With its multiple seasons and international editions, Survivor has garnered a cult fanbase with its participants emerging as celebrities in their own right. Every season of Survivor involved people from different walks of life, ranging from an astronaut to a government official. Similarly, several actors have been a part of the survival show, many of whom went on to gain minor supporting roles in films and TV shows.
Other cases include actors who were already established before their stint at Survivor. For instance, Lisa Whelchel was a popular child actor with The New Mickey House Club while Mike White has been involved with hit films like School of Rock.
Jessica Kiper: Weeds
Survivor: Gabon's second runner-up Jessica Kiper is an actress, singer, and model with mostly guest roles to her credit. One of her prominent cameos was as Simone Wiles, a Roller Derby referee in two episodes of Weeds. Interestingly, she was credited as Jessica 'Sugar' Kilper. This was a nickname given to her during her time on Survivor.
Created by Orange Is The New Black's Jenji Kohan, Weeds was a dark comedy-drama that was mostly centered upon a widowed mother who helms a marijuana business to sustain her family.
Colby Donaldson: Top Shot
Survivor: The Australian Outback might be Colby Donaldson's claim to fame but this wasn't the only reality show that he was associated with. As a television personality, Donaldson has dabbled in a wide range of reality shows, Top Shot being one of them.
He hosted the History Channel show for five seasons from 2010 to 2013. As is evident from the title, the reality series mostly revolved around shooting challenges. Two teams of eight armed members each engaged in a battle royale of sorts. The show's popularity spawned a spinoff titled Top Guns which was yet again hosted by Donaldson.
Mike White: School Of Rock
Even before his tenure on Survivor, Mike White was popular as a screenwriter and a character actor. He served in both capabilities with Richard Linklater's School of Rock. In this modern comedy classic, White appeared as the protagonist's roommate Ned Schneebly.
Even though he's shown as a responsible friend, he's ultimately unable to stop failed rockstar Dewey Finn (Jack Black) from impersonating a substitute teacher and starting his own band at school. White and Black were to collaborate yet again with him writing another Jack Black-starrer, Nacho Libre.
Lisa Whelchel: The New Mickey Mouse Club
The New Mickey Mouse Club (an 80s revival of 1955's The Mickey Mouse Club) starred several child actors as 'Mousekeeters' with future stars like Ryan Gosling, Britney Spears, and Scarlet Johanson getting their big break from this Disney Production. The show featured the young actors engaging in a series of comedic sketches, musical performances, and parodies.
Similarly, Survivor: Philippines alumna Lisa Whelchel marked her TV debut as one such Mouseketeer. The actress served as a main cast member for the first two seasons, appearing in over 130 episodes.
Richard Hatch: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Richard Hatch made history in the year 2000 after winning the very first edition of Survivor. Since then, he has gone on to appear in Celebrity Apprentice, The Biggest Loser, and the Australian variant of the quizzing show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
Invited as a celebrity guest, his tenure at the show was short-lived given how he left after just the fourth question! A hilarious moment from the show's history finds Hatch struggling to find the answer to the question, 'What is 11x12?'.
Jonathan Penner: The Last Supper
A Survivor veteran from three seasons, Jonathan Penner also produced, wrote, and starred in low-budget feature films. One of his best-known works as an actor is The Last Supper, an underrated dark comedy with an amusing premise.
Penner, along with an ensemble comprising of Cameron Diaz and Courtney B Vance, starred as a liberal student whose peer group purposely invites conservative extremists to dinner with the sole plan of murdering them. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and received an overall positive response.
Vecepia Towery: A Baby Story
Vecepia Towery holds the distinction of being the Sole Survivor of Survivor: Marquesas. Her post-Survivor life was largely under the radar with an exception being A Baby Story.
Towery made an appearance on the TLC reality series to document the latter stages of her pregnancy up to the birth of her son Jordan. The show has been on air since 1998 covering different couples and their pregnancy stories. A spinoff titled Bringing Home Baby also dealt with the early phases of infancy.
Amanda Kimmel: Into The Blue 2: The Reef
Into The Blue drew mixed reviews but still gained popularity with leading stars like Jessica Alba and Paul Walker. If that wasn't enough, the film was followed by a direct-to-DVD sequel Into The Blue 2: The Reef. The latter follows a similar premise with a group of diverse seeking Christopher Columbus's buried treasure.
Amanda Kimmel appeared as herself playing volleyball in a brief scene at a beach. Kimmel has otherwise had a glorious career on Survivor emerging as the runner-up and second runner-up in Survivor: Micronesia and Survivor: China respectively.
Rupert Boneham: A Million Ways To Die In The West
Rupert Boneham was initially known as a mentor for troubled teens. As a Survivor contestant, he appeared in four editions of the series. He found further fame after competing in The Amazing Race along with his wife. When it comes to films, Boneham had a cameo as an extra in a bar fight in Seth McFarlane's Western comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West.
Boneham was one of many celebrities who cameoed in the film, including the likes of Jamie Foxx, Kayley Cuoco, and Ryan Reynolds.