JP's Cast Assessment

I took the liberty of transcribing. (That'll teach me.)

Beauty

* Michele has this magnetic draw. People see her and they wanna be next to her, they wanna know about her and she knows that. She says "it's always been that way. I use it and I have no problem using it". But it's not just Michele's looks, she's a fan of the show and if your smart, on Survivor, a door will open because of your looks and you will walk in and close it behind you.
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* Nick is obviously a great looking guy. He looks like Superman. But Nick has got an edge, for sure. He's cocky, bordering on arrogant. He think he knows everything. 100% villain. He knows that. There's no question, he's not a Hero. And I think he's gonna stir up chaos and I think he's smart enough to maybe pull it off. I'm very excited to see how he plays.
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* The story on Julia is pretty simple. We've never had anyone this young, this sharp.
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Julia (cam. conf.): "One of the things I want to do out here is prove that age is really just a number out here."
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Right out of the gate, I'm pretty sure people will look at Julia and go "gotta get rid of the young girl". Julia is a sharp girl, she knows this game, has been watching for a long time. You don't meet many 18 year olds like her.
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* Caleb, ...was on Big Brother and we had a lot of success with Hayden from Big Brother and there's something interesting in this experiment of taking somebody whose still a stranger to everybody else but they have maybe seen a part of him and if Caleb gets to the end, he's a super-star. Because to do that on Big Brother and then to come out here and do that out here, that is tough to do.
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* Poker player Anna... Beauty of course, she said "my looks are actually an asset. You play poker, typically, with a lot of guys. And they got a cap and sunglasses and they haven't shaved, showered or eaten in months. I come in and people go 'oh'". And she goes "already, I'm a little ahead. Cause you're just looking at me, you're wondering 'could we date?' Never but I'm gonna let you think we might, while I bluff you into going all-in".
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* Tai is a guy, that when he walked in the door he was on the show. He's that energy that I wish I had more of.
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Tai (cam. conf.): I have a lot of story to tell. I can charm people. I'm not purposely, I'm just a nice guy.
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That's how you should live a life. A proud man, gay man, asian-american man, who has this great love of the world and people and that's as beautiful as it gets. Tai would be one of the greatest winners ever, if he can get to the end.

Brains

* Neal is a really fun character.
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Neal (cam. conf.): I'm an organic ice-cream entrepreneur.
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and I say character because I think sometimes he plays that up. Neal is really bright and stealth-like and I think he gets the game in a way that I'm not even sure I understand. Cause I don't think he showed me everything. I can see Neal as winner and be very happy.
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* Captain Debbie is best likened to somebody like Coach. She will tell you that she's a chemist, a boat captain, been in the air-force, high-fashion model. I dunno if she can do all of it or not. She will say, "well you know the torque on an engine on one of those boats is actually two points off to the..." *record scratch* I don't know what you're talking about.
Debbie's biggest downside is gonna be people doing this *tilts head questioningly* "You're weird. Get out." Debbie's gonna have a hard time winning this game.
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* Peter, cocky, thinks he knows everything, which makes me love him more. Obviously a bright guy, he's a doctor and he works in an ER so he's use to that *points* "You're gonna be fine. *points* You're in trouble, let me deal with you." Where Peter is going to struggle is his ego. I would imagine right now everybody knows he's a doctor.
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* Liz, you could argue, at first glance she belongs on the beauty tribe but then you delve a little deeper and find out she is a brain. She's the only person in the history of Survivor to score a perfect on the IQ test. When she finished the IQ test, she did the next test, which I don't think anybody has ever tried. And Liz is a gamer
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Liz (in the water with unseen tribemates): How would a sci-fi version of Survivor go?"
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she likes Survivor, she understands the strategy of Survivor. Liz needs to pick the right couple of people out of the gate and she could be in good shape.
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* Joe pops up. 71 year old retired Navy guy, in the FBI. Fit like I wish I was. Finding somebody in their seventies, whose been through what Joe's been through in his life and looks like he looks, that's a gem. And I hoping that Joe does not get lumped into the old-guy category. "Just give me a chance, just don't judge me cause you think I'm old... I can kick your ass."
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* Aubry. I love Aubry cause she's a nerd. And she embraces all of that.
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Aubry (cam. conf.): "I kinda do things my own way and I really kinda pride myself in being a little bit weird."
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But I think if she plays that up and let's people look at her as a "Oh and then there's Aubry, yeah", she could just move along, stay in the flow, until she makes her move.

Brawn

* Cydney is a perfect example of why divisions like Brain, Brawn and Beauty work. She's a body-builder so we put her on Brawn. Even though Cydney's on the Brawn tribe, clearly very attractive and... super smart. And what she loves is that "No one will ever presume at how bright I am." She could be a player and I really do think Cydney would surprise people. I don't think they'll see it coming.
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* Scot Pollard, excites me so much that he's on the show.
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Scot (cam. conf.): "I played in the NBA for 11 years. I retired in 2008. I'm 6'11" and I weigh 310lbs."
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You know, he's this big, bruising guy and he was just so empathetic and vulnerable. I also really like Scot's approach to the game. "I'm gonna tell people straight up, I played in the NBA, there's no lying and I did make a lot of money but here's what I want to do, I wanna beat Cliff Robinson. I wanna go the furthest of any athlete" and then if he gets in and he's got a tight alliance, anything can happen.
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* Alecia is a time-bomb. She is crazy one minute and then super-focused the next. She comes from this legacy in boxing. She's been around brawn her entire life. So I think Alecia is going to either going to have to rein herself in or go to somebody and say "Listen, if I start going off, pull me back. Cause I actually can be an asset in this game" But Alecia's gonna have a hard time winning this game.
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* Darnell is a massive question mark for me. He'll tell you "I grew up on the streets. I've been in some hairy situations, I've learned to think on my feet. I can do it." But Survivor's a different thing. Darnell is either going to acclimate quickly to the conditions, in which he'll be fine or he's going to be completely overwhelmed, in which he will not.
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* Love Jenny. Jenny is somebody who comes in and tells you her entire story in 5 minutes and you can't believe it's true and then you dig a little deeper and you go "oh my god" and you dig a little deeper and you go "I need a beer." And now, she has her own construction company. She's really attractive, physically fit and she has that thing that no one else out here has which is, "I've had a lot of time to think about who I wanna be and how I wanna behave and how I wanna play this game." So, don't you ever underestimate Jenny.
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* Jason, I liked him the second he walked in the room. I liked the way he talked about his little girls. It could be a well rehearsed speech that he uses when he's doing his bounty hunting as a way to connect him to the person he's trying to capture. For me, it worked. He's a really sensitive guy who will kick your ass "if I have to". He's a massive threat because I think his story is really good.