One of the best parts of Survivor has always been the players. The reason the game has been so iconic for so long is because of the incredible castaways who steal our hearts season-after-season. And, for the most part, our “favorites” aren’t necessarily the people who win at the end, or even the people who played the game the best. We’re drawn to the people who we connect with, which is why fans are so divided on who the best players are.
Because some fans might believe a “hero” is the best player of all time, while others might think the “villains” need more credit. But at the end of the day, we can all agree on which players are most entertaining to watch—for better or for worse.
I call these players the “characters” of the show. They are memorable and legendary in their own right and people remember their name long after their season has wrapped.
Back in the early days of Survivor, during the evolution of reality television, there were so many players who came into the game with a certain amplified personality because that’s what got people noticed back in the 2000s—you needed to be bold and stand out in order to be cast on any show. But the Survivor casting team has always done a great job of leveraging big personalities to keep viewers entertained and invested.
So let’s look through some of the biggest and best personalities the Survivor casting team has gifted us over the years (in no particular order).
Debbie Wanner
Survivor: Kaoh Rong, Survivor: Game Changers
Debbie was an editor’s dream castaway. Not only was she a big personality at camp, with her tribe, but she delivered some of the most memorable confessionals, always providing a new piece of information that we honestly could never tell if it was true or false. She was the woman of a million jobs and it was always hilarious—through both of her seasons—when the editors would update her lower thirds to reflect whatever the most recent title she gave herself was.
But as funny as she was, she was also a legitimate force to be reckoned with. Both seasons she played she made it to the jury, ultimately getting voted out because she was a threat to her alliances.
Billy Garcia
Survivor: Cook Islands
While Billy was one of the first players voted out in season 13, he left a lasting impression on the game after believing that he found something even more valuable than the $1 million that comes with the title of Sole Survivor: true love.
Unfortunatley, Billy didn’t last long enough for us to see his gameplay strategy—or his strategy to interact with Candice Cody (née Woodcock) after he believed she confessed her love to him after a challenge—but he’s honestly someone I would love to come back to play again. His social game could have really been something!
Carolyn Wiger
Survivor 44
Coming into the game completely underestimated and then pulling off major moves that got her to the Final 3, Carolyn was an absolute mastermind while still being unapologetically herself. She allowed her real-world, quirky personality into the game and it immediately disarmed everyone around her. Her tribe mates assumed she wasn’t paying attention when she actually had her hand on the pulse more than anyone else.
She instantly became a fan favorite as she managed to pull off moves right under everyone’s noses without taking any of the blame for it because they didn’t believe in her like she believed in herself and others. A gross mistake made by too many. I was honestly shocked that she didn’t win after forming such genuine bonds with most of the jury.
Phillip Sheppard
Survivor: Redemption Island, Survivor: Caramoan
While most people remember winners Tony Vlachos and Sarah Lacina’s “Cops-R-Us” alliance, they took the name from Phillip’s original “Stealth-R-Us” alliance idea. As he claimed to be a former federal agent, he gave all his allies secret code names to match the skills he knew from his profession. But he lost a lot of his credibility as he spent most of his time around camp with a feather in his hair, rocking a pair of pink underwear.
Yet while a lot of people just assumed he was a little bit off his rocker, he managed to play a good enough social game that he made it to Final Tribal Council in both his seasons—scoring a spot on the jury on Caramoan after being runner-up on Redemption Island.
Q Burdette
Survivor 46, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans
I’m personally not Q’s biggest fan—as far as gameplay goes—but he definitely had his moments during Survivor 46 that made me love seeing him on screen. From consequential moments like completely blowing up a cross-tribe alliance he formed to the little things of trying to play the alphabet game during a challenge, you can’t deny that Q was entertaining.
And he definitely returned for Survivor 50 with a plan to actually be strategically sound this time around. Which is probably why he was booted pretty early—he was a legit threat to many others’ games.
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