem for him comes more in what happens after that. He’s such a challenge beast that you feel almost like you have to take him out the moment he loses. Also, he’s such a strong social player that he won’t just win his way to the end and lose. He’s likable, he works hard, and he loves the game. His game outside of the challenges is probably underrated, but you don’t see it much because so much of the show is focusing on him winning.
Following his elimination on Wednesday, we had a chance to chat one-on-one with him (really for the second time this year after “Worlds Apart”) about what happened this time, his relationships in the game, and also whether or not there are scenarios where he could go back and win.
CarterMatt – I’ll start by giving you some credit here: You really fought hard to save yourself at tribal council last night. Did you get a sense in the moment that what you were saying was working to convince people?
Joe Anglim – I always tried to give myself hope, mostly because if you don’t believe you can be there tomorrow, you won’t be. I always went into it trying to say ‘look, this is what you got to do. Just go in there, listen, feel out everybody’s answer,’ and that’s what I tried to do. I just tried to pitch my case, blow it up at tribal and throw Abi under the bus. I wanted people to think that ‘yeah, you want me out, but [look what she’s doing over here]. There’s a possible big alliance.’ This is a game of constant movement and adapting, so I wanted to see if I can make things go my way.
So what was it with you and Abi-Maria that created so much conflict this season? She didn’t have nice things to say about you last night, even making fun of your hair!
Prior to that, me and Abi got into it a little bit. In the alliance to blindside Stephen, everyone had to massage Abi before tribal council and just reassure her. Everybody had saw her going off in the afternoon; every time she saw someone go off, she immediately distrusted everyone and everything. So it was just something like ‘Abi look. I’m behind you 100%. It’s either me or you tonight. I have to trust you, or it’s me going home. We have to blindside Fishbach.’ She was still hesitant, but I was like ‘no matter what I say at tribal or no matter what happens, I’m going to pretty much throw you under the bus. Don’t listen to a word I’m saying. I’m voting out Fishbach; we have to blindside him.’ So we just got into it and I [angered] her real bad, maybe said some hurtful things, and all of the things I deemed to be true. She was rubbing people the wrong way, causing conflict, being paranoid, and she didn’t like to hear that. I kind of lost my connection with Abi because once you cross her, it’s hard to go back.
The very next vote, I was throwing her name out there. She got wind of it and she’s not happy about it. She had some pent-up [animosity] towards me, but I didn’t get upset about it. It’s a game, so I don’t give it two cents. She wasn’t too fond of me at that time, I don’t think. (Laughs.)
I’ve heard in past interviews and in secret scenes that there was a lot of suspicion surrounding you having an immunity idol. Is this because you were out looking for it a lot, or because you were playing it up like you had it?
I was out looking for it a lot, but near this time of the game it takes a lot of energy to go look for the idol, and I was pretty much on my back for the last 24 hours. Our beach is huge. [There wasn’t a chance to be] running around looking for the idol, which I’d already done on our beach. I’d looked in every nook and cranny, every hole. So I’m assuming not there or someone already has it, so it’s not in my best interest to look for it. It’s better for me to be around camp and be in conversations and know what’s going on and watch and observe.
Then, with Jeremy he would ask me a lot ‘Joe, do you have an idol,’ and I would just kind of wink and smile at him and say ‘no man, I don’t have it.’ That instilled a little bit of suspicion, and they just assumed ‘if anyone has an idol, it’d probably be Joe,’ and that made them want to split the vote [last week]. Hey, it worked out in my favor!
Let’s talk a little bit about what happened last night at the immunity challenge [where you passed out]. Were you still feeling it by the time you were voted out?
Oh absolutely. I was severely dehydrated, and that hour and a half [in the challenge] took the rest of my energy away. When I got back to camp I could hardly walk and was having a hard time physically and mentally, at this point in the game your brain is on its reserves. I just wasn’t there. It’s pretty foggy even now talking about it. It definitely took a toll, on my game and everything.
Was it hard for you last night watching the show back and seeing that all play out?
Oh 100%. We had some family and friends over and we were watching it. It was emotional. I literally went through my highest high and my lowest low in 24 hours, and feeling every emotion between that. There’s a lot of growth that happens in ‘Survivor’ with contestants, and a lot of people learn things and challenge themselves, push themselves in many ways, I did all of those things in 24 hours. (Laughs.) It’s just hard to work through and digest and figure out. At one point I’m trying to have this awesome connection with my dad and we’re bonding and in this beautiful moment, but at the same time I have the game and the strategy and these other things. That is the definition of ‘Survivor,’ this battle between the [physical stuff] and the emotion. It’s this hodgepodge of emotion that you’re feeling and how to harness it. So there were some emotions last night. A lot of emotions.
I’m curious about your relationship with Keith, because in some ways it seemed like he was one of your close allies. Yet, in the challenges he would battle you, and at one point we heard him say ‘I wanna take down the Golden Boy.’ Was this just his competitive drive to win challenges, or was he someone who was close enough to you that he’d want to go to the end with you?
I’d have to ask him, but I genuinely love Keith. What’s cool about him is that he’s this tough-as-nails guy. There is just this resilience about him, this spirit, and I wanted to play with that. We bonded throughout the entirety of being together in the game and we were locked in as a voting block … I wanted to sit next to Keith. I wanted to be able to be like ‘I love this guy, and I have no problem battling him out in challenges.’ Of course he’s competitive in challenges; he doesn’t want to lose to the ‘Golden Boy,’ if you will. I love that guy, man. (Joe now enters Keith impression mode.) Golly! Goin’ on ‘Survivor’ isn’t fun. Going’ on a cruise is fun! (Exit Keith voice.) Keith is so fun.
I remember talking to you after ‘Worlds Apart’ and one of the things we talked about was maybe being this ‘jerky Joe,’ and being such a heel that people wouldn’t like you [and be threatened by you] as much. But I think that’s just not you as a person. Do you think that someone with just your personality and your desire to help others, along with your challenge ability, can make it to the end in a way that isn’t just running the table in immunities?
That seems to be the consensus that everyone is saying, like ‘you’re just going to have to win them all.’ But I think there’s a formula. It’s timing and luck and the people you’re playing with, the relationships you build. If I have a core two people, say for example, Savage and Jeremy and myself, locked in like a Kim and Chelsea bond, and were able to be open and honest and run it to the end, hell yeah I think I have a shot.
But in a ‘Second Chance’ season, there are so many variables and luck involved with tribe swaps … I got a slim chance, how’s that? We’ll have to see.
Well in going along with that, where are you right now with playing again? Is it something you’d do right away, or after this past year would you like to wait a little while and get your life back to normal?
You know, I would love to play again. My heart is in this game; I love this game. I’m still feeling this season right now. I’m like ten pounds too light, I haven’t been eating a lot, it’s brutal. The game is brutal on your body, and then having to re-watch it you have to relive it.
I mean if Jeff called me up tomorrow and said ‘hey, I’ve got another season,’ I’d probably go try to eat as much [as I could] for however long [to prepare]. It would be great to have some time off and get healthy and go back out. But I don’t know, if the ‘Survivor’ gods want me back, we’ll have to see. I’ll have to know the location. If it’s nice Nicaragua maybe I’ll go, but me and Cambodia, I don’t think we [have the best relationship]. (Laughs.)
I don’t think anyone does based on that weather.
It was brutal, man. I’ve never been more wet for that long and hypothermic for that long. It was just, ‘oof.’
Finally Joe, who do you blame the most for getting you out? Was it Tasha for not wanting to go along with the guys, or someone else?
You know what, the only person I can blame is me. This game is about your own decisions and interactions. You’re in control of so much, and it is all of those little things, the relationships, the bonds, the alliances, your actions and what you divulge to people.
In terms of the vote I think Spencer is the one that shocked me the most. I thought we had a closer bond because we were closer in the game than I thought. Ultimately you make your own bed, though. You really do.
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