Meet the 'Survivor 45' Cast! Drew Basile Plans to Not Play Down Any Part of Himself
Drew Basile would tell you himself that the first impression of him can be of a "slimy Napoleon Dynamite." The 22-year-old is in the twilight days of his college career when I speak with him, pursuing a degree in English and Philosophy. And so it's only natural that he brings his heady thinking to the island, with plans to master what he has deemed the "little moves" era of Survivor. He explains this experience is a "pivot" for him between stages of life, and he hopes to be at the center of many during his time in the game.
Read on for my interview with Drew, and check in with Parade.com every day for interviews with this season's contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 45 premieres on September 27 with a 90-minute premiere on CBS.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 45
Interview with Drew from Survivor 45
To start, tell me about yourself.
I'm very open with who I am. It's on the front cover. My name is Drew Basile. I'm 22 years old from Birmingham, Michigan. I'm a student at the University of Pennsylvania. This is my last semester wrapping up here. I love the show. I started watching Philippines, [season] 25, really Caramoan [in] 26. Cochran was a major inspiration for me. I'm sure you and other people will draw the comparison. But if I started out Cochran, I've really made moves to build myself more into somebody who is charismatic, personable, all of that.
What are you studying right now in school?
So at UPenn–which is an Ivy, it's not Harvard, but it's an Ivy–I study English and Philosophy. So I'm in the books, I'm in the library. I don't get out much to the gym, for example. But what I do work on is really dense stuff. I'm talking modernist epic door stoppers. Kahn, Hegel, things like that. So it's not the easy A humanities. It's really rigorous, logical work. And so I think that kind of analytical framework for remembering all of these details in historical comparisons and how things changed, I do think that way of thinking, that schematic cognition, is something that a lot of people might not have grasped. That could help me out in a game like Survivor, where there are so many moving pieces, so many variables, so many things that change in time.
I not only want to ask you, "Why Survivor?" but also, "Why Survivor now?" We have certainly seen people come in to play this game at a young age and even while they were still in high school or college. What made you feel like now was the right time to play?
Now is when they gave me the call! And anytime they called, I would come, to be clear. But now was an interesting time because I actually had to defer my graduation to be here. I had to drop a class. I'm going to do stuff in the summer. Hopefully, we'll be on time, relatively speaking. But in a more broad scope, right now is an excellent time to play Survivor, because it is a pivot. It is a hinge between my academic career, which, even though you're an adult in college, I still consider it basically childhood and the rest: Career, family, old age, demise. So I've spent a lot of time building myself during this "educational" stage, in a lot of senses. And I want to test that. I want to see where I'm at. I want to knock on the door, see what the foundation looks like. And I hope that that would kind of give me the pivot, the push, to go and then have an amazing 60-odd years to come.
You've mentioned a couple of names before. But give me one Survivor winner and one non-winner you identify with the most.
I mean, once upon a time, Cochran would have been the one. But I do think maybe I've outgrown that a little bit. Maybe I'm a little bit more personable. And then in middle school, which was really the Dark Ages, it was a medieval period that I neglect from the history books. But I think now, if you're gonna pigeonhole me today, I'd be like somebody like Ryan Ulrich, maybe. Maybe a guy like Jonathan Penner. Maybe even the hallowed, the great Rob Cesternino. I'm a fast talker, a bit of a wit. I'm very authentic, and I can have some rough edges.
What's your favorite moment in Survivor history? Is it connected to any of the people you just mentioned?
If so, tangentially. I got a couple. I've been thinking about this. I've been waiting for somebody to ask me this; you're the first one. My favorite strategic play is probably The Three Amigos idol hold-up in Caramoan. That's an epic moment. I like the minority vote split in David vs. Goliath. But I do have a soft spot for some of the adventurous moments of days of yore. So Guatemala, when they had the huge trek that first episode, nobody talks about that. Or Vanuatu, when Chad gets drunk on kava, and they go to a volcano. That stuff always stuck with me.
What's your prep been like to get ready for Survivor?
I'll give you a little bit more of a pragmatic answer on this one than probably you're asking for. I was watching season 44. And I'm watching Carson do these puzzles, and he's got them all 3D printed. And I'm like, "Oh, my God. I'm an idiot. I don't have time. [Laughs.] It's too late. Duh!" I was super busy in the lead-up because I obviously had to finish all of my coursework to get here. So write all the papers, all the theses and stuff. I did, however, have time to teach myself to swim. And I got reasonably good at it, I hope. You won't see me drown. I did practice some of the more common puzzles, got my slide puzzles down pat, things like that. And I did some cardio, did some running. Listen, Mike, you're not going to get Adonis out there. I'm not going to be an Olympian. But I hope I'll hang in, and I have put some prep work in to do so.
What is one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game?
This is such a ripe opportunity to brag and say something fun. But I'll be honest. During COVID, I moved back to Philly to be with my girlfriend. I needed a job. And I needed a job that had flexible hours. And so I got a job at a call center. And I worked at the call center for about a year and a half total. And the call center was very different. Because in my day-to-day school life, I'm hobnobbing with the rich and famous. These kids have a lot of money, rich, luxurious lifestyles. But then, in the call center, you're calling people who are just coming back from work, people who are a little bit more in touch with the real world. And you've got to not only talk to them but also to talk to them quickly. You have to be authentic, in their will, within 10 seconds. So that's tough. And I think that split is gonna help me out.
You have worked in so many different environments, to your point. But what do you think people will perceive you as in this game?
I mean, it's very tempting just to give me the once over and be like, "Oh, Napoleon Dynamite." And I do have my clumsy moments, to be honest with you. I think very quickly, though, people are gonna suss out that there's a little more going on. That he is a social threat to some degree, that he is certainly a strategic threat. He's a smart guy. And perhaps it's for my ego, but I'm gonna roll with that. I don't intend to play things down. I'm gonna show people who I am. And I think quickly they will say, "Okay, there's a guy who needs to be taken seriously and who I should work with."
Interesting. And what's the rationale behind that? Because nine times out of 10, players in your shoes would say they'd be playing up those stereotypes. But you're like, "No, tell me I'm smart, tell me I'm wily!"
Mike, the rationale behind this is a symbolic rationale. We've had the "big moves" era in the 30s, and now we have the "little moves" era in the 40s. It's like stay underwater until you can submerge at the very end. I have so much respect for Survivor. It's an honorable game of epic proportions. And so I want to go out there and play the game that it deserves. To be clear, this is not "flame out Day 1 looking for an idol." But I'm gonna play like a game of chess. And in chess, you don't hide all your pieces in the corner. You don't hide them all until the end game and then send a couple out. It's a full-fledged thing.
Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 45
What type of player are you looking for in an alliance or a ride-or-die?
Ride or die; I'm glad you said that, because I very much am looking for a ride or die. Again, I think an impression people might have of me–maybe you do, maybe my competitors or allies will–is that I'm slimy. I want to play people. I do not. I come from a house that really valued loyalty. And you don't have to be loyal to everyone, but you've got to be loyal to that core group. And so, I am looking for a core group who I can be in lockstep with. People who I can tally up with to the end of the game. Maybe it's only one or two. But that is what I'm looking for. That being said, I'm young. My hope is that I can find someone who can bring me a little age, a little wisdom, and also find somebody who can bring some physicality that I'm lacking. I'm sure you can put the pieces together with who you've talked to who I might have in mind.
Talk to me more about that. Who are some of those people you've been eyeballing here through the preseason?
I have the binoculars out. It's like a sting operation. I'm like, "[Mimes looking through binoculars.] Follow. Take notes." Number one…I think it's Bruce. I'm pretty much 100%. Because [he's referred to as] "BP." He's wearing Boston stuff. But I am horrible with faces. I literally can't do faces. They just don't click for me. So I can never be 100%, but I think it's Bruce. And if it is, that's the guy. I want to work with him. I know he's a straight shooter. He's got a background [that's] exactly what I'm looking for.
Additionally to him, I'd love to work with the guy you just talked with. Super buff, long hair, Asian guy. He seems like a dependable guy who is gonna bring that strength that I'm looking for. But I'd say I look at this cast, [and] I don't see many people I don't like. Somebody who intimidates me maybe a little bit is…he's kind of like a beefy Boston firefighter-type dude. I look at him and think that maybe he's not going to pick up what I put down.
Let's say a boat shows up to your camp on Day 2, asking for one person to go on a journey. How would you approach the situation?
So, I tend to find that the rewards for going on this journey become a little more enticing after the first one. The first one, they do little things like the Steal-a-Vote, the Bank-a-Vote. I want the whole vote. I want the immunity idol, whatever. So, I might play it cautiously on that first go. But after that, I want to go. I want the experience. I want the idol. I'm a firm believer that you really cannot navigate in the early or middle game of the new era of Survivor without an advantage of some kind. But I think that some of the new advantages have been a little underused. Remind me, Mike, what is the one where you play it, and then you get all the idols that were played at Tribal Council?
The Inheritance Advantage.
Well, my thought process is, if I have an idol and the Inheritance Advantage, I can play both, and then I can recoup my idol. What a rich strategic potential that has! And so these are the kinds of things I'd like to do. And that's why I'm going to be aggressive in seeking these advantages.
What is your hottest Survivor take?
Well, I can tell you my favorite Survivor player, which is gonna be really controversial. People won't believe it, but my favorite is definitely Brad Culpepper. I'm a Culpepper fanatic. That's definitely a controversial take. I really love the guy, though. I think there are some seasons that don't get some love. Vanuatu and Guatemala, which I mentioned already, are great and should be a little more highly heralded.
What celebrity or fictional character would you want to come out for a Loved Ones visit?
I would choose maybe somebody interesting to have a conversation with, like a philosopher. Maybe bring me Aristotle. Maybe I'd do Batman, I don't know. Because he's got two things going on. He's rich, too. Maybe if we're friends, he'd help me out.
Next, check out our Survivor 45 interview with contestant Dee Valladares.
