EW: So how did you get the ''Animal'' role?
HASKELL: One of the producers [called me in]. He had probably watched the show and felt bad for me. ''Oh, America's Sweetheart got booted off. She'll have a fun interview.'' About a week after the audition, I was driving cross-country, and on the side of the road I made a collect call to [my agent]. She said, ''Colleen, this is really weird. The hardest part is going to be explaining this to the press later, but after looking at your tapes, you got the part.''
EW: Did you know what to expect on your first day of shooting? I heard you brought your own lunch.
HASKELL: Yeah, some carrot sticks and peanut butter and jelly. [I figured] I'll take a little break, I don't want to bother anybody. But then I discovered craft services, and learned that steak and potatoes were really good. Then I learned the hard way that steak and potatoes were good...but not every day. And I had to stop that.
EW: How did your crash course in acting and moviemaking go?
HASKELL: I did a lot of smiling and nodding, not hitting my mark. I smiled and nodded through half this movie. Frankly, I didn't even understand the end of the movie until halfway through filming. Luke said, ''Did you read the script?'' I said, ''Yeah -- I didn't really get it." [Laughs]
EW: You realize now that everyone who goes into a reality show will come out saying, ''Okay, where's my movie role?''
HASKELL: I'm definitely not gonna be the last person from a reality show to get this.... But I was not just given this, and everybody rolls their eyes, no matter how many times I stress this. The producers were hesitant, but it worked, and Rob and I had a good rapport. So it's not just, ''Be on a reality show and you get a movie.'' You still have to earn it.
EW: And now you've gone Hollywood -- literally. You've moved to the Los Angeles area.
HASKELL: [Nods sheepishly] The only reason I wouldn't is because it's so cliche to suddenly be living there. But I love the beach and the canyons and the weather, and a lot of people I grew up with, who aren't involved in the entertainment industry, live out there. So I would move to San Francisco, but I'd be sitting there, like, ''Look at me! I'm not in L.A.!'' -- but going crazy.
EW: So are you pursuing more movies?
HASKELL: I went on three auditions, and one got very far, exactly like what happened with ''The Animal.'' I thought, ''Oh, I'm a shoo-in! Another movie!'' I didn't get it. [And I decided] that I didn't want to be putting myself through some emotional roller coaster about a job that I didn't pick. I would love to do another movie, but at the same time I have my resume and my portfolio and I'm meeting people in the art department in movies, looking into things like that.
EW: Now that you're doing other things, are you trying to distance yourself from ''Survivor''?
HASKELL: No. I came from ''Survivor,'' and it's led to a lot of opportunities, and I'm not purposefully distancing myself. That doesn't mean I think it's a very healthy game to play, and I'd never do it again -- not in a million years. I think it's awful to have 16 people in isolation, starving to death, playing a game. Every day that goes by I think about it, like, ''That's one of the dumbest things I've ever done.'' At least I should have won it. My God, I didn't even try to win it. ''No, we're not gonna form an alliance.'' Hel-lo! Mark Burnett is a genius, telling this compelling story, but I don't think it's healthy. I have a love-hate relationship with it.
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