Meet the 'Survivor 45' Cast! Bruce Perreault Recaps His Journey Back to the Beach
For Bruce Perreault, it’s the ultimate form of Survivor deja vu. Less than a year ago, he was in the exact same position, eager and ready to play in season 44. Unfortunately, his first steps in the game ended up being his last, as a head injury during the opening challenge led to a concussion and medevac after only 12 hours of gameplay. Now Bruce has been given a second chance and ability to rewrite his own sordid tale of Survivor history. And the insurance/real estate agent is banking on listening skills, open-ended questions, and a “drunk uncle” vibe to become the head of the season 45 family.
Read on for my interview with Bruce, 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 Bruce from Survivor 45
To call this deja vu would be an understatement. To start, how are you feeling right now?
Everything’s going awesome. Yes, a definite case of deja vu. I’ve walked these paths and looked up to make sure a coconut doesn’t fall on me. I’ve done all this already. I’ve slept in tent city. It is the ultimate deja vu.
So it’s been a little less than a year since you went out for season 44. What has happened in your life since then?
There has been a lot of change, which is a good thing, a sad thing. But there’s been a lot of change. But the biggest part of it all, with all the change that happened, is that I’m definitely not taking anything for granted. Not a single day will go by that I’ll take for granted. I’m going to have a damn good time. Whether it be sitting in an office, getting some paperwork done, or hanging out on an island with a bunch of other castaways, just chilling.
Let’s get into the timeline behind your return here. The day after the Survivor 44 premiere, you told me you didn’t know Jeff was extending an invite for you to come onto the next season until his podcast episode dropped. What was your prep process like between then and showing up for season 45 only a short time later?
The timeline was like a quantum leap. It was really quick. Later in the day, I spoke to you; I had my conversation with Jeff and casting to say, “Okay, what are we going to do? Do you want now, or do you want to wait?” And, in the back of my mind, I’m like, “Wait a minute. There’s some really good momentum going on right now with regards to Survivor and the love and well-wishes that I got from everyone. Why not now?” So I said yes at that point before even checking in with the wife. [Laughs.] And when I did tell my wife, she’s like, “Oh, my God, yes. Go have some fun.” And I was like, “Yes, let’s go!” So I found out the night of the episode, and then the decision was made the following day just to start the process of going out.
Did your preparation for this season change, considering you have already had 12 hours of Survivor under your belt and knew what to expect from at least that first day?
The 12 hours of prep I had was only 12 hours of showtime. Someone that I know keeps telling me it was 10. But I’ll talk to him later. (Laughs.) But for the 12 hours, there was nothing of me playing Survivor. I hit my head, and I just was not around mentally to honestly feel like I played the game. But [with prep], being kind of old hat, all I needed to do was speak to the proper people, get the time that I needed, and make sure that certain things were where they needed to be by way of my family, financially. And then that’s it, boom, I’m out here. I’m old hat now. It was like riding a bike! [Laughs.]
I know you just said that you didn’t even feel like you played Survivor last season. But was there something from either the production or player side that you learned that you’re bringing into this time around?
As far as the production side, the beginning parts, that’s the only edge-up that I have on the other contestants; everything’s “hurry up and wait.” When I was in the military, that was a slogan: Hurry up and wait. So I’m cool with that; I have no problem at all. But as far as being out there with the contestants and starting the game, there is something that I will have above them, which is just the ability to know firsthand what has taken place on 44 and how the dynamics really work out. Television splices, cuts, drops, and it’s made it into a story. There’s so much more that’s there. These young people–and I say young people, I’m like an ancient man; I’m 47 in August; I feel old as hell–but these people, they’ll understand it. They’ll see it, and they’re gonna be like, “Okay, well, this is not what happened on T.V.,” And I’m gonna be like, “Oh, no, it’s not? Oh, no, well, what do you want to do about that?” Then I’m gonna grab it.
It’s an interesting perspective. Because, as you said, you didn’t get a lot of time on the beach. But you were in Ponderosa for the prejury phase. So you got to see your cast members come through and talk to you a lot about what ended up happening over the course of the season.
Exactly, exactly. They always have the mayor of Ponderosa, the first person voted off. Hell no, I was the king of Ponderosa! [Laughs.] And it was so funny because of how much people don’t understand the perspective of the people being voted off. They came to Ponderosa, and the way that it worked out was I would greet them, and then they’d go down the line to whoever else was next. And they would always ask me, every single person, “How’s your head?” I’m like, “This isn’t about me! This is about you! You just got voted out of the game!” I was an asshat and hit my head, and I got myself taken out of the game. [Laughs] It’s about you at this moment.
And that just goes to show that, as devastated as people are, they’re still conscious of everything going on around them. So when they came to Ponderosa, they were allowed to speak their truth of what they thought happened. And then when you see it on T.V., well, now you get more of an honest idea of what happened. Because the edit is close to what truly happened when it comes to being voted out of the game. So that’s the perspective above and beyond that to happen.
Do you get a sense that anyone in this cast has recognized you as you’ve been going through pregame together?
Do you have any idea? [Laughs.] So the process is, we’re in L.A., and we come downstairs and get ready to leave. So everybody’s in a line. I was the second group to come downstairs. So there are already four people in line. Here comes the other four, and I’m a part of it. I’m in the elevator, and people are looking at me like little side eye, “Is this…? No.” [Laughs.] And then I’m walking across the lobby, and there are people waiting in line. And they’re looking at me like, “Oh, is that Bruce?” You could see it in their eyes. And then everybody that comes through. There was one person that would walk by me, and they kind of did a little stutter-step and turned, kind of arched back a bit like, “Oh, my God, that’s Bruce!” [Laughs.] Because everybody that applies for this game knows the game. And I was just on their television four weeks ago.
Do you think being a returning player is going to affect your perception at all? Over the years, we have seen new players target returnees, feeling like, “They had their chance already. This is mine.” Do you fear that may happen here, no matter how unorthodox your example may be?
I do. And when it does, the only thing that I can do is hit it head-on, no pun intended. [Laughs.] I have to not shy away from it. Yes, I went through everything that you just went through at Ponderosa. Yes, I went through the first challenge. Yes, I made it here to the beach. But guess what? When we wake up tomorrow morning, this is brand new to all of us. So we can just run with it if you want to. If you want to think that I have an edge up on you, perfectly fine. Keep running with that; let everybody know. Because I’m going to have some fun with you. We’re all going to have a good time. And I’m not going to shy away from what people’s thoughts or expectations are.
But one thing I will say is, if they come at me with the 44 vibe of dad because I’m older, oh no, that’s not gonna happen. I want you to think about like a Thanksgiving day dinner. Everybody’s getting ready to eat, and then [Imitates doorbell.] doorbell rings, the door opens up. “Hey, what’s going on?” Who just showed up? Your crazy drunk uncle! That’s me. I’m coming down like a crazy drunk uncle, and I’m gonna have a damn good time. Don’t call me dad; that’s already been used. That’s old-school stuff. I’m just coming in and having a good time. There’s no way to get around it.
Well, we’ve heard about going from a cop to a criminal. But you may be the first to go from dad to drunk uncle. [Laughs.] Well, I want to talk about your own perceptions from Ponderosa. Is there anyone in particular that is catching your eye as someone you either want to work with or look out for?
I’m not discounting anyone. Because things change, you can have a tribe swap. And if there’s someone that’s here, and you have a preconceived notion, and you’re like, “Oh, I don’t want to work with that person. They’re annoying, they’re loud, they snore, they eat weird”. If you have a reason not to like somebody and then you have to work with them, man! If you don’t have the ability to make that change from “I don’t like working with you” to working with you, that’s gonna be tough for anybody. Especially if you’re hungry, you’re missing family, you have bumps and bruises, or whatever, you’re not going to want to make that change. That’s why I’m looking at everybody as a potential person to work with. Are there people that are going to get themselves, in my mind, voted out quickly because of their over-eagerness? You can kind of see the people that are smiling too much or wanting to lean towards you and make that eye contact.
Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 45
Does anyone specific come to mind for you with that last statement?
There’s one gentleman who looks like a really nice guy. We’d hang out and have a beer at some point in time. But you got to take the cheese down, man! I can see that, all this smiling. You don’t recognize the time that I saw you when you were aggravated about something, and literally, your face changed like you would not believe. And I’m like, “Oh, that’s easy!” Now I can look at this person and be like, “Oh, did you know that blah, blah, blah, said X, Y, and Z? Go blow your game up, bro!” And I know he’s gonna go take off and do his thing. I’m gonna utilize what I’m what I’m seeing here.
And then there’s the people that look like they’re meek. They’re shy. And if you’re just smart enough to just listen to them when they’re having a conversation with one of the handlers, they’re crazy. They’re nuts! They want to talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. My job is to listen. The beautiful thing about being in sales is that we have two ears, one mouth. Ears win. So I’ll be listening to everything that’s going on. But I’m willing to work with everybody. That’s how I look at it.
Let’s say a boat shows up to your camp on Day 2 asking for one person to go on a journey. You just missed out on this on your season, but you also saw through your cast how dangerous this can be. How would you approach the situation?
I’m more than willing to go. I don’t care. This is something that I’m never going to be able to do again. And I know that I said that before. Because in my heart, I knew that I was never playing again. I thought I was done until I got the information that I was coming back. If they come back and they say, “Oh, we need someone to get on the boat right now,” I’m just gonna go, “I’ll go.” Why not? You want to live the full experience. Don’t worry about what people are saying back at camp. If you do your job correctly, there are probably three to six days that go by before they come and get you. If you’re not having the proper conversations, if you’re not getting the proper buy-in from the people that are around you, then be scared, don’t go.
It was a kiss of death back in the old version of Survivor. The new version of Survivor, it’s not. And then when you come back, why lie? Hell yeah, you’re gonna lie; I’m not gonna tell them I have an advantage. But I’m gonna go, “This is what happened. We got all this. I don’t have a vote,” or whatever. I’m gonna stretch the truth as much as possible. You don’t break it; you stretch it. And then you have nothing else to worry about. I would never say no to an adventure in going out, going for a walk up a hill, walking across a rocky area across the water. I don’t care. I’m gonna take care of whatever I possibly can and have as much fun as I can.
What would you say is your biggest superpower and your biggest kryptonite in your life, and how that may play into your game?
I’m gonna go with the kryptonite first. Kryptonite is going to be the ability not to have food whenever I want it. Oh my god. I tried at home. I think I lasted 6.25 hours. And my dog looked like a five-course meal. [Laughs.] Poor Bruno was about to be [Mimes eating.] So that would be my kryptonite. And my biggest superpower is that I have the ability to ask the proper questions just to get an answer. “Hey, Mike, tell me what time it is.” You tell me the time. “What color is that?” You tell me the color. “Do you like that color?” Yes or no. That’s it. Those are closed-ended questions, man. I’m gonna ask open-ended questions. I’m gonna ask the ones that are gonna make you think a little bit. And then I’m not going to take your first answer. I’m asking another open-ended question, and I’m gonna get the truth on the third question I ask you.
That’s so interesting. How tough will it be to ask those questions without feeling like another version of Jeff at Tribal Council?
You have to be personable. People answer Jeff’s questions because they love his face. When he smiles with those big-ass dimples, and then he says, “What do you mean? What’s the reaction that you’re making right now?” Because you’re looking at him like, “Oh, Jeff. What do you want to know? I’ll tell you whatever you need to know.” I’m not Jeff, not by any stretch of the imagination. And then I do have the ability to sit there and say, “Okay, they’re getting a little frazzled. So I’m just gonna step back and give him a little shoulder nudge, make them laugh, and then move on.”
What is your hottest Survivor take?
[Laughs.] The younger generation will not get my humor. And I will make fun of myself. That’s not hard to do because I know who I am. I will crack jokes. I’ll have fun. But I also have to understand that the younger generation will not appreciate, to the fullest extent, my humor. I’ll say something, and maybe the camera guy or producer might chuckle because he’s a little older. And the younguns will be like… [Stares blankly.] So I have to read the room. But I gotta make sure that I keep in mind that the younger generation might not know I hear.
Next, check out our Survivor 45 interview with contestant Brandon “Brando” Meyer.
