EXCLUSIVE: Survivor Australia Executive Producer David Forster spills casting secrets

For more than ten seasons, Survivor Australia has produced some of the global franchise’s biggest moments.

From shock blindsides, clever gameplay and tough challenges both in the tropics of the South Pacific and the desert terrain of the outback, there’s no reality show that quite does it like Survivor.

With millions of fans watching from across the globe desperate to have their own go at the game, TV Week reached out to Survivor Australia Executive Producer David Forster to unpack exactly what qualities they are looking for in prospective applicants (you’re welcome).

Talk me through the casting process from the online application to someone receiving the call saying ‘we want you on Survivor.’

It’s not an instant selection or anything like that!

After receiving, reading, and assessing all the online applications, our casting team whittles the applicants down to a few hundred who are then invited to come along to in person auditions. At those auditions the applicants then go through a couple of stages before an interview with the producers.

If the producers are impressed with their audition, then they will be assessed to see if they are physically and psychologically suitable to play the game by our expert medical team. Once all this is completed, they are on a shortlist of potential contestants.

The final cast is chosen from this shortlist.

How can prospective players make their applications stand out?

Applicants should have a strong sense of self. We are looking for confident, interesting people who are not backwards about coming forwards. All types of people are interesting – there are many things that make people interesting – but we are looking for a point of difference.

People who invert stereotypes are always very rich in character, “The bikie who loves sewing”, “The banker who is a part time wrestler” – things like this. We are also looking for people who can say what is on their mind, clearly and in an entertaining way.

There’s no point being the best player in the world if you can’t tell us about why you’re making the moves you’re making!

What should you NOT do/include in your audition tape?

Don’t worry about telling us how much of a ‘big Survivor fan’ you are. We kind of already assume that you are – and your love for the show doesn’t necessarily translate into being able to play the game. For example, I love Wimbledon, have watched it every year, but would I be able to play in it? Hell no!

Don’t make your video unnecessarily long – think about how many videos the casting team has to watch – if it’s 10 minutes long you’re probably testing their patience. DO OPEN WITH THE BEST PART – if you can capture the casting team’s attention in the first 30 seconds, you’ve made a good start and they will view it with happy thoughts.

Get to what makes you stand out – quick. Don’t be tired, don’t be rushing, don’t be over-the-top, this is your one shot!

What are casting producers such as yourself looking for in applicants?

Casting producers are looking for people that ‘print’. We want people that can identify who they are quickly and clearly. We want the audience to get to know you quickly and learn to love you over time.

There are a million interesting things, we don’t want one in particular, it doesn’t matter if you’re loud and proud or quiet and considered, just be the ‘you-est’ you can be. We want you in the purest, most distilled version.

What health conditions prevent people from applying to go on Survivor

This assessment is made by medical professionals further along in the audition process.

There are no particular conditions that we have struck out – if the applicant is processing to the stage of medical and psychological checks, then anything that comes up at this stage will be taken into account.

Is there a checklist of physical requirements applicants have to meet given the physical demands of the show?

The short answer is no – we have had people of all ages and abilities play Survivor. But all contestants must be cleared by the medical team as able to partake in the game safely.

A common complaint from fans about recent seasons of Survivor Australia is the lack of ”everyday Aussies” being cast on the show and the casting of returnee players instead. Could you unpack the reasoning for this and can we expect this to change in future seasons?

The short answer is no – we have had people of all ages and abilities play Survivor. But all contestants must be cleared by the medical team as able to partake in the game safely.

Brains vs Brawn (s06) and Blood vs Water (s07) all contained a cast of completely new players to Australian Survivor – 48 in total. We thought it was time to give some returning players another shot in Heroes vs Villains (s08) but there were also 12 new players in that cast as well!

We love our returning Survivor family – they are great to watch and have a lot of unfinished business in the game. Having said this, we will always open the game to new players as we have always done (with the exclusion of All Stars who are all returnees).

When applying, should content creators (eg influencers/admins of fb fan groups/Survivor meme pages etc) promote this heavily in applications or should it be a lesser focus

The level of fandom the applicant has for the show is not a deciding factor in their application being successful.

We love people that know the game, and no doubt this is a benefit when playing it. However, the person in question must be a confident, charismatic individual also – ‘Social Ability’ in conjunction with physical ability and knowledge of the game is what will win Survivor – or lose it!

Can you hint at what themes we may see in future seasons?

Of course we could … but we would never give the game away!

Apply for the next season of Survivor Australia here.