Allie Pohevitz (CBS)
I had a chance to sit down with all twenty of the “Fans vs. Favorites” competitors the day before they left for the Caramoan Islands. I’ll be posting exclusive interviews with each contestant every weekday until we get through all of them. Be sure to follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for tons of updates.
Name: Alexandra “Allie” Pohevitz
Age: 25
Hometown: Oceanside, NY
Occupation: Bartender/Nanny
Note: The “Survivor: Caramoan” pre-game interviews are unlike the pre-game interviews we’ve done in the past. Usually, the interviews take place on location, this time they took place in Los Angeles before the players flew out. At this point, all the “Fans” know is that they’re flying out in the next few days. They have seen each other, but haven’t seen the returning players. They don’t know for sure where they’re going, and they don’t know any of the season’s twists.
Gordon Holmes: I feel like bartending is a good job to prepare you for “Survivor.” You have to able to listen, you deal with a wide variety of people, you have to know how to get people to like you…
Allie Pohevitz: It’s definitely a good match. You have to deal with all types of people. People come in on their best days when they’re so excited and they want to do shots, and then people come in when they’re crying because somebody just broke up with them.
Holmes: So either way, still doing shots.
Pohevitz: Yeah, still doing shots.
Holmes: Is that going to be rough for you when you don’t have shots to pour out?
Pohevitz: (Laughs) Yeah. It’s going to be rough because when people get out of hand I just call the bouncer and he sends them away. Here, I still have to be nice to them and kiss their ass.
Holmes: Or they’ll send you away.
Pohevitz: Exactly.
Holmes: You were the Editor-in-Chief for your school magazine “The Pioneer.”
Pohevitz: I was.
Holmes: First of all, writers are all (expletive deleted).
Pohevitz: (Laughs) Yes, I agree.
Holmes: As you’re going to relearn over the course of this interview. In that role, you must’ve had to have dealt with a lot of people with various personalities over something that they care very deeply about. That experience seems like another “Survivor” plus.
Pohevitz: Yeah, I had to deal with the sports people and the entertainment people, the theater people. It was never one specific genre. And as a student magazine people didn’t take you seriously. Trying to get interviews, people looked at you and thought, “We don’t owe you anything.” So you still have to press them to get the information, but you don’t want to be overbearing so they hate you and don’t help you out.
Holmes: You hate dirty people.
Pohevitz: Yes. (Laughs) Which doesn’t bode well for this show.
Holmes: Best case scenario, you’ve got 39 days in front of you with dirty people.
Pohevitz: There’s a difference between living on an island, we’re going to be dirty, we’re going to have (expletive deleted) under our nails. We’re not going to look cute. There’s a difference between that and being disgusting in public. People sneezing all over other people. Not washing your hands after using the bathroom. If you leave eighty dishes in the sink, you’re just lazy. Take care of it. I’m not worried about people being dirty on the island.
Holmes: I think there has to be a switch that goes off when you’re out there that we’re all dirty, and that’s just how it is and I don’t care. Things just smell.
Pohevitz: I always wonder when I see the people cuddling or doing romantic things, I’m just thinking, that’s disgusting. You haven’t brushed your teeth in weeks.
Holmes: You talk so fast.
Pohevitz: I know. I’m sorry.
Holmes: No worries, we’re recording.
Holmes: I’m about to give you some grief.
Pohevitz: Oh, great.
Holmes: The three things you would take on an island would be…
Pohevitz: No, I had wanted to apply forever and ever and I came home from the gym one night and it was January 10th and I looked online and said “Deadline: Midnight, January 10th.” So, I’m thinking, “Oh (expletive deleted). Let me bring eye liner and Crest white strips.” I’m so hilarious. So, those are not my real answers.
Holmes: You’re going to be the prettiest, starving person out there.
Pohevitz: Exactly.
Holmes: Alright, here’s your mulligan, what three things would you take with you for real?
Pohevitz: I would bring things that would keep me entertained. Like Scattegories, you could write on the back, you could keep a journal. I would bring something that would help us on the island. Like a huge wall hanging, like a blanket that reminds me of home, but isn’t like a picture of my cat. Actually, that would be my third thing, my cat, he’s my best friend.
Holmes: And his name is?
Pohevitz: Wolf, he’s eighteen years old, I’ve had him since I was six. He’s my best buddy.
Holmes: I get a kick out of people who name their pets after other animals. My friend Pam has a dog named Rooster.
Pohevitz: (Laughs) I was six! And technically his name is Wolfgang, we call him Wolf for short.
Holmes: You think that anyone who says they aren’t playing “Survivor” for the money is either a liar or brain dead. People go on this show for a variety of reasons.
Pohevitz: Yes, but they’re always thinking of money in the background.
Holmes: I think a million dollars is awesome. But I would be more interested in the title of sole Survivor. Would you think I was trying to con you if we were playing together?
Pohevitz: People who go in and say “I’m just playing for the experience,” and then throw in that they have $50,000 in student loans are lying. You’re trying to get sympathy. But, you’re clearly a liar. I’d much rather give the money in the end to someone who’s not sitting up there saying, “I’m going to give $900,000 of this to charity.” No, you’re not. You’re lying to me. You’re going to buy a car and pay your bills and go on vacation. Then maybe you will give some to charity.
Holmes: Why do you think you were cast?
Pohevitz: Like you said, I talk fast. I can come up with things quickly. I’m a bartender, I can deal with a bunch of different people. I make a good first impression. People trust me right away. I can tell you half the names of the people here because people say them in private, then they say, “Oh, you didn’t hear that from me.” Even people that are supposed to be keeping secrets from me are telling me more than I should know.
Holmes: Do you mean the contestant wranglers?
Pohevitz: Yeah.
Holmes: I didn’t let anything slip yet, did I?
Pohevitz: Just Rooster.
Holmes: I don’t think he’ll be out there. But there tend to be twists so you never know.
Pohevitz: Maybe I’ll eat him.
Holmes: You’re a terrible person.
Pohevitz: (Laughs) I wouldn’t eat a dog.
Holmes: Do you have a line you won’t cross as far as lying in this game?
Pohevitz: Nope. It depends if you’re lying in relation to the game. I didn’t get why people say they’re five years older or younger. That’s a pointless lie and you’re just lying to amuse yourself. As far as lies in the game go, you have to lie. If you swear on your kids? That’s for you to deal with. I don’t care.
Holmes: If I was a doctor or someone who made a ton of money I would lie.
Pohevitz: Oh yeah, something like that. Absolutely. If you’re a millionaire plastic surgeon say you work at CVS.
Holmes: You’re a lovely young woman.
Pohevitz: Thank you. But…?
Holmes: But you talk too fast! No, that was just an observation. What I was getting at was, do you have any moral problems using your looks to get ahead?
Pohevitz: I don’t see why I wouldn’t, I just don’t think that will be my first approach to things. I think a lot of people see me and think, “She’s cute, she must be an idiot. She’s going to be following everybody.” If you think that, I’m not going to go out of my way to disprove you. But, I’m also not going to be flirty. I want people to see me for the smart person I am. It depends on the person too. If I like you, I’m naturally flirty with you. Men, women, it doesn’t matter. I’m just a happy, nice person in general.
Holmes: It’s not an overt flirting.
Pohevitz: Yeah, it’s just who I am.
Holmes: Recently people on the bottom of alliances haven’t making moves until it’s too late. Why do you think that’s a trend?
Pohevitz: I think people become complacent with where they are. People say, “My whole family said I was going to be the first person voted out, so if I’m still here the third week that’s great.”
Holmes: Did your family say that?
Pohevitz: No, my family thinks I’m going to come back a millionaire. Like Christina this past season (“One World”), I had no problem with her, I like her. But, the whole cast is saying nasty things about her, like she didn’t belong there. And she was just proving them right. So many of us people have wanted to be on this show forever. I’m going to do everything I possibly can to advance myself in the game. And she just let it go. I don’t get it. It’s hard to watch as a fan.
Holmes: Do you have any experience roughing it?
Pohevitz: Nope! Not a day in my life.
Holmes: You’re so screwed.
Pohevitz: I’m really competitive. I think I’ll be fine with the elements. I’ve never camped outside, but I adapt very well to things. And I’m not someone to cry and give up.
Holmes: What are your first impressions of the cast?
Pohevitz: Everyone but one of us was at finals together. So, I had preformed opinions on everyone coming in. Everyone I didn’t like in the finals, is not here. So, CBS agreed with me on that.
Holmes: When you’re done winning this season, you should apply for a casting job.
Pohevitz: Yeah! Everybody seems alright, but it’s hard when you can’t make eye contact. But, I don’t want to form opinions so soon. There are a few that I like. I like the girl with the long blonde hair, her name is Laura Alexander.
Holmes: You know who you’re like? I watched this show about a high-security prison and they talked about how guards would cover their mouths when they talked because the inmates could read their lips and learn about the guard’s wives and families and use that information against them.
Pohevitz: (Laughs) I’m definitely nosy.
Holmes: If there’s a twist, what do you think it will be?
Pohevitz: Fans vs. Favorites. Definitely.
Holmes: OK.
Pohevitz: I think everybody here put down “Super Fan” on their application. There’s only ten of us here, so if it was Fans vs. Favorites I could see them bringing in ten returning players.
Holmes: If there are any returning players, is there anyone in particular you’d like to see?
Pohevitz: The problem with that is; the people I’d want to see would be the people I really liked, but I wouldn’t want to play against them because I’m going to want to be friends with them and keep them around, which would be stupid. It’d have to be someone along the lines of a Colton or an Alicia that you’d be OK getting rid of.
Holmes: So you’re hoping for more of a Fans vs. People You Don’t Like.
Pohevitz: (Laughs) Fans vs. (expletive deleted).
Holmes: I don’t think CBS would go for that subtitle.
Don’t miss the two-hour premiere of “Survivor: Caramoan – Fans vs. Favorites,” Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Tags: allie pohevitz, jeff probst, survivor, survivor caramoan, survivor fans vs favorites
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