Survivor China: Interview with Todd - "I was shocked at how out of it she was."

[hepcat]

Our Sole Survivor is Todd Herzog, who used his time in the jungles of China to forge personal relationships with the others players, all the while warning them that he would still vote them out when the time came. Todd garnered four votes, all he needed to win the game, by showing that he had a clear strategy from day one that he followed through all the way to day 39. What makes Todd’s win sweet, in my opinion, is that he was a student of the game from the outset. In fact, he may have been the inspiration for the next season of Survivor, which will pit Survivor fans against Survivor veterans. Read on to find out who surprised Todd by voting for him; why he thinks Amanda lost votes during the final tribal council; and a definitive answer to whether the story from home brought to him during the game was genuine.

Since you've been such a fan of Survivor from the beginning, what surprised you most about being on the actual show?

I think what surprised me the most was just how hard it was. I knew it would be rough, but I didn’t know it would be that rough. It kicked my butt.

Were you surprised when Amanda took you and only you on that final reward?

No, because that morning, we actually made a deal. I said, “If I win I’m going to take you,” so she said, “Okay, if I win I’ll take you.” And when it turned out that she could take one or two of us, I felt really bad for her for having to make that choice, but I expected her to take me because we had made a deal.

Do you think that had any bearing in any of the final votes?

I think Denise may have been a little bitter, but also Denise is bitter because apparently Amanda said, “I will not vote for you.” So she was upset.

What did you think of Denise calling out Amanda in that tribal council by saying that Amanda had told her she had Denise’s back?

(sounding exasperated) You know, Amanda says she played a very honest game, but she would tell people right and left that she had their back, and that she was watching out for them. I mean, that’s what she told me! And watching it on TV, she obviously wasn’t watching out for me. She wanted to blindside me at several points. Her telling Denise that she had her back, to have it come up at tribal council all turned around, I just laughed. I thought it was hilarious, because she’s eating her own words, you know?

Did you have a sense that Amanda was losing the crowd during the final tribal council?

Oh, yeah. I felt like Amanda was, like, waiting in line to be hit by the bus! I was shocked at how out of it she was. She literally just sat there and didn’t know what to say. People were asking her all these questions and giving her a chance to sweep that million dollars away from us, but she acted like she didn’t want to win, which was so weird.

When I talked to the castoffs every week there was the general perception that you and Amanda were together, but did you realize that everyone saw it as you were calling all the shots?

Yeah, no. We had made a deal as of day one that we were in an alliance; we were going to work together and make things happen. But I felt like she didn’t want to call any shots. She was telling me things and hoping that I would make a big deal out of them so that everybody would follow along, but that none of the blame would be put on her. And I didn’t mind people knowing that I was calling the shots; I didn’t mind people knowing that I was going to take the blame for it because it is a game and I was ready to face the jury. She just didn’t make personal relationships. She didn’t seem to care about much of anything.

Well, it’s interesting you say that because from talking to people all season, I was surprised at how many of them had positive things to say about you personally, just because for some of them we weren’t shown it at all. For example, Peih-Gee – she said that she spent a lot of time discussing strategy with you.

Oh yeah, Peih-Gee and I sat down for a long time. I talk to her a lot; I love Peih-Gee, and I respect her game a lot. I think the reason I was so bugged by her out there is that she was playing a strategic game, too. She was trying to weasel her way through, and I was like, “This is my job. I want to do this!” You know, we sat down a lot, and I let her know that if she worked with me, I was going to take her as far as I could in the game, but I would still vote her out. I told her that flat out. That’s one of the reasons that she did make it to the end of Zhan Hu.

Jean-Robert got really quiet in tribal council after hearing your answer. Now, be honest – was it really calculated the way you described it in the reunion show? Were you playing to his ego on purpose?

Oh, yeah. With Jean Robert, he’s a man who really likes to be told that he’s great. He’s a man that wants to feel on top of the world. So when I let him know that (overly serious voice) he really played a great game, and that’s why I had to vote him out, (back to his normal voice) of course he’s going to give me his vote.

How does someone like Jean-Robert, who considers himself to be 100% strategic, get outsmarted by something as straightforward as flattery?

(laughing) I don’t know. He says that he’s a man of his game of poker, I like to think I’m a man of the game of Survivor. Somehow, I made things work my way. It just worked out.

I should be asking him, not you, but it’s just seems pretty basic to me.

It is kind of funny, isn’t it?

Were you surprised that Courtney got more votes than Amanda?

Not at all. I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if she won after that last tribal council. She was so great with her words that I would have voted for her if I were on the jury. Amanda just butchered it, and Courtney just did great.

Can you explain each individual jury vote for you? Why did Jaime vote for you, let’s say?

I think Jaime voted for me because when she did come over to the merged tribe and we were together, I was the only one of the three finalists that even acknowledged that she was there. I told her that at one point that I was going to have to vote for her, but I had fun with her while she was there. Jean-Robert because I stroked his ego, um, Peih-Gee because I think she respected my game play; just as I respected hers, she respected mine. And I think the last one was Frosti, right?

No, it was James. Frosti voted for Courtney.

(genuinely surprised) James voted for me?

Yes, I think so. Let me double check. Yup, I have that you got four votes – Jaime, Jean-Robert, Peih-Gee, and James.

Oh, that’s all brand new news to me. I thought it was Frosti. I haven’t seen it, I don’t know, I haven’t looked online.

You probably haven’t even been home yet.

No, I’m in a hotel room talking on the phone. Wow, oh my gosh. Well, I guess the reason why James voted for me is I watched his back when I gave him the idol. I wanted him to trust me; I wanted him to know that I needed him there. Maybe he respected that.

You gave James the idol, and there was potential for that to backfire, but did you ever suspect that it would play out the way that it did?

When I gave James the idol, I did it for a couple of reasons. First, we didn’t know if the idol was the same at Zhan Hu and I really needed James to stay. Second, he did make a deal with me saying that we would share the idols, and I was fine with that because I didn’t mind sharing the idols. Also, I knew that by putting my trust into the strongest man there, I had my back covered when it came to the chopping block.

Did you ever ask for it back?

I did! You know, he said he would give it to me if I needed it or felt like I was going to be voted out. The week we voted James out, I went to him and said, “Hey, I’ve heard rumors that you and Denise are going to turn on me and vote me out. I want you to give me one of the idols to prove to me that you won’t vote me out.” He said, “Okay, I’ll go get one.” I was waiting for him to give me the idol. He then came over to me when I was sitting with Erik, and yelled at Erik. “I’m with my boy Todd, we’re going at this together, he’s had my back and I’ve had his, and I hate you.” Or something to that effect. So then, I went to James and said, “Because you just did that I completely trust you, and I want you to trust me by keeping the idol for yourself.” …and then I blindsided him.

I guess that was just too complicated to squeeze in the show.

It would have been a really complicated story.

What’s your opinion of Courtney?

Courtney to me is a woman who is completely out of her element that adapted almost better than the rest of us. She is someone who didn’t know what she was getting into, she didn’t know how the game worked, she wasn’t ready for it – but, she accepted it. I think that’s awesome. I have to respect her game play. Even though, she complained, she whined, she bitched, and moaned, she still did a fantastic job.

What do you think of Denise?

I think Denise is a great woman but she also knows how to hustle. This lady – this is why we didn’t take her to the final three, because you saw when she played the pity card she got a $50,000 check for it. She’s good at letting people know that she doesn’t come from a whole lot of money – her herself. Her husband may make a lot of money, but she doesn’t. As far as her as a person, I love her. You know, I think she’s a great lady.

But that was her game.

Yeah, that was her game.

The school she works for put out a press release denying that she lost her job.

Yeah, I saw that. Well, what Denise had told me that she was denied her job as the lunch lady, but she did get the job as a janitor where she was making $10 more an hour. She said the money is great, the pay raise is great, but what she missed is having dinner with her family.

Now, I have to ask something kind of awkward and just feel free to not answer if you don’t want to, but people want to know if the news about your sister that you received when the family members visited was genuine, or some kind of Johnny Fairplay maneuver.

Oh, it was the truth. I wasn’t lying there. I didn’t want to bring it up. I was afraid that my sister was not going to win the challenge and that I wouldn’t get to talk to her again, so I asked her last minute to find out if Kimmy was okay, and when she told me that she lost the baby but that she was fine, I was like, “Okay.” Then Jeff just kept pushing. I told him at first that it was personal, but he’s like, “Just tell us, Todd. Just tell us.” So I finally told him and I knew when he was pushing that it was going to be turned into a huge Johnny Fairplay move. But I was the kind of person where if I was lying, I was more than happy to tell everybody in my confessionals.

Did you know people in the game thought it might have been false?

Obviously, they didn’t trust me. Later that night, Courtney actually did come up to me and said, “Hey, earlier people brought up that they thought you were lying about your sister, and I said some horrible things. I want you know that I’m sorry and it was in the heat of the moment.” So it was really Erik who surprised me because he acted like such a nice guy, and when I got back to camp, he was like, (southern drawl) “I’m so sorry to hear about your family” then he was going behind my back and saying, “I don’t trust Todd.” You know? So, at least Courtney, if she does something horrible, has the guts to say sorry. The good Christian boy didn’t.

Did you guys spend a lot of time after confessionals telling each other, “Hey, you’re going to see something on TV but I hope you know it’s just a game.”

Oh, yeah. I told people – but see the thing is, when I was playing the game, I let people know that I was going to lie. I was never hiding that. I said, “Hey, I love you, you’re a great friend, but I may have to vote you out.” And if I say something horrible on TV, I think we’ve all just kind of realized that it’s just TV. It’s something you say in the heat of the moment; it’s taken for the show, and we’re entertainment.

Did you ever feel like you were in danger out there? Was there a week you thought you were close to getting the boot?

You know, I wish I could say yes without sounding – you know, but I didn’t. I really, really didn’t. I felt so confident through so much of the game – almost too confident, because you’re not supposed to in the game of Survivor. For some reason, I felt like I was fine except for that one week that we were blindsiding James. I was a little nervous that he might play one of the idols, but at the same time, I felt like I was fine.

Who do you think was your biggest threat in the game?

Probably myself because I had so many things going, I was afraid I could make it turn on me. If I had to pick one specific person, then probably Peih-Gee, because she was a lot of talk.

Did you take any keepsakes home?

I have one of our treemails, I have all of my clothes I was wearing, a lock from one of the challenges, and some coins.

You don’t burn the clothes you were wearing?

I think it’s so cool to have them! I just got them, actually, production kept them until about two days ago. They gave them to me in a bag. They did wash them, of course, because they were just nasty. But it’s so, so cool to see them again. It just brings back crazy memories, you know?

What did you eat when you got home?

The very first thing I ate when I was done with the show was, I got four Snickers bars, dipped them in peanut butter, and rolled them in M&Ms. It was delicious.

Did it make you sick?

No, because right after I moved on and ate an entire can of Pringles, half a pizza, cheese and crackers, a bowl of ice cream, and seven cups of coffee. (laughing)

Well, we all know it was worth it for you, but what would you say was the hardest part of being on the show?

Most definitely, the hardest thing was the boredom factor. I have a really hard time keeping still and just being outside all day long with absolutely nothing to do – that was so hard for me.

What’s next for you?

I honestly don’t know. I’m hoping that another adventure in life will come around, because I’ve just accomplished my dream, so I’ve got to take some time to think about what I want to do.

You’re not going to go back to your job right away?

No, I’m not going to be a flight attendant again. I really don’t know.

Thanks for talking to me today, and good luck with it all, Todd!

Many thanks to CBS for a fantastic season of interviews. All photos courtesy of CBS. Congratulations to Todd!

[Google]

 

[dagwood]

Thanks for the excellent interview, Hep.

[Brooks]

I routed for Todd for quite a while, then I didn't, now I'm back to being glad that he won. It's about time someone played it to the hilt and actually won. UTR is so annoying.

Hepcat, thanks for the great interviews this season. They really made the series so much more interesting.

[Lucy]

That's a great interview, Hep, thanks!

[LG.]

Great interview, Hep! Thanks Todd.

[DesertRose]

I always feel satisfied when I read your interviews, Hep. I never feel like you should have asked this or that question. Thanks.

[Arielflies]

I disliked Todd for being a weasel, but that's Survivor! The way he described the final councils is the way I saw them, and it was fun to have them verified. I can't believe he didn't realize James voted for him. Frosti would have voted for Courtney.

Thanks, Hepcat, for a very interesting interview session with Todd. No wonder he looked so well fed during the finale.

[burntbrat]

Excellent interview as always, hepcat. His answers and your questions made it a very good read.

[laura302]

Great interview! I had Todd picked from the first reading of the Bios

[PWS]

I totally agree with the above and especially Brooks--your interviews make the series SO much more interesting, hep, and I think help a bit to counter all the editing from CBS. Thanks so much for doing them, and of course thanks to Todd as well. Glad he won. Glad a real Survivor student won!
Also, as someone commented somewhere earlier, this is the 2nd gay man to have won out of the what, 13, episodes? And out of how many have been won by a man? Maybe 8? So a 1/4 of the male winners? But so far none by lesbians so far as we know...certainly not by any of the out ones. Not sure what to make of it, but interesting stats!