If there is one thing that we love about Survivor, it is that the casting department knocks it out of the park when it comes to choosing its castaways.
Each and every season, a wide range of personalities are brought together on a single beach, all in an attempt to achieve the same goal in the end: Taking home $1 million and the title of “Sole Survivor.” Naturally, we have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to Survivor contestants, with different individuals admiring different styles of gameplay.
From villains like Tony Vlachos to heroes like Cirie Fields, with contestants like Benjamin “Coach” Wade, Aubry Bracco, Yau-Man Chan, Kelly Wentworth, Jonathan Penner, and more in between, see a few of the individuals who the Survivor 45 castaways have deemed to be their favorite players of all time in via Entertainment Weekly.
Tony Vlachos (Survivor: Cagayan, Survivor: Game Changers, Survivor: Winners at War)
Naturally, two-time Survivor winner Tony Vlachos received quite a bit of praise from the Survivor 45 castaways, with Sifu Alsup, Kaleb Gebrewold, Jake O’Kane, and Kendra McQuarrie deeming him as one of their favorite players of all time.
“He played so differently and just set the pace the whole time,” Sifu gushed, before praising Tony for his hilarious confessionals, innovative spy shacks and bunkers, and more.
As a matter of fact, his one-of-a-kind gameplay is what made Sifu think about applying for the hit competition show in the first place — how sweet is that?
“I think that right there set the pace for me to really want to get in this game and try new things, because it showed me that you can be yourself, you can have fun, you can be ferocious, and also have a good time at the same time,” the Survivor 45 castaway continued passionately.
To follow up Sifu’s heartwarming commentary, Kaleb had some very similar comments to make about Tony, also praising him for his ability to have fun while playing such an intense game: “Tony, I think is just that perfect balance of, you know, being really strategic and making really great personal relationships, but also making a great show and finding moments to have fun in the process and reminding people that this is a fun experience. He’s by far my favorite player.”
While Sifu and Kaleb admired the entertaining nature of Tony’s gameplay, Jake can’t get enough of the hold he had on his fellow castaways as well: “There’s no one who has been more entertaining to watch and more creative with their strategy as they enter the game. The way he is able to cut people’s throats and then come back and be like, ‘No, no, no, no, no. This was good. This was good for us.’ It was not good for them, but he could just convince them, and I just thought he was the best.”
To sum up the thoughts of ALL of the Survivor 45 castaways, as well as viewers back home, Kendra said it best: “I freaking love Tony.”
Cirie Fields (Survivor: Panama, Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, Survivor: Game Changers)
While Tony is often seen as controversial castaway, four-time Survivor player (and current Big Brother houseguest) Cirie Fields is truly an angel.
While Julie Alley admitted that she was impressed by the gameplay of Jesse Lopez throughout Survivor 43, she deemed Cirie to be the player that inspired her to apply for Survivor altogether: “I was first inspired by Cirie because, I mean, she’s amazing. Even though she didn’t win, she’s just amazing, and I guess it just spoke to me — ‘Get off the couch. Let’s try something. Let’s do it.’ That was my motivation.”
As for Sabiyah Broderick, she had a lot to say about Cirie, praising her for the authenticity she demonstrated throughout her respective Survivor journeys.
“She didn’t really try to change too much about herself for the game,” she explained. “It was kind of just like, every ball that was pitched to her, she tried her best to hit it, you know, and it wasn’t like she’s out here scurrying for idols. It’s not like she’s out here trying to be a challenge beast, but she’s been to the end multiple times.”
Just like several Survivor superfans, Sabiyah thinks Cirie would have taken home $1 million and the title of “Sole Survivor at the end of Survivor: Game Changers if it were not for the unfortunate circumstances. For those who need a refresher, Cirie made history as the only castaway to be eliminated with no votes cast against her, simply because she was the only one left vulnerable after numerous advantages and hidden immunity idols were played — poor thing!
“One of the times that she got voted out, it was like a Survivor historic moment,” the 28-year-old dished. “I really felt like that would have been her year that she should have won. She was playing a great game, and it was so under the radar.”
With gameplay aside, Sabiyah also admitted that she looks up to Cirie as an individual: “I’m a fan in real life, so I follow her on social media and I see that she’s, you know, in the medical field and a great mom and stuff like that, so it just creates this sense of normalcy to a Survivor idol that I really, really appreciate.”
Mike White (Survivor: David vs Goliath)
Given that Brandon Donlon is as big of a Survivor superfan as they come (applying for the hit competition show ever since he was eleven years old), his favorite castaway is bound to be a great pick — with Mike White taking the cake, our speculation could not be more accurate!
Admitting that The White Lotus creator was his all time favorite player before the Emmy Award-winning television show even began, Brandon gushed about everything he loves about the one and only Mike White.
“Mike White balances the two things that I love about Survivor, which is fantastic storytelling — He’s one of the best confessional givers ever to be on the show, which is very natural because he’s a writer. He knows what he’s doing — and also, his social game… He was so funny. He was a good guy to be around, to have around, and that’s what people cited at the Final Tribal Council. He was just a light in the camp,” the 26-year-old shared.
Parvati Shallow (Survivor: Cook Islands, Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, Survivor: Winners at War)
Of course two of the strong females of Survivor 45, J. Maya and Kellie Nalbandian, named Parvati Shallow to be their all time favorite castaway — she is as big of a girlboss as they come!
J. Maya began by gushing about how “Parvati is the name of a powerful Hindu goddess,” which is extra special to her due to her strong faith. To follow, she dove into her one-of-a-kind gameplay.
“She’s amazing,” the talented singer-songwriter gushed. “I love how she wields people’s perception of her to her advantage. She can come across as this like really bubbly, happy-go-lucky woman, which I think some people put hand-in-hand with not a threat, which I think is silly because obviously as we know Parvati was able to read other people’s read on her and then use that to her advantage and show later in the game how much of a strategic mastermind she truly is.”
While J. Maya praised Parvati’s strategic prowess, Kellie was stunned by her ability to use her femininity to her advantage, ultimately setting a precedent for all of the female castaways that were to come.
“Parvati, you know, I think she really opened the door for women to play a more cutthroat game, and she took a lot of heat for it I think at the time, and so I really respect her,” she shared. “I think she demonstrates an ability for a woman to be, you know, like charming and use her feminine wiles and just general social abilities, but also be aggressive and ruthless, and I think sometimes people pigeonhole people whether you’re a man or a woman into one of those two categories, and I really like that she sort of threaded the needle there.”
Kass McQuillen (Survivor: Cagayan, Survivor: Cambodia)
If you could guess one Survivor 45 castaway who picked Kass McQuillen as her favorite contestant of all time, of course it was the one and only Emily Flippen.
She shared “I’ve developed this really strong affinity towards Kass, because I did go through the Survivor process and took my personality test and I was told, ‘Hey, you know, your results are really similar to Kass'” — go figure!
“At first I was taken aback, but now I realize that’s such a massive compliment. I love the way that Kass played her game, because she was really direct, she took no b******t, and she wasn’t afraid to just be herself,” Emily continued, naming quite a few qualities that are similar to her own gameplay.
The investment analyst concluded, “Her personality, her aggression (I say in the most kind way possible), and her forthrightness. I mean, those are the aspects that I think Kass and I have a lot in common, and I watched those seasons back and how could anybody watch that and think Kass is the villain? She’s obviously the hero.”
“Boston” Rob Mariano (Survivor: Marquesas, Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs Villains, Survivor: Redemption Island, Survivor: Winners at War)
Last, but certainly not least, of course the Survivor 45 castaways named “Boston” Rob Mariano as one of their all time favorite players — playing the game five different times, he is truly the king of Survivor!
Dee Valladares kicked off the conversation, praising Rob’s social game: “I would say Boston Rob. He knows how to understand people and what drives them, and I think that that has gotten him obviously the win and far in games. He’s a master, I don’t want to say manipulator, [but] maybe like a master persuader.”
“We’ve seen it multiple times where people suck in physical challenges and they get to the end, and it’s because they understood people and what drives them and what makes them tick,” she continued, highlighting Rob’s incredible ability to read people.
To follow, Katurah Topps praised Rob for his one-of-a-kind gameplay as well, in addition to his good looks.
After gushing about how he is “so sexy,” she shared, “His leadership style, obviously it was a little like cult-like and like unhealthy, but he did it in a way where people didn’t realize they were being led to slaughter until they were already there, and you know, I kind of liked that idea of just like slowly coaxing people where they just feel like they want to follow you. They just feel like they just need to follow you, and then, you know, you execute however you need to.”
With names like Brad Culpepper, Cody Assenmacher, Natalie Anderson, Carolyn Wiger, Todd Herzog, Jeremy Collins, and more thrown in there as well, there were just sooooo many players to choose from.
To see if any of the Survivor 45 castaways become legends like the names listed above, catch brand new episodes every Wednesday at 8pm ET/PT on CBS.