All-Star Survivor: Hawaii Colleen Haskell post-game interview

Colleen Haskell was the unquestioned "sweetheart of Borneo" the first time she played. But how did she perceive herself the second time around? Did the fans like her as much? Was the game more cutthroat this time? Does she regret that she played again? And what was the deal between her and Vecepia, anyway? Colleen sat down and gave a rare interview to Survivor-Central's Amy Lawton, in which she delved into these questions..

AL: First off, I suppose we should just start with the obvious question. How on Earth did they talk you into actually playing Survivor again?

CH: They promised me it would be different this time!

AL: Really?

CH: No, I'm just joking. But I really did have hesitations about playing a second time, as you probably know. I really wasn't sure I wanted to do it. After being through it the first time, I was concerned that the whole experience was very unhealthy for people.

AL: What did you think was so unhealthy about it?

CH: It's a really, really sick thing to put people on an island and have them fight for money.

AL: But didn't you once say that in a couple of years, you would be very good at a game like this?

CH: I did. I said that immediately after the first time I played. And I used to say that I'd do it again in a heartbeat. But I don't know. In the time between seasons, I started to regret that I had said that.

AL: So then why come back at all?

CH: I came back because I have a lot of good friends associated with the show. There are a lot of really great people behind the scenes, and some wonderful producers, and I knew they really wanted me to play. I kept telling them I didn't want to, but they eventually talked me into it.

AL: Do you regret that decision?

CH: No. I didn't have a whole lot of fun when I was playing this time, but I do think I would have let a lot of people down if I had said no. So there were definitely certain positives to the experience.

AL: Does that mean you are totally against Survivor now?

CH: Oh no, don't get me wrong. There have been a lot of good things to come from my experiences on Survivor (both the first time as well as this time.) I've met a lot of great friends, and I've had some incredible opportunities. What's interesting about it is I always roll my eyes and say it's such a fluke, but there's opportunity there to do something with being "famous" and then going out and having people listen to what you say for a moment. As much as it is weird to grasp, there's a lot of opportunity to go out there and do something positive with it.

AL: Like Tina with her motivational speaking?

CH: Absolutely. If you put aside how stupid the whole "fame" thing is, you can sit there and say "Wow, okay great, now what?" It's very fleeting, but if you have somewhere to go with it, it can be the best thing in the world. Tina is a good example of that. She took her notoriety and she ran with it. Gretchen has done a lot of that too.

AL: So what do you have to say to the world?

CH: That's the problem. I haven't figured that out yet. I wish I were ready. I'm not prepared.

AL: Would you do Survivor a third time?

CH: I think it would be sort of selfish if I did it again. I mean, it helped me out tremendously, and I did a movie and it changed my life. So from that aspect it was fantastic. But from a ethical point of view, I still think the game is a bad idea. People shouldn't be forced to fight about money like that.

AL: Had you seen many of the Survivor seasons between Borneo and All-Stars?

CH: No, not really. I have never really watched the show. Even on my own season, I never really watched it religiously. I usually had class that night, so I'd tape it and then fast-forward through it afterwards, and I'd be like "Lived it. Lived it. Lived it." It was always so surreal to me. It was like somebody filmed my summer camp.

AL: And then all of a sudden you were a celebrity.

CH: Exactly! It was like I went camping for 33 days and suddenly everyone cared.

AL: So what did you know about the previous seasons going into All-Stars?

CH: The only thing I really knew about the other seasons was that in the second one, that guy burned his hands.

AL: Mike.

CH: Yeah. And I had heard that the locations had gotten more and more brutal since ours. Like Africa, which I had been to before, and I knew was a bad idea, but they seemed to want to film in anyway.

AL: That was an incredibly harsh season.

CH: See, I knew it. I knew they were going to keep going until someone got hurt. So I knew the players from the other seasons would be a lot more hardcore than me. They were used to being a part of that environment. I wasn't.

AL: Have you actually hung out with Mike since the game? How are his hands?

CH: Mike is great. He cracks me up, and his hands look great. But I knew nothing about him going into the game. I was at a definite disadvantage when it came to knowing who I was up against. There was no way I could win.

AL: So I suppose that leads us to our first in-game question.

CH: No, Rob and I were not a couple.

AL: Ha ha. No, that wasn't where I was going with it.

CH: Well I knew it was bound to come up eventually.

AL: Well okay, since we're on the subject, what was the deal between you and Rob? Was it at all like the relationship between you and Greg?

CH: Actually it was very similar. I was just looking for someone fun to hang out with. Rob was the obvious choice.

AL: Did the rest of your tribesmates think there was any romance there?

CH: I doubt it. You have to realize something about the game. There is no theme music playing when you're walking down the beach. There are no sound effects or insinuation. You're just pretty much walking down the beach with your friend. That's always weird for people to grasp at first.

AL: So Rob was as platonic a friendship as Greg was?

CH: Yeah, I mean if I was that boring with Greg, why would I be any less boring with Rob? Nothing ever happened between either of them and me. What a waste.

AL: You sure looked excited to see Greg again at the loved ones' visit.

CH: Oh I was! Greg was my best friend on the island. I was thrilled to see him again. But at the same time, I was also a little bit nervous because I knew he would make fun of me.

AL: For playing again?

CH: Yeah. He thinks Survivor is quite stupid.

AL: Okay well then that leads up to a good question. What DOES Greg like?

CH: He likes games.

AL: Sports?

CH: Not organized ones. He thinks anything organized is stupid.

AL: *laughs* Okay. Well then let's move on to my next question, since I'm sure this is one you will be asked over and over in the upcoming weeks as well.

CH: Uh oh.

AL: John. I want to know what happened between you and John.

CH: I'm actually still sort of embarrassed by all that.

AL: Why?

CH: Well because my attitude going into this whole thing was, "Well I guess I'll play this stupid game again. But don't expect me to get all emotionally wrapped up in it. I'm just here because you guys want me to be here." That was the attitude I took going into the game. But it sure wasn't the one I had coming out of it.

AL: Why did your relationship with John take such a harsh turn towards the end? It wasn't like you were the first person who had ever decided to play Survivor before.

CH: I think that for most of the game, John and I were sort of each other's "safe places." I know that sounds sort of silly, but if you've been in a game like Survivor, you will understand how unsettling it can be. Your mind is constantly searching for just the slightest bit of humanity you can latch on to. And I think that most of the time we found that in each other.

AL: So you and John were just very similar people?

CH: For the most part. We were both able to keep the game from invading our minds when we just sat around and hung out and joked around. I think that hanging out and not talking Survivor was an important part of the day for both of us.

AL: So why do you think he came down on you so hard when you left his alliance?

CH: John is just a very passionate person. When he has an emotion, it's going to come out of him one way or another. Unfortunately that passion, in this case, was directed at me. Even though we weren't an alliance, he felt I had personally betrayed him.

AL: Did he feel bad about it afterwards?

CH: I think he felt horrible about it. I think he felt bad about it even while it was happening. But like I said, this is an unhealthy game that brings out the worst in people. It's why I think making people fight over money is a bad idea. This is what happens.

AL: Did you and John make up after the game?

CH: Of course. It's just a game. I voted for him to win, didn't I? I still think he deserved to win.

AL: Why?

CH: Because he was the one who wanted it most. He never took his mind off winning the game for even a second. He was by far the most determined one out there.

AL: Were you a little creeped out by his determination?

CH: Hmmm. Well that's an interesting word. I suppose I was creeped out by anyone who wanted to win that badly. I mean, I wanted to win, too, but it wasn't the end of the world to me. If I didn't win, it wasn't the end of the world to me. Unfortunately, there weren't that many people you could say that about.

AL: Who else was playing hard from the very first minute?

CH: Pretty much just about everyone on my tribe. With the possible exception of Frank.

AL: Frank didn't want to win?

CH: He did want to win, but with Frank he sort of has his own agenda most of the time. Either you are a part of his plan, or you're not. I wasn't, so our paths didn't cross much. If he couldn't win his own way, I don't think he cared all that much.

AL: Maybe you should have been friends with him instead of John and Boston Rob, eh?

CH: Hey, yeah, good idea! If I go back and play again, I'll be sure to tell myself that.

AL: When I asked if you were creeped out by John, why did you consider that an interesting word? Isn't that how you yourself described Vecepia during your final jury speech? Didn't you say you were a little creeped out by her?

CH: Did I? I don't remember that.

AL: Yeah, didn't you watch the final episode?

CH: No I didn't. Did I miss anything?

AL: Well, I thought it was an exciting ending. But I think a lot of people were curious why you had such a strong dislike towards Vecepia towards the end of the game. What exactly was the problem you had with her?

CH: I like Vecepia a lot as a person. But as a player she always got under my skin.

AL: Why?

CH: I couldn't really even tell you. There was just something a little "not right" about the way she played. There was just something about the way she smiled at you. It just always unnerved me.

AL: But outside the game?

CH: Outside the game she is great. She is totally cool. But I wouldn't play poker with her.

AL: Do you think Greg would have appreciated Vecepia?

CH: I couldn't even tell you what Greg would have thought about her. Although odds are he would have tried to do something to bait her. He would have done something just to get a reaction out of her.

AL: Why?

CH: I don't know. Greg does what he wants. He would have found that a game on its own.

AL: Speaking of mindgames, what was the deal with you threatening to quit towards the middle of the game? Was that real? Were you really that burned out by the whole experience?

CH: Yes and no. Yes, I was burned out, but no I wasn't going to quit.

AL: It sure didn't look like that on TV.

CH: What people don't realize is that every player thinks about quitting Survivor at some point during the game. It happens to everyone, and for some people it happens more than once. I think what you saw on TV was just them building it up because of who I was. In my case, I think they knew that someone out there for whatever reason would find that "important."

AL: So you weren't really that close to quitting?

CH: Well like I said, everyone starts entertaining thoughts about leaving sooner or later. After a while, you just thinking in your head, "I just want to go home. I just want to be with my family . . ." But then, right when you would honestly be able to just check out, something will happen where it will be like, "Ten more days. I can do this." The visit from the loved ones was a huge boost, and that sort of gave me my second win.

AL: So just seeing Greg helped you through it?

CH: Yeah. But it is always like that. Just when you think you can't do it anymore, something will happen that tends to make it all okay. We all got like that once in a while.

AL: Do you wish that Richard Hatch had started on your tribe this time?

CH: Oh man, I wish. I love Richard! He's such a disaster.

AL: What do you mean by that?

CH: Richard is very intelligent and I always love talking to him. I love picking on him and he loves picking on me. We always have a lot of fun together.

AL: He picks on you?

CH: Oh yeah. It's a shame that they never showed that in our season but we used to have a game where we would always pick on one another. We would just go back and forth. It was like we found a new game, which was "Let's bug each other!" He'd say something profound and I'd disagree, and then I'd say something and he'd really question it. I always thought it was funny. I just think it's a shame that they never show that side of him.

AL: Do you think Richard ever really cared about Survivor?

CH: No. I don't think any of the first season cared. Rudy, Richard, Sue, none of them. That's what made it so different from All-Stars. This time around, everyone cared.

AL: Do you think you will be just as popular after this season as you were after Borneo?

CH: I never thought I'd be popular after the first one. I still think that was weird.

AL: But you were.

CH: Yeah but I don't think that people were necessarily rooting for me. I think they were just rooting for Pagong. I think that was a combination of people just really liking our tribe, and me being the last hope at the end. I think by rooting for me they were actually rooting for the whole team.

AL: Do you think they will still root for you after All-Stars?

CH: I doubt it. In six months they'll have a new Survivor, and then they'll root for someone else. I always just take this as a lark.

AL: So you've done Survivor twice, and you've been a big fan favorite twice. So what comes next? Do you think you will do more movies?

CH: At this point it's hard to say. First I was "that girl in that reality show", and now I'm coming off "that girl in that movie". And once you get past that it's just weird. I don't really know what will come next. I'd love to say I'd love to do more movies, but I don't know. And I'd love to go back to design too, which is really fun. I don't know, I could go either way. It's also kind of not up to me.

AL: Are you part of the Rob Schneider crowd now?

CH: Oh I wish. Those guys are so funny. They are so supportive of one another. I loved hanging around Rob and Adam Sandler and all of them. It's nice that there's this boys club, only for a couple of months I was like the little, little sister. I was half their age and the only girl (laughs). There are a lot of bad people out there, only those guys, they're just making movies. They're just having fun, and eating popcorn, and hanging out, and going home. That's all they think about.

AL: Is Rob Schneider exactly like that in real life?

CH: (laughs) Yes. That's exactly what he's like. He made every day so hard, but in a fun way. Like for the scene where he had to lick me. All day long, he'd be like, "It's time for the licking scene! Licking, licking, licking!" That's exactly what he is like. It's hard to make it through a take with him.

AL: So I take it you are a big fan of comedy now?

CH: No, not really. I loved those guys but I've always been a big film history buff. I love French cinema. Jean-Pierre Melville is my favorite director. In fact most of my favorite actors and actresses are dead.

AL: So no more comedies then? I think a lot of fans would be disappointed to hear that.

CH: Oh please, that wasn't even my movie. That was Rob Schneider's movie.

AL: But still, a lot of people thought you were good in it.

CH: I really don't know what I'm going to do next. Who knows? I'm 25 years old. Every other day I have a different idea of what I want to do with my life. I think next I'm going to take a vacation.

AL: Going back to Hawaii?

CH: Maybe. I don't know. Wherever I go, the only difference is that this time I don't think I'll let anyone film it.






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