“I will not ever trust her,” Daniel says of Sandra Diaz-Twine, another players on Extracted season two. “And I know she would chop my head off and send it to her person to feed him in a heartbeat.”
Of course Sandra’s reputation precedes her: She was the first person to win Survivor twice, and may forever remain the only player to accomplish that outside of an all-winners season.
Yes, the queen stays queen. Extracted (Fox, Mondays at 8) is the latest strategic competition for Sandra, following The Traitors, Australian Survivor: Blood V Water, and 99 to Beat.
She came close to winning The Traitors; not so much the other shows. This time, the queen is playing once again with her daughter, Nina, and Nina’s boyfriend of 11 years, Eric.
Extracted’s genius is that it’s a competition between survivalists alone in the woods, but they’re being watched and assisted by two family members or friends in a nearby headquarters. The HQ players compete in strategic challenges, and are the only ones who can extract their survivalists, so they’re all relying on each other.
How did playing with two other people affect Sandra’s game play? And what about her reputation?
“We give zero fucks,” Sandra says later in Extracted’s premiere episode. “I’ll bulldoze whoever I have to.” Yet when we talked, Sandra revealed to me that her approach to this game was far more considered and calculated. Of course it was: This is Sandra, and that’s her strength, not suffering on a beach or in the woods.
This interview has been condensed and edited to clean up human speech.
Sandra Diaz-Twine and her daughter Nina watch Nina’s boyfriend Eric and other survivalists on Extracted season 2 (Photo by Michael Becker/Fox)
Andy Dehnart: So it sounds like from a casting perspective, there wasn’t a question about who would be in the woods, but did you have any desire to be in that role? To show everyone that you could do this yet again in your life?
Sandra Diaz-Twine: I think I’m beyond that point. And when you listen to a lot of the Survivors—the Mount Rushmore Survivors—they’re like, We’re done suffering, starving, freezing, being miserable.
I knew from the jump that it was a two-female team with a guy in the woods, because that’s exactly what they needed that they didn’t have the first season. So really, it never crossed my mind.
So it was more like, who would be the guy? I think they thought it might have been potentially my husband, but he’s retired. He has no interest in reality TV. So then it became just Eric, and after talking to Eric, they loved him.
One of the things that made me laugh in that very first episode is you talking about how when you were on Survivor, Eric would Monday morning quarterback. [In the episode, Sandra says, “Eric swears he knows everything when he’s watching Survivor.”]
Did you really feel like this is like a good chance for him to experience what you experienced?
Absolutely—not only me, my daughter, because she did two Australian Survivors, and he always had something to say.
They were watching the football game last night, and you would have thought that he knows everything there is to know about football. He’s not a football player. You know what I’m saying?
When people watch from the couch, they’re always like, I would have done this, or She/they did that wrong. And then you’re like, okay, put your money where your mouth is. You go out there and you figure it out.
Did you or Nina help him prepare for [Extracted] based on that experience that you’ve had so many times?
No, because we didn’t have a lot of time. And they spoke to him and asked him how many times he had gone camping and he said one time for two days—and it was music to their ears.
We only had, I think, about a three-week turnaround. I said, What will you do to prepare? And he was like, Watch YouTube. So even better for them.
He did watch the first season of Extracted here at home, and also before the game started while we were in sequester. But that was it.
They really don’t want anyone that really knows what they’re doing because then they have an upper hand. And you’re always going to find those people that have no idea but are willing to go out there, suffer, and see if they have it.
Without giving away spoilers for this season, were you surprised ultimately at how he did? Did he surprise y ou in the way he dealt with it, whether the survivalist part or the mental part?
I was in total shock.
Amazing, okay. We’ll wait to see the details of the of the shock!
Absolutely.
In terms of your preparation, you’re coming into a game that is not brand new. Did that first season help you decide on strategy or think about how you’re going to approach it from the HQ angle?
Absolutely. What we did, me and Nina both, we re-watched it, I think, a total of three times.
Wow!
And also, I went back to try to find any interviews that the players had participated in, or any podcast, anything that would give us more information about everything, even the location. Then to find out we were in a totally brand new location. (laughs) So that didn’t help.
But you kind of get the gist of everything. I simply said, we’ve just got to do our best any time it’s go time.
And we’re not really going to suffer because we’re going to be, you know, there’s going to be catering. We just got to sit there and watch the monitors.
So I think we were pretty much prepared our way. Me and my daughter play totally different.She’s not the kind of person where let’s do this, let’s do that. That’s not how she is. I have to just let her play her own game.
As far as we were concerned, we were good and we were ready to go into HQ.
The only thing I was hesitant about was anyone knowing who I was. And there’s always one person—there’s always one, and that happened.
Well, it feels like for you now, after winning Survivor twice, you have this reputation [and record] in reality TV history that will never be duplicated, and really establishes you as an incredible player.
So it feels like that you will always come into almost every game with that. Does that have to affect the way that you prepare, other than hoping maybe no one recognizes you?
I come in humble because I know someone will snitch on me right away. And when people hear she’s a two-time winner, whatever it may be—sometimes they’re wrong. Sometimes, like, she’s won Survivor once. I don’t correct them, you know?
But I just have to be careful and I have to [have] an open door policy, very friendly. I have to really go over the top and be super friendly, so that I can be approachable and maybe get the information that I want—or have people on my side versus being afraid of me. I want them to want to play with me.
Sandra Diaz-Twine told me she took a step back and let her daughter Nina take the lead in Extracted’s HQ social game (Photo by Michael Becker/Fox)
Did you spend a considerable amount of time socializing? Or did you hang back?
I did. I hung back a lot. My daughter asked me to. We couldn’t come in there super-aggressive. We have to lean back and wait for the correct time to like pounce or whatever it is we need to do. I pretty much watched the monitors and listened to everyone else’s family members.
And I allowed Nina–who doesn’t have my track record—to do all the talking. Plus, she’s young and there was a lot of young people in the crowd. She was a little chatterbox that went from table to table to table to table, socializing and talking with everyone, while I took a lot of notes and watched Eric, and then I would go and grab a snack and chat a little bit and run right back to the room.
Even at night, when she’d be asleep—because she sleeps the whole night long—I’d get up, use the bathroom, check the monitor, see who’s in there, go to sleep, use the bathroom. I don’t know why I got to pee more at night than in the day but, I was constantly going to HQ, checking things out, seeing who was awake, who was talking. Just constantly making sure that I was up and on top of the game.
Having that producer’s eye view of these contestants out there—was it more helpful to watch the others than to watch Eric?
Well, there was times when Eric wasn’t talking, so then I’m watching everyone else trying to get information and seeing who’s gonna fold, because they start talking and being sad or crying or being happy. You can pretty much tell who’s motivated and who just doesn’t have another drop—and this could be early in the game. So you’re thinking in your head, like you know, like, I know who’s gonna flake already. And sometimes they really do surprise you.
But for me, I just felt like I had to lean back at first just to see what happens. Because at the end of the day, yeah, you’re playing against them to get supplies, but the game pretty much is the responsibility of each group. There’s only so much people can hinder your game, I feel like, on Extracted. So, pretty much everything else is your person out in the woods.
That aspect of it to me—does this feel different to you than other games you’ve played? Ultimately, sure, you can push the button and extract him, but your game is really up to him if he gets in trouble, if he gives up
So, did that feel different to you to play a game where you’re really so connected to someone else in that way?
Yes. I said, Eric, I’ll do whatever it is to get you everything that you need to make you as successful as possible out there. But at the end of the day, it’s up to you to get up and get things going.
If you were miserable at night, your sleeping situation is bad, the only one that could fix it is you. We can only get you what we can get you, or even what they’re offering us to give you. And it might not be the things that you even need or want. We’re going to do our best, but you have to fix anything that’s an issue because you’re the one that’s going to be out there.
I told him, Like [on History Channel’s] Alone, you’re the one till the end that has to decide. So it’s up to you.
But I think with Nina and him, they had different conversations, and she knows what it is that’s going to break him, or when he talks a certain way. Because I told them from the jump, if we go out there, I’m never gonna press that button. So don’t look for me to be that person that’s gonna help you out because I feel like you can do this.
They had their own separate conversations as a couple. They’ve been together since high school, over 10 years. She knows him best. I was like, Eric, just remember, if something’s not happening for you, you’re the only one that can change that. That’s it, point blank.
How was it for you playing with Nina in HQ in terms of strategizing together? You talked about letting her sort of take the lead in the social part, but were you in your quarters or just at other times kind of whispering [strategy], or was she taking the strategic lead as well?
Oh, no, she’s very strategic. I think she would jump around from table to table, getting information and getting to know the family members because you want them to talk to you and discuss with you and maybe have empathy, or when you’re out there screaming and shouting and trying to get something for your loved one, they know where you’re coming from, and maybe they won’t be as offended.
I was pretty much the note-taker, always glued to the TV screens, always glued to the monitors. And she was the one jumping around, making connections, and bringing me back information. That’s something that you need out there: Your person’s got to be approachable.
I took a step back because it ran around the real quick around HQ that, hey, she’s a two-time winner of Survivor. And people are like, well, then why is she here? They don’t want to play with them because they don’t feel it’s equal. They feel like you have an advantage already coming in.
Did you? And was playing this with Nina—for that reason or others—at all similar to playing Australian Survivor together?
It’s kinda different because we were on two different tribes. I let my guard down because she was in the majority tribe when we did merge, only for me to end up going home. And she wrote my name down.
But we did talk, and I always told her, Baby, if you can’t save me and you can’t help me, and it’s going to damage your game, and you’re going to have to go back and deal with the consequences, don’t even bother saving me because you’re only going to hurt yourself even more.Then she ended up actually getting injured and taken out of the game.
But this is totally different because we’re working side by side. We’re on Survivor, we walked in, and I was told before the game started that no one would even know she was my daughter. I feel like me and Nina are not identical—we have a lot of the same mannerisms, but in a lineup, I don’t think people would say that’s Sandra’s daughter.
So I was like, Oh, we got this shit in the bag, baby. They won’t even know you’re my daughter. Don’t say nothing. I won’t say nothing. Don’t ever confess to it.
And then we show up together, and the first thing [host] Jonathan [LaPaglia] says is Sandra and her daughter. And that was out the window.
Even with Extracted, you prepare for one thing and you’re like, oh, this is going to be a piece of cake, and then it’s not.
Are you addicted to these kinds of strategic and survival games? Will you just keep doing them for as long as they’re offered to you? Is there some kind of draw just about playing, or is it the winning that is still driving you?
Yeah, you never know what you’re capable of winning. [On] 99 to Beat, that game was a lot of luck, and you just had to have luck on your side.
I had luck on my side the first two times I played Survivor. It just wasn’t in the cards for me [on 99 to Beat].
But I will say this—because fans are like, Here she goes again on another show!. I have those fans that no matter what I’m doing, they’re always like tuned in.
I only applied for Survivor my very first time. The total of six times I participated on Survivor, it was them calling me after my initial application.
Traitors, they called me.
99 to Beat, they called me.
Extracted, they called me.
So they’re obviously looking for someone. Maybe because I’m Latina [because] I fit that mold of diversity. If that’s the reason, hey, keep calling me!
But I’ll pretty much do any show. We have contracts, so you always have to wait a certain amount of time before you can jump on the next one. I’m ready for Worst Cooks in America because I really am a bad cook.
That’s good—versus just someone who’s just pretending to be on that show.
Is there anything about the Extracted experience that really surprised you that we haven’t talked about yet?
It just got real—real real, real quick. You’ll see the arguments. You’ll see, no matter how much you want to get along with people and you want to constantly give, you got to also remember that it’s your loved one out there.
And you know what? From season one, I think we all went in expecting we’re going to go into the supply room every day and just like a grocery store, and just pick everything we want to need, and it wasn’t like that.
Everyone’s gonna get a quick realization of how tough the game is going to actually be season two.
I went to Reddit and I read a lot, and so many fans were like, Oh my god, this show is really, really good, but there’s potential for it to be better. And I think someone was reading the Reddit.
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