Archive > Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden

Charlie Herschel

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marigold:
An interview with Charlie:

Survivor Exit Interview: Charlie Herschel Wants Corinne, Bob or Randy to win

Last time on Survivor: Gabon - Earth's Last Eden Kota and Fang finally merged into one tribe, unofficially dubbed by the tribers "Nobag" after the game masterminds flirted with the possibilty longer than usual. A merge usually means there are a couple of tribers feeling the heat, hanging by a thread who suddenly feel reprieved, letting the spotlight shine elsewhere. Bob certainly breathed easier for a moment.

But players who have made it a point to stay under the radar usually see the merge as a sort of a break for at least 3 days, since somebody's got to be in the crosshairs at the bottom of the pile in both tribes. Charlie Herschel was in the latter category until he heard his name spoken by Jeff Probst for the first time at Tribal Council. From then on, it was all downhill. The only upside to being blindsided is he will still be in the game as Juror Number 2, joining his former tribe mate and buddy, Marcus.

We caught up with the Attorney from New York City on a day off from work, where, apparently no one is fazed by his losing out on a million bucks. A mere bag of shells.

FC: Hi Charlie! How are you?
CH: I'm doing great! I just feel so happy that I got this opportunity and yeah, I'm bummed that I came out a little sooner than I'd have liked to, but I can't believe I really didn't embarass myself and I was on a reality television show for 27 days!

FC: That's right and at the end you even said that you were grateful because you expected to be knocked out first.
CH: Exactly.

FC: So it was all gravy after that.
CH: I 100% stand by that.

FC: And there you are, you're on the jury so it's not over for you yet.
CH: You're entirely correct. And I get to spend time with Marcus and whoever's next.

FC: That's right. What do you do when you're on the jury? What's that like?
CH: You have a lot of free time on your hands. I was gone on Day 27, so I only had 12 days left. You just acclimate back to real life, food, all that stuff. Exercising again, Marcus and I went running and swimming, because you have activities finally. And you eat a ton!

FC: It's sort of like being at a resort finally right?
CH: It's like being at a resort and then you attend Tribal Council very frequently, to try and educate yourself on who you're gonna vote for.

FC: Yeah it's always shocking when you see the jury members come in and they're all trim and fit, no more dirty faces...
CH: I don't know if trim is the right word but... maybe you mean obese!

FC: Well it depends on the character. As far as your character goes you, that was a shocker. I always point out that for you it's been awhile since you got voted out, but for us it was only last night. How are you dealing with that?
CH: Well a lot of it was just last night for me too, I didn't know a lot about stuff that went down, it was a complete blindside, I 100% did not expect to be voted out when I walked into Tribal Council that night. But I was happy that I played, I didn't think that anyone voted me out because they didn't like me or 'cause they complained about me. I think they saw me as a threat and so I'm happy with how it went down.

FC: Yeah and your edit was nice, I mean we didn't see much of you since the beginning of the show but everytime we did you were a team player...
CH: I was born for reality television! I mean I want to say that I spent most of my time thinking and calculating and strategizing, but they never used any of that, because we rarely went to Tribal Council. So all that time that I spent out there is kinda moot.

FC: So what's going on for you now?
CH: I'm back at work. I came back to work right away. I'm an attorney in New York (I took the day off!) which my job was super supportive about, and I love my job. (laughs) And I'm just back to a normal life. This was like an adventure that I never in a million years would've dreamed that I could have, and I feel very lucky.

FC: Well so how are they treating you there at work, I mean you must be a star in the office right?
CH: You know what, sometimes it's like pulling teeth to get my friends to watch Survivor. I'm like, "I'm on this show" and they're like, "no,no,no, I don't watch reality TV" so you know, things haven't changed, I don't think people know who I am, and my life is not that much different.

FC: Maybe you'd have gotten their attention if you'd have wound up with a million bucks, then they would wanna be your friend right?
CH: Yeah, except I work with a lot of people who get a million bucks and they don't care.

FC: So let's talk about you getting knocked out, you know, how they strategized against you. I saw your jaw dropping further to the floor with each and every vote.
CH: Oh yeah, I was fooled because I had absolutely no idea that I was going to be voted out. I think Kenny was behind my demise. He had a personal grudge against me for whatever reason and he decided to lie to his alliance, and put his credibility in jeopardy just to get me out of there. So I was completely blindsided, I thought for sure they would go with somebody that his alliance despised, but instead he took power into his own hands and made sure that they ousted the person that he despised.

FC: Did you have someone else in your head that you thought was gonna go?
CH: I certainly thought that Randy was gonna go. Randy had really alienated himself with a lot of people there. Crystal couldn't stand Randy, Sugar hated Randy, enough people hated Randy that it just seemed obvious that he was the one who was going to be going home.

FC: So when your name was read the first time, maybe you thought "OK, that's just one vote"...
CH: No, I knew that they were gonna vote 5 and we were gonna vote 4, it was just a question of who of the 4 would they vote for, and I thought I was the least likely to be voted of the 4. I think I proved myself worthy.

FC: You certainly were. I always ask, can you predict a winner or someone you think you'd like to see winning the game?
CH: I want either Corinne, Bob or Randy to win. Those were the people in my alliance. But if they're smart they'll probably shoot out my alliance before the end of the game.

FC: Well you played a great game. Good luck on the jury! We'll be watching on Fancast.
CH: Thanks!

Link: http://thebiz.fancast.com/2008/11/survivor_exit_interview_charli.html

marigold:
An interview with Charlie:

Exclusive Interview: Charlie Herschel of 'Survivor: Gabon'

Things only got worse for The Onion Alliance last night on Survivor: Gabon.  An opposing alliance, headed up by Crystal and Kenny, managed to take out Marcus last week and last night, they got rid of his partner in crime, Charlie.  Had the Kota and Fang tribes stayed in tact from the beginning of this game up until the merge, Charlie and his alliance would have made a good run all the way to the very end but Survivor is always full of twists and turns.  Today, Charlie spoke to BuddyTV in an exclusive interview and keeps it positive.

Well, first tell me your reaction when you found out that Marcus had been eliminated.

I actually was predicting that Marcus would be eliminated once I realized that they had lost the challenge so although I did have a little bit of hope that maybe Susie, Kenny, and Crystal would keep the biggest threat in the game. I would’ve given anything to have seen him there. Needless to say, I was still disappointed when he didn’t walk in at that challenge and it was definitely a punch in the stomach.

It almost looked like it affected Corinne more than you. Was she more surprised?

Corinne was actually trying to convince me the day before. I was like, “Marcus is gone. Marcus is gone.” I’ve seen Survivor a million times. I know strategy. I mean, you’d have to be an idiot to not vote out Marcus. She kept saying, “Don’t put that in the universe. Don’t put that into the universe.” She’s a really positive person and she just didn’t want us thinking that way. Corinne also happens to be a little more emotive and when she finds out things or has emotions, she lets people know them a lot more than I do. I was a little more cautious. So even though I probably wanted to vomit at that moment, I tried to remain composed.

Speaking of strategy, what was your strategy coming into the game and did you have to change it up throughout?

My strategy was just to be a generally likable person and develop strong relationships. As I’ve noticed in past seasons, the people who made it to the end were actual genuine friends. You know, Todd and Courtney and Amanda and Parvati… and to build trust, you have to build that and develop that genuinely. That said, I really didn’t have a set in stone strategy. I know Survivor and I know the twists and you have to be on your toes. You have to be adaptable and flexible and I knew that’s what I was going to have to be.

When I talked to Marcus, he said that you two were genuinely friends in and outside the game. What does his friendship mean to you?

My friendship with Marcus, Corinne, and Randy is one of the most amazing things I got from this game. Especially Marcus. I really, really like and respect Marcus a ton and we’re very close. I have a lot in common with him, shared an experience that’s so unique, we saw eye to eye each step of the way. I feel very fortunate to have met Marcus and Corinne and Randy a lot of other people on the show.

Did you have a moment this season where you thought this was your lowest point?

You know, I tried to stay positive the whole time. I think the low for me was the first twist when they switched up the teams and then Jacquie got the boot and that was really tragic for our alliance. We were able to pick up the pieces. I think when I realized, at the ten, when we were supposed to merge, we had to pick out of a bag to switch tribes, I think that was a low.  I was like, "Okay, what do I do know?"  I throw my hands in the air because you can't really develop a strategy when it's just going to be broken down all the time.

Is Crystal running this game right now?  What's going on?

I don't know who's running the game over there.  I really don't know.  From a viewer's perspective, it looks like it's Kenny and Crystal who are calling the shots.  That alliance appears to be very strong.  It doesn't look like my alliance is going to be able to duke it out to the end but I'm rooting for someone from my alliance.

What kind of Survivor player do you respect at the end of the day?

I respect intelligence and smart moves and I think if you're going to make strategic moves, take people out, which you have to do in Survivor, you can do it in a nice way.  You don't need to give someone the finger when you vote someone out, like Crystal does.  You can say, "You're a threat."  There's ways to be strategic and there's ways that I don't respect.  If I'm gonna vote for you, I want you to be there because you played the game, not because you sat along and got lucky enough to ride coattails.

What has life been like for you since you've been home and since the season has been started and you've been watching it?

I'm a huge Survivor fan, I've always been a huge Survivor fan.  It's just looking at Survivor in a whole different way.  My actual life is not different.  I'm a lawyer, I go to work every morning, I work out, and I hang out with my friends but I have a whole new appreciation for Thursday nights?

Link: http://www.buddytv.com/articles/survivor/exclusive-interview-charlie-he-24515.aspx

marigold:
An interview with Charlie:

Survivor’s Charlie on Being Blindsided & Bromance

Crystal and Ken strike again! This time New York lawyer Charlie Herschel, 29, was their target on Survivor: Gabon. In a phone interview from his hometown, juror No. 2 dished about being blindsided, why he was willing to starve, the Marcus bromance and his Clay Aiken connection. – Carrie Bell

The players fans expected to make it to the end are falling like flies.
It’s depressing, right? I thought I had a good chance. I’m a pretty likable, nice guy who got along with everyone and had a tight alliance and a super strong team for almost all of the game. I thought I was going to get farther.

You looked shocked at tribal council when Jeff started reading your name on the ballots. Did you think you were safe? Was this a true blindside?
It was a 100 percent blindside. I thought I was in a position that, should we be given a twist like last week and I was in an alliance that was down in numbers, I would still be okay. I thought I would be the last person that would get voted off given that I was aligned with such polarizing characters who were despised by the other alliance. I wasn’t blindsided as far as my alliance losing a member but I was blindsided that it was me.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that players who rock the boat — like Randy or Corinne — would be the first to go, but it actually made more sense to pick you off in terms of end game.
I was counting on that, but as I walked out it made perfect sense that they targeted me. The best move strategically was to take out the person who was most liked or who had more of a chance to win challenges. But I was surprised when I watched the episode that it wasn’t as strategic as it was personal. It was purely based on Kenny’s personal grudge against me. Up until last night, I thought it was strategy. Like of course they are getting rid of me because I’m a threat. But really they got rid of me because Kenny was not enjoying my company.

You seemed to fare okay physically in the game. Obviously you lost weight but you never looked sickly.
I’m a marathon runner so I love putting my body through hell. I lost 15 or 20 pounds. Playing Survivor was my dream, so every time I was hungry, I’d be like, ‘I’m starving, but I’m starving on Survivor.’ I was simulating starvation for a million dollars. I knew it would end. I can’t complain about that. There are people who are really suffering from that. Mine situation was 39 days if I was lucky.

Unfortunately, being cast off meant you couldn’t win the million, but it did reunite you with your wanna-beau Marcus at Ponderosa. What was the first thing you ate and how did you guys spend your days at jury camp?
Ponderosa was great … Marcus and I are really active, interested people. We were running, swimming, reading books, playing games, going on hikes. It was a total blast. It was a great segue back to the real world. The people who make it to the end have a day before they go back to their real life. They said I could eat whatever I wanted when I got there, but I don’t even remember what I ate. I wasn’t thinking about food. I was shocked after the vote and my adrenaline was sky-high so I don’t think I even really tasted that first meal.

It’s no secret that you had a crush on Marcus from the beginning of the show. How real this friendship is now that the show is over?
Marcus is one of my closest friends. The best part of Survivor for me was that I got to meet and befriend Marcus, Corinne, Randy — all these people, especially Marcus. He was here last week to [do press] and we hung out together. We always have a blast together. The friendship that you saw was genuine.

Speaking of friendships, Randy was very vocal about you being the first gay person he’d met, how much he liked your company and how you challenged him?
It’s awesome that happened on the show. I didn’t realize I had such an impact on him until I watched the show. It didn’t occur to me that he wouldn’t like me just because of my sexuality because I am so oblivious to homophobia living in New York City. But it’s out there. Randy might have voted yes on Prop 8 if he hadn’t met me and now that he knows me, he might not. If I can change one person’s mind, or two or three minds of people watching at home, by being myself, that’s great.

It has come out that you were IM friends with Clay Aiken before he came out in the pages of PEOPLE. What are your thoughts on him being open and becoming a dad?
No comment. No, I am happy for him. He is a happy guy and the whole thing is great. He deserves happiness.

Now that you’ve had a taste of fame, are you interested in doing more or have you gone back to practicing law?
I’m too normal for reality TV. I returned to the same firm I was at before the show. I still live in New York City. I’m still single. I’d love to play Survivor again, but unfortunately I gotta pay back those student loans so I have to be a lawyer now.

Link: http://tvwatch.people.com/2008/11/17/survivors-charlie-on-being-blindsided-bromance/

marigold:

Survivor: Gabon - You Ask They Tell featuring Charlie

Charlie shares his experience as the latest castoff from Gabon

puddin:
I saw this picture of Charlie and Todd on Facebook ...........how much do they look alike?

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