"I don't whitewash things"
An Interview with Christopher Collins





Amy: Hi, everyone! I know I'm not quite as tall and blonde as the cutie you usually see in this chair, but today I'm taking a turn in the Barbara Walters seat to let all of you into the experiences of our usual grill diva himself. Just like all the others, this interview was conducted in a live setting, so there are no stale answers here! So without further delay, let's get to it and welcome our familiar face...

Christopher Collins made a huge splash as a charismatic troublemaker in the first half of Survivor: Okinawa. His quick wit and cunning style helped form the Angels and bring down many an opponent before he was switched to the other tribe in a move that changed the game. He later caught himself in a precarious position trying to save his best friend on the island.


Amy: Welcome, Chris, to the other side of the interview process. I know there are many Okinawans who would love to have turned the tables on you.


Chris: But only one person can turn the tables on me Amy...how appropriate that it is you (grins)


Amy: Nicely put. (grins) And I guess there's more than a little irony here, but we'll hash into all that soon enough. You know I'm not going to leave much unturned, right?


Chris: Oh I know...


Amy: It's all about returning the favor! So are you ready to get started?


Chris: Let's do it!


Amy: Great. Let's break you in with an easy one... What drew you to apply for Survivor: Okinawa?


Chris: Well, I'm a pretty big Survivor fan. I can tell you most every contestant's first & last name, not to mention their placement. So, at work I'd often surf the net, and read about other people's thoughts on the eps. One of the sites I frequented was Survivor-Central and I really enjoyed Mario's Power Rankings. One long, lonely day, I decided to try reading one of his All-Stars... and I LOVED them! Absolutely devoured all of them. Then I read his Tonga recaps and saw that he was hosting a game. I thought what the hell... I didn't really expect to get picked though.


Amy: With an application like yours, you had to expect some attention.


Chris: I actually didn't. When Mario gave me a heads up that I was likely a shoo-in, and just to be timely with the rest of the stuff involved, I was very surprised.


Amy: So the application process wasn't exactly what you'd expected. Was the game itself what you thought it'd be?


Chris: Oh Amy... (laughs) Ummm - yes & no. Technically... yes. After reading the Tonga recaps, I should have been well aware of what we were in for. But emotionally, and even intellectually, I really did not grasp what we were all about to experience. I know it sounds ridiculous to people who didn't play, but it really took over my life for some time. Everything I did revolved around it. And even after - there was some heartache and tension involved that I didn't expect. Both on my end, and on others'. So mostly no - I was naive, even though I had the information.


Amy: It's nothing that anyone can explain, it has to be experienced. It was very emotionally intense for a lot of us. Makes you wish they had a training course for emotional trauma to go along with the boot camp we had to go through for learning the procedures of the game!


Chris: No doubt! I really do think that we could have used a show psychologist. Just wasn't in the budget I guess...


Amy: I think we'd have overworked just one. We might've been okay with two or three though. What, in particular, would you name among the more unexpected events that occured?


Chris: Danigate caught me by surprise as much as anybody. I had no idea that by telling someone they were in trouble that it would somehow lead to them trying to get me out. Surviving the twist as long as I did... I expected to be dead meat, and should have been. I was apprently picked as the person to "dump."


Amy: Surviving the twist was unexpected for you?


Chris: Definitely. I knew I had performed well in Kamiya's challenges... a threat to eradicate pre-merge. While it was an honor to be labelled MVP, it was also a little scary - Everybody knew you were strong. The events surrounding my exit...didn't really plan for 'em & didn't anticipate them going in. I was also surprised to have developed such close relationships with a number of people: Joni, Michelle, Murtz and yourself during the game, and Beth postgame.


Amy: Your relationships are a defining part of your game, I think. People trusted you, so you had a lot of control.


Chris: I think that's true. As much as the viewers saw what a bitch I could be... pretty much nobody in the story had any idea what was going on with me. I think, for a good portion of my game, that I probably would have won the title of most popular male.


Amy: I would agree with you. You were one of my favorites for the majority of the time I knew you. Was it a part of your strategy to have close relationships with everyone, or did it just kind of happen?


Chris: Hmm... I just like people. I like to talk. I like to know what makes people tick. And, I like to help people when they are down. I value friends in real life... and while isolated - I made some new ones. I'm just social.


Amy: So it was a natural part of you, not just a game tactic.


Chris: Definitely... just part of me. I am always part of large groups in real life... and I value having closeness with people.


Amy: So on the flip side, did anything play out exactly like you predicted it would?


Chris: Hmmm... That's a hard one. I knew that I could take Henry out as soon as I met him. I also knew that I could do the same with Murtz. And finally - I did know that I was leaving that night. Hogan was just too odd with me in our last email. OH, YES! This one is the good one... The night before the twist, we all knew something was up. Kamiya had a goodbye party (since we partied like every night)... and the Angels snuck off at the end. We had a feeling it was twist time, and in the chatroom with my alliance - I said that Murtz, Joni & I would be leaving. So I actually had some weird premonition.


Amy: I was impressed that Kamiya predicted the twist and played it so well. But for you to predict who'd be leaving... that's crazy! If only you'd had that kind of clairvoyance throughout the rest of the game.


Chris: (laughs) I know. I had some good reasoning at the time... but I forget it now. Mario probably has it in some chat.


Amy: Since we're talking about the twist, who would you have swiped from Sato if you'd been the outcast?


Chris: From Sato? Had she been in the game - Elisabeth... we all could not get over how fast she was. But with the people left... Beth - I was always drawn to her...and had actually hoped to start on a tribe with her. She was my first desire for an alliance partner in boot camp.


Amy: That would've served you well, too, as you and Beth were close post-game.


Chris: Beth & I were very close in the Lodge. She was my homie, even though we'd argue about you & Michelle. (winks)


Amy: Well, even bestest buddies argue.


Chris: Lance. I thought the name was sexy. (laughs)


Amy: (laughs) Yes, I'll vouch for Lance being a sexy name. Great reasoning for picking him, although I think you were a bit turned off once you got a better look.


Chris: No comment!


Amy: (laughs)


Chris: Finally - probably you or David. I definitely was interested in surrounding myself with people of a similar age.


Amy: So Beth, Lance, and myself or David. That's almost what did happen.


Chris: I guess it is. I was a little scared of all of the younger folks at first. To be 29, and the third oldest on my tribe was intimidating at the start of the game. I was worried the youth would run us out.


Amy: I was intimidated by the teens at first, too. I figured they'd just take over!


Chris: Who would have figured we'd both grow to be very close to them?


Amy: Exactly... you never know what'll end up happening out there. And there's simply no logic for most of it.


Chris: It is absolutely true. My main alliance on Sato was myself, a teenage Republican and two Mormons. I remember when I realized that... I had a heck of a good time laughing about it.


Amy: (laughs) What a strange little group we were.


Chris: We were!


Amy: I still laugh over your confessional about our alliance.


Chris: It was true!


Amy: It's true! And it all boiled down to what was underneath... you and Joni were one of the closest friendships in the game. Two entirely different people.


Chris: She is very dear to me to this day. We still talk nearly every day. She is a strong, proud, brilliant, poised young woman. She will do great things.


Amy: So back to the tribes, we all know by now that they were divided into the naughty and the nice. Is there anyone on either side that you think probably should've fallen into the other column?


Chris: I think everybody is pretty much in agreement that Dani probably didn't belong on Kamiya...although to be fair to her - she did pull off some scheming. It just didn't work out.


Amy: We made her an honorary Sato after the game ended.


Chris: That's ok - we took Liz in. (winks)


Amy: (laughs) That should've been a twist; each tribe gets the other's first boot.


Chris: I actually think Joni more than held her own on Kamiya, so contrary to everybody else's opinion, I'd keep her there. I think I would have switched Dani & Henry. That would have been interesting! Henry, though, would have been bbqed at Kamiya, but we would have had high energy for a day or two.


Amy: (smiles) Do you think Henry deserved to be on the 'evil' tribe, though?


Chris: I do, wholeheartedly. I don't think any of us were "evil", but I do think henry was a huge source of conflict, and it seemed that the sources of conflict started on Kamiya.


Amy: Oh, but some of you played evil on TV!


Chris: *bats eyelashes* Not me...


Amy: Oh, no, NEVER you. (smiles) So give me a tribe of 8. Who's your dream team?


Chris: You know what? I have asked this a bunch of times and never thought about it myself!


Amy: (laughs) I've read other people's responses many times, but when I thought about my own answer, I drew a blank. Take your time.


Chris: Joni, Elisabeth, Chris, Michelle, Amy, Beth, Ryan, Mike. As soon as you asked, it came to me. We'd have had a great time, and everybody would have had a good pal with them.


Amy: I think you're the first person who has named a tribe that has more estrogen than testosterone.


Chris: I like women - what can I say.


Amy: That tribe would be fun, too! Can you imagine a game of "Who, What, Where" with some of those folks?


Chris: I would've loved it


Amy: Me too. Reading the episodes, who was your best ally? Who did you think it was at the time?


Chris: I honestly had two: Michelle & Joni - it is no secret. I trusted both of them 100%. They were my girls, and they still are.


Amy: That doesn't surprise me. The integral part of your support group while in Okinawa.


Chris: They were, but not just while there. Afterward, when everything went to hell and the cast was at each other's throats, they were my girls.


Amy: I think that if anything can be said for that mess, it's that it made some friendships unbreakable and it tore others apart.


Chris: Mich & Joni had my back from the time I met them. True friends.


Amy: Who would you consider your biggest nemesis in the game?


Chris: Oh boy... I think I had a number of them. Most of them didn't know it, though. Ultimately... I'd have to give it to Dani.


Amy: Dani, really?


Chris: Lance was kind of inconsequential. You & I had a moment - but it was pretty sudden. Dani, though, really worked to set in a motion a movement against me. It was a movement that changed my take on the game, and changed the way I played. I think it made me a lot more vicious.


Amy: You and I had about 24 hours of pure drama, but you and Dani had days of it.


Chris: We did. Danigate was probably about 4 - 6 days long.


Amy: Ouch. That's a long time to have outward tension with someone.


Chris: Yup, it was. It is part of the reason I think it got so nasty... It wasn't just an afternoon like in the story. It was days & days of negotiation, betrayals and claws. By the time we hit that TC - implosion!


Amy: I think it's easy to forget as you're reading some of the bigger events in the game, especially the early ones, that they didn't just happen in an hour. It took days.


Chris: They sure did, and it all became very, very ugly. You'll notice that I am a changed person after that, as well. I became quite a bit more ruthless. Changed my perceptions of the game, and how I played it. I think that what we had to do... became mixed up with the tension and aggravation.


Amy: So you're saying that the Danigate TC was a combination of making the right move and venting out the frustration of the previous days?


Chris: That is what I am saying - Dani had to be made to look like a liar, or that was our skins. So I don't regret making her look bad... it was the only way I was staying. But the voting comments were definitely out of anger.


Amy: Going off of that, did you use confessionals as a way to vent anger as well? Some of the things you said were rather harsh.


Chris: They were...and I did. Often times people in the game really irritated me or frustrated me. I don't whitewash things - I told Mario exactly where I was, and how much I might have hated somebody in that moment. I knew that the very best episodes of Survivor feature raw confessionals, so I made sure to always do mine in the moment rather than put them off.


Amy: The confessionals could be therapeutic if used in the right way, couldn't they?


Chris: They were for me. They allowed me to vent... and then walk back to Murtz, or Henry, or even Lance and smile & be pleasant, even if I wanted to tell them not to talk to me for a week.


Amy: Heh. I know of which you speak!


Chris: (winks)


Amy: As you were playing the game, did you see yourself as the villain, or was it kind of a surprise to watch your character unfold as it did?


Chris: Well, funny thing is... I don't really think I was the villain. (laughs) I think I could have been, but a few things saved me: 1. I wasn't around long enough. 2. People generally had no idea what I was saying or doing, which means they weren't really focused on me as a negative source of energy. Does that make sense? I feel like in order to be the villain, the other castaways have to be hating on you. That didn't really happen to me until post game when people saw my confessionals. And finally... 3. My relationship with Joni. In many ways, we were the upgraded Pappy & Neleh for a new generation.


Amy: I agree there. You two were there for one another time after time.


Chris: ...So I think that I might have been spewing venom one moment, but in the next I was comforting a 16 year old girl as she cried.


Amy: Nobody can accuse you of being one-dimensional!


Chris: Mario told me when he started writing that he didn't know where I fell - villain or hero. He said that I was too complicated - that Bella & myself were both very complicated, difficult characters for him to write in that sense. I considered it a high compliment.


Amy: Is there anyone in the Okinawa cast that you think just didn't belong there? Who would you have not cast?


Chris: Hooo boy. I actually think most everyone has their place in the game... even if it looks like they didn't play. It takes the non-players to make the players look savvy.


Amy: Good point!


Chris: But I probably would have not cast Dani or Henry, simply because of the emotional turmoil both suffered. They both felt pretty ostracized at the end of their stays. And even if I thought Henry was nuts, I don't wish him heartache. I should note that there is no way going in that Mario could have predicted what would happen to Dani, but with Henry... I dunno.


Amy: Watching the episodes, has anybody surprised you in a positive way with their strategy and/or confessionals?


Chris: Well, Isabella obviously pulled off the major coup of the game - ousting Ryan, evening out the numbers, and still pulling Kamiya ahead when she felt that going with Sato would not benefit her. I was also impressed that Matt set Beth up - I didn't expect it.


Amy: Impressed, or surprised?


Chris: Impressed by both. Surprised, too. And Joni getting Hogan to vote with Kamiya - wow. Huge move.


Amy: That impresses me to this day.


Chris: And Michelle simply hanging in there, even when people absolutely despised her. I am specifically not mentioning you...


Amy: Ha!


Chris: Not because you didn't make amazing moves, but because I DID expect them. I knew you were a player the moment we met.


Amy: I wasn't hiding. (smiles) And the feeling was mutual when I met you, I assure you.


Chris: Why thank ya, m'lady.


Amy: We should learn from our mistakes; it's dangerous to show your competence in a Survivor game!


Chris: (laughs) I suppose it is!


Amy: Has anyone surprised you in a negative way with their strategy or confessionals?


Chris: Well, I have personal disappointments with people, but as a general sort of disappointment? I think that Hogan & Lance were pretty self-righteous. That didn't impress me. Henry was insane.


Amy: (laughs)


Chris: I'd say "No offense, Henry"... but I recognize that it is sort of an offensive statement. (See - I am learning! I now know when I am offending people!) (laughs)


Amy: I'm not sure about insane, but maybe he took up residence in the alternate universe Beth said she was playing in.


Chris: Ummm... agreed. (laughs again)


Other than that - nobody really blew it in a major way. Lance's confessionals where he makes love to the Sato buff still crack me up, but I like that he has pride in his tribe.


Amy: He was loyal in a way that I think only one other person in the game was loyal, and that'd be Murtz. Lance loved Sato like Murtz loved Kamiya.


Chris: I agree with your assessment. Both had tribe pride. Let me add one more: myself.


Amy: Yourself, really?


Chris: I wasn't exactly feeling negative about it, but because I truly did write my confessionals in the moment... I usually didn't remember them later. So when one reared its head, I'd be like, "Oh gawd"and sorta shake my head because I knew that somebody was going to be livid.


Amy: That's the bad part of writing confessionals when you're mad. You get to do plenty of apologizing later!


Chris: True, true.


Amy: But you know those are some of the best confessionals in the game.


Chris: They sure are! I love everyone's angry confessionals... especially mine. (laughs)


Amy: Yours make me laugh... unless they're directed at me, and then I have to swallow some pride. (grins) But it's all in how the game goes. So let's dig a little deeper now... you've asked everyone else this, and now it's MY turn...


Chris: Uh oh, I don't even know where this is going...


Amy: Did you develop any crushes on fellow castaways?


Chris: Sadly, no. Not even a little one. I kept hoping - but it wasn't to be had.


Amy: Oh, so the bathing party with Dave Roth was just a passing fancy?


Chris: Murtz & I had a playful relationship... VERY playful. (winks) The whole Murtz bath...was kind of a huge joke. We decided to be the Heidi & Jenna of Kamiya and... ummm... so we were. We lovingly crafted a story of bathing for the Daily logs, which pretty much made nearly all of Kamiya shit their pants.


Amy: Did you ever catch any of the women watching?


Chris: The gnome! The gnome was watching, but we just splashed him. Then he stole our undies, so... maybe not so good to splash the gnome.


Amy: The gnome was a little pervert. Between watching you guys and stealing Beth's underwear...


Chris: He was diiiiirty!


Amy: I still think he sold some of them on eBay.


Chris: (laughs) I think you may be right! Nobody wanted Okinawa undies.


Amy: No, just the gnome. (smiles)


Chris: Oh, that gnome...


Amy: So let's do some word association. I give you an adjective, you give me a castaway. Ready?


Chris: Oh yea.


Amy: Smartest.


Chris: Isabella, BUT, she had the history. So of the newbies I'd say... still Bella! (laughs) She just kind of blew us all away. No close second.


Amy: She was a bright one. Fun?


Chris: Michelle. We had amazing laughs.


Amy: Kindest.


Chris: I don't know if I met anyone kind in the game... Beth in the lodge.


Amy: She seems to be the consensus.


Chris: Liz too. Both were very warm and welcoming.


Amy: Cutest?


Chris: Ryan. Loved talking to him. Total babe, even though we were on the opposite side of things. He was a charmer.


Amy: Yeah, he was. I'm surprised others didn't have a crush on him.


Chris: Agreed. He'd have been my closest to a crush.


Amy: I was distracted by the time I met Ryan, but I had an immediate respect for him.


Chris: Yes you were...lol


Amy: (smiles) Okay... out of touch with reality?


Chris: Ummm... let's just all say this together: H-E-N-R-Y. Total lunatic, but a charming lunatic.


Amy: For about a day!


Chris: I swear... somehow no matter how insane I thought he was, he'd always manage to get back in my good graces at the Lodge.


Amy: You had a soft spot for people who were difficult to understand.


Chris: I think I did.


Amy: Henry, Murtz... and to a degree, Michelle, since she took quite a while to become a character the majority of the readers related to.


Chris: She & I clicked right away though. We only showed our true selves to each other. I think she was the only person to know 100% of Christopher in game. Our first walk to the water hole, the very first night... it was magic. I really don't know what else to say about it. But how many other people did you see disappear on day 1 to have a private 2.5 hour conversation? We just couldn't stop!


Amy: (laughs) Man, I don't even think I did that!


Chris: I know... everybody else was in the big group, but we just ran off together.


Amy: That's a brave thing to do on day 1. Glad it paid off for you. There's a certain comfort that comes from having someone really know you in the game, isn't there?


Chris: There is. (smiles)


Amy: Okay... Trustworthy?


Chris: Michelle & Joni. I probably don't need to expound on that one.


Amy: No, probably not. Wildest?


Chris: Michelle... although I heard a few Murtz stories that would raise your eyebrows.


Amy: Murtz, really?


Chris: He's a bit of a partyboy. I wouldn't get a spongebath from some yuppie!


Amy: (cracks up) I'm going to have to hear some of these stories sometime. Social butterfly?


Chris: Ummm... YOU! No surprises there.


Amy: It could be either of us... but I'll take the wings. (winks)


Chris: True enough. I was the boy butterfly, but you definitely had a more majestic scope.


Amy: I stayed longer, that'd be why. It's a shame you didn't get to play more of your game... you had plenty left.


Chris: Everything happens for a reason. F5 has 3 Angels! I will always feel good about my alliance instincts. (smiles)


Amy: Actually, Chris... F5 has something in common. Every one of us has been allied with you at some point in the game.


Chris: Hm. I hadn't thought of that. Well, that's nice.


Amy: Kinda funny to think about. Would you like to set the record straight about anything?


Chris: Would I like to set the record straight about anything? Okay folks - here's the deal... I'm no innocent, but I don't sit around looking for ways to traumatize people or harm them. It isn't part of who I am. Am I a bitch? Sometimes. Do I have a foul mouth? Absolutely. Do I make mistakes? You bet. It was never my intention to hurt anyone in Okinawa. In my naivete, I thought it was just a game over the internet and that we could do or say what we wanted and that it would all be water under the bridge afterward. We couldn't and it wasn't.


Amy: I think we all learned that the hard way to some extent.


Chris: As I said... I think there is a specific point in the story in which I veer into places that I never would have in real life. In fact, I think that if I had started with a mix of Sato and Kamiya players from early on, things probably would have been different. Not totally different, but surely some of the lines crossed would have been left uncrossed. That is pretty much it. For me it is just a matter of recognizing that while I was me in Okinawa I am not in a competition in real life. So... those parts of myself are rarely in action. I'm not eviscerating people on a daily basis!


Amy: You were probably one of the most competitive people in Okinawa. That much I can attest to.


Chris: And it really jump-started at Danigate. Nobody's fault - just that once I got pinned into a corner, I'm not sure that I ever felt I was out of it. I got switched into a minority situation afterward with no time to really heal from the whole "ganged up on" feeling. I was still fighting.


Amy: What was your worst moment in Okinawa?


Chris: Two of em... no, 3. 1. When Dani turned on us, it was devastating. I still cannot believe we backpedaled out of that one. Shocking, really. 2. The twist. I was in the majority at my tribe and the minority didn't even know it. To be shuttled somewhere in a minority and separated from my partner was awful. 3. When I heard that you were making plans outside of our agreement, and the way all of that went down. Just really ugly...not how I expected to end things with you.


Amy: Yeah, it was definitely ugly. What's your biggest regret?


Chris: In the game sense, I should not have told Lance about the vote for you. You would have left.


Amy: True, I would've! And you probably would've had final 4 in the palm of your hand.


Chris: On a personal level, I was bummed to have hurt people's feelings.


Amy: Feelings were hurt all over, but it's how you handle it now that makes the difference. You're making an effort with people now and that's all you can do. At least, that's what I tell myself. (smiles) What, if anything, did you learn about yourself?


Chris: I learned that I don't always realize the power of my own words. I really do need to stop and think about how others are going to feel if I just spout whatever is on my mind. Somehow I have a gift for drawing people to me, but I also have another gift that's a little more dubious and it is that I have the ability to cut to the quick and really knife somebody where it hurts. When you combine the two, it is a little scary and I saw the after-effects. I don't really care to see them again anytime soon.


Amy: Finally, would you do it again?


Chris: Depends on when you asked me! At first, yes... for a long time, no... and now? I am just crazy enough to say maybe.


Amy: Thanks for your time, Chris. I appreciate you sitting down with me.


Chris: Thanks for taking over!



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