He’s known as ‘King of the Jungle’ but Australian Survivor’s Luke Toki wanted to meet another reality hero.
Such is the dedication, or even obsession, in the Australian Survivor community that many past contestants stay in touch with one another through group chats.
News about casting, filming, dates, villain edits, media articles, or a host being sacked, is fervently discussed at length. There’s fandom around international Survivor seasons and comparisons with our own top production by Endemol Shine Australia.
So when Luke Toki the self-declared ‘King of the Jungle’ was invited to compete -for a third time- who was at the top of his wish list as a fan of the show?
“If there’s any name that I would love to meet and hang with it’s Tony Vlachos (pictured below),” he tells TV Tonight.
“He was the original, the OG. I give him congratulations for when he won his second season, Winners at War (2020). The guy was the first one to hide in the bush in America and I took a little bit of inspiration from the King himself, so I was definitely looking forward to seeing him and how I match up against him at the same time. They sort of say, ‘Eventually you become good enough that idols become rivals.’”
That’s idols as in people, not Survivor idols hidden in trees, although Toki has his share of those too.
Filming for the series took place in Samoa in mid 2024, back to back with Brains v Brawn II. Toki insists he didn’t set about investigating casting prior to arriving.
“I don’t become Sherlock Holmes until I land on the beach. I like it to be authentic. You don’t want to know, because there could be someone completely different than you plan for, and it’s not ended up working out as in your head.”
He did get to meet Tony Vlachos who is on the “World” team this season along with profile US contestants Parvati Shallow and Cirie Fields. Joining him on the Australian tribe are David Genat, George Mladenov, Shonee Bowtell, Janine Allis, Kirby Bentley and Sarah Tilleke.
“Sarah and I have a tumultuous Survivor relationship,” he explains. “But Dave and I never turned on each other. So we’ve had each other’s back. There’s a bit to unpack if you’ve watched the seasons before. We call it the Evil Brother and Evil Sister. Have you ever seen Addam’s Family? There’s a brother and sister who keep trying to prank each other or so kill each other.
“You’ve got all your faves there. So, you might like George more than me, or you might like Shonee more than George. Each person there has had such a big impact in the past.”
“Each person has a crazy ability to work the numbers, and no one’s shy to stab each other in the back, because it’s such a small, short, fast season. I say it’s Survivor on steroids, because a lot of us Aussies haven’t played these shorter seasons. We’ve played 50 days and with such large numbers. So what you think will happen won’t happen, and the craziest shit will happen. Will the Aussies work together? Will they turn on each other? It is going to be a very unpredictable season, I think.”
The season lasts just 16 with the Sole Survivor to win $250,000 (half the usual prize money). By the look of the network promos, some of them will need all the strength they can muster.
“I was actually in good nick,” Toki inisists. “Some people, like George, are saying they’re coming in heavy. But, it’s actually a good strategy sometimes, because we do lose so much weight. Even if you sit there and you build all the muscle you lose it within 10 days, and then you’re justchewing through your fat. Like, naturally, you’re trying to put on as much weight sometimes as possible, whether it’s muscle, fat or whatever. ut you still want to stay healthy, because the challenges are extraordinary.”
No interview with a dedicated Survivor face would be complete without addressing the elephant in the room… this marks the final season for host Jonathan LaPaglia, brutally sacked by the network without explanation.
“Look, I love JLP, we’ve done a couple ads together, but as we all know, the show moves on,” he says tactfully.
“The show’s also about the people playing. You’ve got sometimes 24 different people coming from different walks of life, all playing a game. The host steers it, but at the same time it’s about the King of the Jungle, it’s about the King of Bankstown, the Golden God, Shonee and the Cookie Monster … all the players that make the game. So, that’s all I’m about. I love to know that I’m looking forward to the new players that are going to walk to that Tribal Council and play hard.”
Any truth to the rumour David Genat is his hosting successor?
“Dude, I’m as much of in the dark as you are. I hear the word on the street, buddy, but I don’t know!”
Spoken like a true player skilled in the fine art of smoke and mirrors….
Australian Survivor: Australia vs the World screens Sunday – Tuesday on 10.