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Has your Survivor
experience been all that you wished for?
Were you there for the adventure and
the money or did you have hopes that it
would lead to a new career, any show
business aspirations?
John Carroll:
The Survivor
experience has been more than I could have
ever have hoped for. Most of it I
didn't expect. The Post-Survivor
fame has been a wild and crazy ride.
I love that I have had the opportunity to
travel throughout the country and meet all
kinds of new people. My cast and the
previous casts have had the opportunity to
meet and hang out with each other and that
has been a lot of fun to do. The
whole celebrity thing is a very different
animal altogether. It could all
easily go to one's head if one allowed it.
I made a decision very early on that I
wanted to use whatever fame and celebrity
I attain for worthy and worthwhile causes
and I believe that I have done that.
I went for the adventure, however I wanted
to WIN. The money really wasn't that
big of a deal. It was the coveted
title of sole Survivor that I was looking
for! I really wasn't looking to
change my career post-Survivor, however I
did weigh all of my options and after much
soul searching I came to realize my legacy
is mine to create and I felt that by
finishing law school and standing up and
fighting for my rights I would have a
greater sense of accomplishment than if I
had moved to Hollywood and pursued other
projects.
What have you been
up to since Survivor Marquesas finished
airing and what does the future hold for
you? I've heard that you are
returning to law school. Tell
me about what went into this career
decision.
John Carroll:
I spent most of the
summer touring the country either raising
money for awareness for gay and lesbian
organizations and raising money for
HIV/AIDS. I had a small role in a
Britney Spears' video which was a lot of
fun to do and got to walk down a few red
carpets because of my time on the island
and that was a lot fun, awkward, but a lot
of fun.
I made the decision to finish law school
after spending a month in LA weighing
post-Survivor options. I spoke to a
number of agents, managers, publicists and
producers, however in the end it just
didn't feel right. My home state,
Nebraska, is very conservative and it has
been a tough road for gays and lesbians.
I made the decision that I would not be
chased out of Nebraska because I was gay
and that I would go back and finish law
school and try to make a difference.
I even had one misguided soul email me
through my website and tell me to move to
NY or LA and let the straights have the Midwest.
So very confederate of him.
Which specialty of
law do you hope to work in?
Any political ambitions?
John
Carroll: Basically, my decision
to return was a political decision.
I want to understand the Constitution
because, ultimately, that is where equal
rights for gays and lesbians will be
found. The blurring of the church
and state has made the fight for gay
rights that much more difficult. I
am a Christian, however I do not want my
religious beliefs to have anything to do
with the decisions that affect government
other than to protect my right to worship
however I choose.
You made a
cameo in the Britney Spears video, Boys,
the second single off of the Austin
Power's soundtrack. How and why were you
chosen for that appearance?
John Carroll: The producers were
looking for celebrity cameos for the video
and they wanted people from film and
television. I was submitted with a
few other celebrities and they chose me
along with Taye Diggs and Jason Priestley.
I hope he fully recovers from his
accident. He had some pretty
extensive and life threatening if not life
altering injuries. As far as the
shoot went, it was a ton of fun and
everyone was really cool and laidback.
I even got my own chair!
Which Survivor
Marquesas contestants have you kept in
touch with the most and have you bonded
with Survivor alumni from other seasons?
Which ones?
John
Carroll: I have kept up with
most at one time or another. We have
all settled into our lives again and as we
go our separate ways it is difficult to
keep in touch as much as we used to.
I talk to Gabriel, Neleh, Boston Rob and
Tammy as much as possible and try to keep
in touch with the rest. I have met a
number of the other Survivors. Most
of them are really cool and fun to hang
out with.
I recently hung out
with Ethan and Brandon and they were a ton
of fun. They are very united and
bonded from their mutual experience.
It was interesting being on the outside
looking in. I appreciated their
friendship and know what it must be like
for others that hang out with our cast.
We have shared a very unique experience
and I can understand the natural
inclination to hang with those closest to
you from that experience.
You have always been
a Survivor fan and watched all the shows.
How many times did you apply before you
were picked? Will you continue to
watch? Will you have time for
Survivor activities and appearances while
attending law school?
John
Carroll: I am a HUGE fan.
I applied to all four shows. I
almost made Africa, but was pushed back
until Marquesas. I will be very busy
this Survivor season. I will be
reporting for KM3, the local CBS
affiliate, in the mornings and
interviewing the bootees as they come off
in the afternoon. I will also be
working with Sweet 98, a top pop radio
station, here in Omaha, and and I will be
doing the same thing for a radio station
up in Alaska!
Are you still
happy and comfortable with your vote for
Vecepia as the Survivor Marquesas
champion? Any regrets?
John
Carroll: I am as happy as a
non-winner can be I guess and I have no
regrets. I was simply outplayed.
I hope they do All-Star next summer.
If they do and I get invited, I would play a very different game.
Did you ever in a
million years think that someone so far
under the radar and a member of such a
disorganized tribe coming into merge would
be able to win?
John
Carroll: NEVER. Vee not
only was the sole Survivor, but she came
through the worst that the game gave her.
I think in the end it was a respect vote.
She answered my final question the best.
I wiped the slate clean for the final two
and left it up to them to reach out and
grab the million. Neleh looks like
she may have the last laugh though.
That girl is going to be a star I tell ya.
When I flew to SLC for the Rotu reunion
and saw Neleh for the first time since the
island, I was blown away by her poise and
her presence. I have run across a
number of celebrities and Neleh has that
"star quality", Tammy and
Gabriel have the same quality in my mind.
When they are on, they shine and you can't
take your eyes off of them. Gabriel
is still young enough that he can play and
be the adventurer and still find a way to
capitalize on his Survivor exposure.
If I was ten years younger, I think that I
may have chosen a different direction.
I am 37 and it is time for me to make
my mark in life and with a law degree in
hand I think that I may be able to do
that.
Do you feel that
your alliance was defeated by another
"combined tribe alliance" or by
Mark Burnett and his strategy of using the
"parang swing" challenge in
Episode 8 to out your secret alliance,
thereby shifting the power base of the
merged tribe?
John
Carroll: I think there are
landmarks of defeat for our alliance.
First, if I could have hidden behind
someone, here comes some fodder for the
John haters, I believe I would have made
it to the final four and would have had a
legit chance to win. Second, I think
the swap was put in place to save Gina.
The swap is a planned event from what we
were told. I think the producers
have the luxury of determining when that
swap will occur. Third, lady luck
was off doing God only knows what when we
stepped onto those wooden blocks. I
came so close to stepping on Sarah's.
If I had done that, I think that it would
have been a very different game.
VERY different. Four, Gabriel
quitting was the beginning of the end for
me. I gambled and lost by aligning
with him. I am a sucker for a pretty
face. Dammit, dammit, dammit!!!
Ultimately, I gave it my all. Luck
helped and hurt me and ultimately the game
itself betrayed me. I believe the
coconut challenge may have been one of the
best challenges ever. I don't
remember one challenge changing the game
so drastically. I think it is just a
kicker that this dude from Omaha was a
part of all that!
Did you feel that
the "purple rock tie-breaker"
was fair to Paschal?
John
Carroll: Fair is not the word I
would use. I would use another word,
fate. Had Paschal stayed in the game
longer. I think he may have put his
life in jeopardy. He was seriously
ill. If he wasn't such an
endurance athlete, I believe he may have
been the first Survivor casualty. I
think that was a little divine
intervention. When he passed out, it
scared me like I have rarely been scared
before.
Your 4 person
alliance consisted of yourself along with
Tammy, Robert and Zoe. Did you have
a two person alliance with one of those
other 3?
John
Carroll: I started with
Gabriel. I wanted the strongest male
as an ally. I also wanted the strongest
female player next to me. They had
it all, smarts, athletic, charisma and
were there to win at least at first.
Damn that Gabriel! :) Love ya
brother!! My alliance was not formed
until Gabriel had jumped ship and then the
game was on for me.
If your alliance had
made to the final 4 how would you perceive
it, in hindsight, as playing out?
John
Carroll: I think that Zoe would
have gone first and then Tammy and I would
have taken out The General. My
"perception" is that Tammy would
have rather have gone into the final two
against me because I would have been
perceived as the rat.
Any comments on the
new Survivor Thailand cast? We
haven't seen much of them so far but are
you drawn to any of them yet? Any
standouts?
John
Carroll: All I will say is that
this group baffles me. I like Penny, I
think she will be a very good FUTR, but
not so under that she won't get any
airtime. I think that Robabuh (Robb with
two B's) choice of skateboard means that
he might be in Singapore sooner than he
would like. You have to remember
that people may smile at you, but first
impressions last for a very long time and
bringing a skateboard in my mind lacks the
kind of foresight that I would want in an
alliance. I guess it might make a
nice cutting board. I think
that Ghandia will be taking a shower
sooner than she would like. I think
Shii Ann and Brian will be gone before the
merge. I have worked with many
headhunters before and they don't make
money by being subtle. They get paid
to raid. Oh, hell, I am going to
predict that Brian goes fourth.
Sorry Brian. I hope that I am wrong.
I think that Jed, Penny, Helen will be top
six. I am not sure about Ken yet.
I am not sure how well the NY accent will
blend with all those southerners.
It's going to be NYPD Blue vs. The Beverly
Hillbillies out there I tell ya!! I
think there is gold in thar hills!!
And what the hell did they do to Jed's
hair in the studio promos? He looks
like a lesbian.
With so many public
service contestants (police, fire/emt,
navy, social worker) this time around, how
will this affect the choices the
contestants have to make regarding
alliances or boots?
John
Carroll: I think that if
Stephanie and Ken end up on the same tribe
they will either succeed or fail because
of it. I am not sure what to think
of Tanya yet. She has the kind of
job that you just automatically respect
her for. I hope that she aligns
correctly. I have enormous respect
for someone that has the kind of empathy
and compassion that she obviously
possesses. I think the only things that
could harm or hurt her chances pre-merge
are illness or injury.
This cast seems a
bit
more "racy" and "in your
face" (outspoken), or at least they
are being edited that way to hype
the show; will Thailand truly turn into
Temptation Island? What is the 'in-game'
thinking, from a contestant's viewpoint,
regarding extracurricular activities? That
seemed to help Rob to a point, in playing
the game.
John
Carroll: I am already calling
this Survivor: Anti-Marquesas. I
don't believe we will be seeing a love
tribe. Maybe a make-love tribe, but
nothing like Rotu will rear its lovey
dovey head. I will be reporting for
our local affiliate. Hopefully, I
can get them to digitize my reports.
I will let you know on the 19th about my
pre-show predictions.
With another
'Under-the-radar' winner again in Survivor
Marquesas, do you think that strategy will
be finally shot down at first sighting
this time in Survivor-Thailand? Or will
the Thailand contestants miss it again?
John
Carroll: FUTR will always work
unless the Alphas get together and figure
out that it will be far more interesting
and more prudent to oust the betas.
But, it's like the story of the scorpion
and the frog. I am sure you have
heard it before? Sometimes we are
who we are no matter the danger before us.
One day a frog was hopping along a stream
and all of a sudden she heard someone
speaking to her. "Hellooo Ms.
Frog!" called a scorpion about three
feet away, "Would you be so kind as
to give me a ride on your back across the
river?" "Well now, Mr. Scorpion!
How do I know that if I try to help you,
you wont try to kill me?"
asked the frog hesitantly.
"Because," the scorpion replied,
"If I try to kill you, then I would
die too, for you see I cannot swim!"
Now this seemed to make sense to the frog.
But she asked. "What about when I get
close to the bank? You could still try to
kill me and get back to the shore!"
"This is true," agreed the
scorpion, "But then I wouldn't be
able to get to the other side of the
river!" "Alright then...how do I
know you wont just wait till we get to the
other side and THEN kill me?" said
the frog. "Ahh...," crooned the
scorpion, "Because you see, once
you've taken me to the other side of this
river, I will be so grateful for your
help, that it would hardly be fair to
reward you with death, now would
it?!" So the frog agreed to take the
scorpion across the river. She swam over
to the bank and settled herself near the
mud to pick up this passenger. The scorpion
crawled onto her back and the frog slid
into the river. The blue water swirled
around them, but the frog stayed near the
surface so the scorpion would not drown.
He kicked strongly through the first half
of the stream, his flippers paddling
wildly against the current. Halfway across
the river, the frog suddenly felt a sharp
sting in his back and, out of the corner
of his eye, saw the scorpion remove his
stinger from the frog's back. A deadening
numbness began to creep into her limbs.
"You fool!" croaked the frog,
"Now we shall both die! Why on earth
did you do that?" The scorpion
shrugged, as the kind frog began to drown.
"I could not help myself. It is my
nature." And that is why I
would never align with Mariano, he will
always be a scorpion in the game. I
don't think the alphas could control
themselves long enough to do what they
would need to do to save themselves.
Paschal's age didn't
seem to slow him down until the very end
in S4; with 5 of the contestants 40 yrs +,
do you think 'life experienced' candidates
will rise to the surface this time in S5?
John
Carroll: Nope, not during
monsoon season. I think a couple of them
will hang in there, but they will be
hurtin units once the rains come.
Which background of
the various Survivor Thailand
contestants seems most likely to provide
the crucible to nourish the Sole Survivor
flame?
John
Carroll: In English please.....
:) It really is a tough call, but I
will let you know on the 19th. All I
will say is keep your eye on Penny.
She was a cheerleader and has inhaled.
With a seemingly
'straight' cast in Survivor-Thailand, do
you think the 'flavor' of the contestants
characters will be diminished, or is this
'break' a reasonable expectation?
John
Carroll: Please,
did you see Jed's hair in that promo?
I haven't seen that much blow dryer
since the Rachel-do. They may be
straight, but a few of them look, gay,
gay, gay. :) That is good
enough for me. You have to
remember that, they have had
gay/lesbians the
first four seasons. Not everyone
chooses to come out and/or use Survivor
as a platform. However, as long as
people stay in the closet things remain
the same. They remain the same
today and they will remain the same for
the next generation of gay/lesbians and that
is very sad.
Is it important that
gay individuals be represented in all
seasons of Survivor?
John
Carroll: No, that would be
silly. We would be reduced to
token status if they did that, and I
believe that Mark makes a concerted effort
to have as diverse a cast as possible, but
doesn't pander to let's get two blacks, a
lesbian and four people over forty.
I think they pick the 16 individuals that
will provide the kind of entertainment and
drama that will sustain the series and
keep it as fresh as possible for as long
as possible.
Each Survivor series
seems to have been focused by Mark Burnett
on a particular theme; S1 - 'even big fat
naked guys can win Survivor if you have
alliances', S2 - 'strong women and honor
do prevail', S3 - 'old vs young generation
gaps', S4 - 'religion and race addressed
head on'. Where do you think Mark Burnett
is going with this season's series....will
it be all about America's heroes to tap
into the 911 patriotic ground swell?
John
Carroll: I don't believe those
themes are premeditated at all. I
thinks that is a reactive theory based on
what happens as the show unfolds and how
is it is edited as it happens. Who
would have known that Sean would have
turned into Mini-Malcolm on the island?
I have yet to see that creature in person.
Boston Rob was a caricature of his own
creation and he was in total control of
it, but out of the game one would find it
hard to believe he is the same person.
If anyone had told me that I would have
gone after Gabriel like I did, I would
have called them delusional. I think
the producers hold their breath and cross
their fingers that people like myself, Rob
and Sean show up. We gave them some
good television to put together, but in
the end we were more than our sound bites and that is what ultimately made it as
good as it was.
The recent Survivor
previews & promos have suggested
things will be completely changed this
time around. Of course we hear that every
season, but what changes, as suggested by
the teasers, will actually come to
pass....in particular the entry and
apparent initial splitting of contestants
according to sexes?
John
Carroll: I don't think that is
how it will actually start. It is
season five, they need to throw us
something to keep us interested.
They could all be asleep in the promos and
I will still be sitting in front of my
television at 6:55 with remote control and
videotape in hand. I think there
will be some serious changes that will
render the first four weeks or so moot.
The game will not truly begin until
halfway through because of the twists and
turns.
Do you foresee even
more rule changes beyond the 'purple rock'
and the 'negotiable Immunity Idol' (which
never saw fruition)?
John
Carroll: I have no idea what is
up their sleeve, but it will be good and
it will piss off the players and that will
be a lot of fun to watch. moo-ha-ha.
I did email Mark with an idea of having a
double reward challenge. The first
reward they know about, the second they
find out after they vote out the 5th
person and find out they get to and have
to pull somebody back into the game off of
the jury. They would need to add an
extra week, but there is plenty of time
for them to do that and I am sure they
would enjoy the extra revenue.
Survivor is
truly the standout in the "reality-tv"
genre of programming. How long can
Survivor survive?
John
Carroll: Until everyone in the
country has had a chance to outwit,
outplay and outlast each other I hope!!!
I am hoping they do the All-Star. I
would love the opportunity to go up
against some of the other hardcore players
from seasons past.
Thank you very much
for your time, John, and best of luck at
law school.
Final words from John Carroll:
Thanks for the great questions!!
Can't wait for the nineteenth!!
Please visit my website,
www.johncarroll.info and
www.survivor-john.com for updates on my
whereabouts and for our [my Mom and I] Thailand reviews. She has covered
BB3 and has written some great reviews.
I will be traveling with the Citizens for
Equal Protection and conducting some town
hall meetings to discuss the plight of
gays and lesbians in my home state which
unfortunately is one of the most
conservative in the union. It is my
hope to meet with people and to talk about
who we are and more importantly who we are
not. My ultimate goal is to make
sure that gays and lesbians in Nebraska
have the same rights and privileges that
our straight brethren were born into.
After attempting to become a member of the
first, second, and third Survivor program,
John Carroll finally won a spot on
the fourth Survivor show among 16 other
people on the tiny island of Marquesas. An
openly gay registered nurse from Omaha,
Nebraska, Carroll joins an ever-growing
cast of gay individuals on primetime
television. Proving himself a worthy
opponent, he lasted 24 days and was the
eighth person voted off the island.
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