Sydney Wheeler was the sixth person voted out of Survivor Tocantins. I had a chance to talk with her about Joe and his fake idol, her bond with Spencer, and what she thinks about JT dropping the ball for his tribe in the sling shot challenge. Here is what she had to say…
Billy Debney: Hey Sydney. How are ya?
Sydney Wheeler: I’m doing good Billy how are you?
BD: Not bad thanks. So what happened last night?
SW: I know isn’t it sad.
BD: Did Joe ever talk about giving you that immunity idol?
SW:No and thank goodness because that would have been so embarrassing to come in with a fake idol. But no he never mentioned it. And I kind of knew it was coming. Not a blindside. I knew Taj would be a better fit for the merge since she had made such good friends with Brendan and the other tribe.
BD: Did you ever think Taj had the idol?
SW:You know no. Honestly I though Brendan had it for sure. And I never even thought there would be 2. Stupid as I am. I really thought Brendan would have had it by then.
BD: Were you counting on JT to save you at that point?
SW:I actually had gone to JT about an hour before tribal cause I saw him and Taj and Stephen talking in a group. I just wanted to know his feelings cause earlier that morning he said he was voting for Taj. So I took him aside and he told me what he was thinking. He just said that now Taj had a good reason to stay. He never told me about the idol. He definitely…not hinted at it but made it apparent that she was deffinatly worth keeping around and that she would fare really well at the merge. So at least I wasn’t going to hold anything against JT because he told me to my face. Unlike Stephen who told me that he was going to vote out Taj.
BD: So how do you feel about seeing people talk about you and being on TV?
SW:It’s very weird. Because you have this idea of who you are and what you say and what your vocabulary is like. And then you see yourself on TV. And you know I’m so much more of a valley girl then I thought I was. So I’m like crap! I need to change some things about me. But you know the fans! They are awesome. It’s really cool to be on such a fan fav show.
BD: So what’s the story behind you getting cast?
SW:Well I was at a bar in San Diego that is called bar west. A casting director came up to me and gave me her card. She called me to be on the show. But I was in school when they wanted me to come on. So she called me up again this season about a year later. She had me come in and do an on camera interview. It was a really cool process and went pretty quick for me.
BD: Was it everything you thought it would be?
SW:(Laughs) you know I knew…..well I didn’t know how real it would be. I knew I’d get dirt under my nails, and you know not eat as much as normal. But I never knew you’d be so starving. And dehydrated, and you know playing this weird weird game with these people who are crazy. And I would become crazy also.
BD: Now when Spencer got voted off, all the talk was because he screwed up the challenge. Was there any talk this week because of JT?
SW:Oh you know that’s a great question. Because JT completely lost it for us. He was just stubborn enough to not let anyone else have a turn. It’s funny because he was so easy to point fingers at Spencer….but you know yea he didn’t give 100%. Now even though that’s what they say about Spencer going, but I think JT was intimidated by him. He just knew the game so well, and that intimidated all of the guys.
BD: So one episode one in that long truck ride, what were some of your first impressions?
SW:Well my first impression of JT was that he was just so helpful. He was always trying to help the crew, and he just striked me as someone who wanted to put out a lot but also was full of himself for some reason. And then with Spencer I knew that I wanted to align with him. I thought he was just so great…and cute. Unfortunately I broke my alliance with him. But he has forgiven me.
BD: Did it surprise you to find out he was gay?
SW:(Laughs) No! You know being out there I had this natural gaydar that most women do. I knew. But I wasn’t going to call him out on national TV or anything. So I tried to get him to come out to me a little bit. Like that scene with his girlfriends back home. But no he was having none of it. And didn’t want to come out to us thinking it might affect his game. At least with me I know it wouldn’t have.
BD: Out of all the people left, if you could pick one to win who would it be?
SW:I really want Taj to win. She is playing a brilliant game I think. And I really like her as a person and I just think she is fabulous.
BD: How do you feel about how you were portrayed on TV?
SW:Well you know they really played up that my only strategy was to flirt. If you know me, my personality is very open to people. I’m very touch. You know I don’t hold back. So yea they played that up as flirting. But I understand. I had other strategic qualities…but maybe they weren’t just interesting.
BD: What was your favourite challenge?
SW:I really liked the one where we got to wrestle. Because you know we were just pumping with adrenalin. Because you know you just want to strangle them, because you know they’re your enemies. So I really liked getting to just grab sierra and throw her to the ground. Because you know she is my rival I guess. And you know I found it weird that they casted two models from California. But you she was my rival so it was fun to just smash her.
BD: What do you think of Coach?
SW:Well you know I can only judge based on what I see on TV. But you know I guess everyone hates him, except Probst. (Laughs). I think he is pretty selfish and full of himself. But I also think maybe he could be a good guy.
BD: Well I think thats all I have for you Sydney. Thanks a lot!
SW:Thanks Billy!
