Gossips

Joe Manganiello Was Deceptive When He Auditioned For Survivor

Throughout the history of Survivor, the show has featured many seasons that fans love to rank. One of the many reasons why the show has enjoyed so much longevity is that it has featured so many great players. After all, viewers who are no longer worried about which seasons to watch first tend to care about the show’s cast so much that it is sad when players get medically evacuated.




Since Jeff Probst’s show has been one of the best reality TV shows for a long time, fans know that generations of people have gotten to audition. However, most Survivor viewers have no idea that Deal or No Deal Island’s host Joe Manganiello once lied while he auditioned to get on the show.


Joe Manganiello Tried To Be Deceptive To Get Cast On Survivor

Even though Joe Manganiello has never been considered an A-list movie star, he has enjoyed a lot of success as an actor. After all, Joe has starred in movies like Magic Mike and Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, on top of having a small role in Zack Snyder’s Justice League.


After years of being known as an actor, Joe showed another side of himself when he began hosting Deal or No Deal Island. After Deal of No Deal Island’s success, Joe was interviewed by Men’s Journal for a fascinating profile. That article revealed that Joe had a previously unknown history with another reality TV show. As it turns out, Joe tried to be cast in a season of Survivor, and he was willing to be deceptive to get on the show.

While talking to Men’s Journal, Joe revealed that he met someone with connections to Survivor at a party.

Who Are The Most Famous People To Play Survivor, According to Collider?

Celebrity Survivor Player

Rank

Scot Pollard from Survivor: Kaôh Rōng

#10

Jeff Kent from Survivor: Philippines

#9

Ron Clark from Survivor: Edge of Extinction

#8

Noelle Lambert from Survivor 43

#7

Brad Culpepper from Survivor: Blood vs Water and Survivor: Game Changers

#6

Taj Johnson-George from Survivor: Tocantins

#5

Danny McCray from Survivor 41

#4

Lisa Whelchel from Survivor: Philippines

#3

Mike White from Survivor: David vs Goliath

#2

Jonathan Penner from Survivor: Cook Islands, Survivor: Micronesia, and Survivor: Philippines

#1


After meeting the person involved with Survivor, Joe proceeded to have a conversation with them about getting on the show.

While talking to Men’s Journal, Joe explained that the Survivor employee told him that the show would likely be interested in him.

“I was at a house party a few years later and ran into someone who worked for CBS casting, and they said, ‘You would be great for
Survivor.
’ I said, ‘Oh my god, I can win!’ I went into my whole strategy, and they said, ‘Would you make a tape?'”

Joe Manganiello wearing a grey suit
Via: Instar

Unfortunately for Joe, his Survivor dreams hit a major stumbling block.

Joe Manganiello got his first big break when he appeared in the 2002 superhero movie Spider-Man. In the film, Joe played a supporting role as he was cast as Flash Thompson. Flash Thompson is a memorable supporting character in the Spider-Man comic books who would eventually bond with the Venom symbiote.


The problem for Joe, as he told Men’s Journal, was that the Survivor employee told him that he couldn’t be honest about who he really was.

But you can’t be an actor.

As it turns out, Joe came up with a plan for who he would pretend to be during his audition tape.

According to the Men’s Journal‘s article, Joe decided he would pretend in his audition tape to have a very different job.

According to a September 2023

Entertainment Weekly

article, the competition to be cast on
Survivor
is fierce. The outlet reported that in order to make it on the show at that time, potential players would have to beat out roughly 25,000 other hopefuls. Considering that
Survivor
was more popular in the 2000s, that number was likely higher when Joe Manganiello was trying to get on the show.


Men’s Journal reported that Joe decided to deceive Survivor‘s casting team by pretending to be a construction worker from Pittsburgh.

Joe also told Survivor’s producers that he was a descendant of an Armenian-genocide survivor. According to an article from Today, Joe was telling the truth in that case because he actually is a descendant of an Armenian Genocide survivor. Joe told Men’s Journal that he claimed that he was a natural survivor due to his background.

I’m a survivor. I have survivor genes in my blood.


Men’s Journal reported that Survivor’s producers actually wanted to cast him on the show. However, a quirk of timing forced Joe to turn down the opportunity, since a pilot he’d filmed earlier got picked up, so he was busy when Survivor was being filmed.

Joe Manganiello Is A Survivor Superfan

When some people audition to compete on Survivor, they are only interested because they want to win $1 million. However, there also have been several players who went on the show, in large part because they love Survivor.

If Joe Manganiello had competed on Survivor, he would have fallen into the second category. As it turns out, Joe has been a huge Survivor fan from the time the show’s first season premiered in the year 2000.

During a February 2024 appearance on

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

, Joe Manganiello detailed the connection he has with
Survivor’s
“Boston” Rob Mariano. “Rob’s mother and my mother went to the same high school, Somerville, 1 year apart. They were a year apart. Rob and I were born almost on the same day a year apart. And as it turns out, our parents got married on the same day in Boston.”


The aforementioned Men’s Journal article revealed a detail about how much Joe loved Survivor. According to the outlet’s profile, Joe and his two roommates hosted weekly Survivor watch parties when he was younger.

Deal or No Deal Island's Joe Manganiello hosting Deal or No Deal Island
Via: NBC

During his appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Joe Manganiello revealed more about how big of a Survivor fan he is.

I’ve seen just about every episode of
Survivor
ever.

Based on everything that Joe has said about Survivor, it seems clear that competing on the show would have been a huge deal for him.


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