Before making the Final Tribal Council of Ghost Island, Laurel Johnson was supposedly in the running to play in Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X.
I can’t imagine the heartbreak that comes from making it all the way past the “ghost of a chance” stage in reality competition casting down to the “make or break” stage, only to be rejected. It’s happened to many Survivor players, yet just a few make their way back in a later season.
That taste of “what could have been” must be particularly hard on superfans of these shows, as it makes up so much of their time and appreciation. Casting players like Laurel Johnson might not be a one-pitch effort, however, as she was ready to go for Millennials vs. Gen X the year prior.
This had reportedly been mentioned once before in a Survivor Ghost Island post-season interview, but the more startling revelation came from an unearthed episode of the “How to Get On Reality TV” podcast with Big Brother winner and runner-up Dan Gheesling. More shocking? If wasn’t a recent episode; it was released more than two years ago and came to light by a Reddit post from user “notsuperduper.”
Of course, because Laurel was not cast for Survivor at the time, Dan fielded a question from “Jackie,” whose voice bears a near-perfect familiarity to the third-place finisher from Ghost Island (minus some mic crackling). Based on the timing, it’s clear that she wanted some tips heading into the next round of casting for Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers and Ghost Island.
For those of you out there who have made it to Survivor casting finals, got rejected and who are also somehow reading this post (that’s right; the 1% of the 1%), you should listen to the advice Dan Gheesling offers. Tips about keeping in touch with casting associates, following up the following round right as auditions open up, not needing to re-invent the wheel; it’s all great information that obviously helped “Jackie” get on Survivor!