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Coach Ben Wade (Upolu)
It's the return of the Dragon Slayer! Like fellow South Pacific veteran Ozzy Lusth, this is Coach's third Survivor appearance. After introducing us to the way of the warrior in Tocantins, Coach returned for an asskicking by his new tribemate Brandon Hantz's uncle, Russell Hantz, on Heroes vs. Villains. This season, the part-time conductor said, "I want the Maestro to come out," explaining: "In an orchestra, you tell people what to do, but it's more blending them together...to lead these people as an orchestra is going to be how I approach the game." What instrument will Brandon play in this ensemble?
Survivor: South Pacific premieres Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. on CBS in a special 90-minute episode.
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Ozzy Lusth (Savaii)
After his second-place finish in Cook Islands, the challenge-dominating fan favorite was blindsided (after leaving his Immunity Idol back at camp) by Micronesia's black widow Parvati, that season's champ. "I want to play with my heart," told us, "but I should probably be using my head a little more."
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Albert Destrade (Upolu)
Age: 26
Residence: Plantation, Fla.
Occupation: Baseball coach
Although he coaches baseball full-time now, the handsome athlete thinks his background as a dating coach gives him "a big edge" socially in the game. But he told us that savvy players—name-checking Russell Hantz, unbeknownst uncle of his tribemate Brandon—might identify him as a threat and vote out the "nice guy."
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Brandon Hantz (Upolu)
Age: 19
Residence: Katy, Texas
Occupation: Oil tanker crewman
Russell Hantz's nephew wants to show another side to the Hantz family "other than being mean": "I'm not beneath doing what I have to do to win this game, but I don't want to be known as a disrespectful or arrogant person," he told us. "I want to be known as a person who has values and morals and standards."
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Christine Shields Markoski (Upolu)
Age: 39
Residence: Merrick, N.Y.
Occupation: Teacher
"I figure growing up in New York every day is Survivor, so might as well make $1 million out of it," the quick-witted Queens native told us. She's not a fan of tribemate Brandon's uncle. "I don't like the way he rolls," she told us about Russell Hantz. "I think he's nasty."
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Edna Ma (Upolu)
Age: 35
Residence: Los Angeles
Occupation: Anesthesiologist
The last-minute cast addition to this season—she was actually campaigning to compete on Shark Tank—wants to take your pain away. When she's not anesthetizing patients, Dr. Ma is aggressively marketing her new line of bikini-wax numbing creams.
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Mikayla Wingle (Upolu)
Age: 22
Residence: Tampa
Occupation: Bartender/lingerie football player
"I'm sure I can bench half the people here," the super athlete and Playboy cover girl told us—and we believe her. (Watch out, Cochran!)
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Rick Nelson (Upolu)
Age: 51
Residence: Aurora, Utah
Occupation: Cattle rancher
Before the game even started, Rick told us he wanted to align with Edna, because he perceived her as a hard worker like himself. When we asked him to guess which veterans would be returning, Rick said, "I really hope it's not the Dragonslayer," because he disses Coach on his audition video, saying, "I'm not a quitter, and I'm not a Dragonslayer—there's not even any dragons out there!" Rick's wife told him, "It serves you right if he comes back."
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Sophie Clarke (Upolu)
Age: 22
Residence: Willsboro, N.Y.
Occupation: Medical student
"I'm blunt, I don't sugarcoat things...I'm a nice person, but I'm not good at being really friendly at first," says Sophie, but she thinks her reserve makes her more trustworthy. Although she is obviously brilliant, Sophie did admit that she thought Survivor was a "documentary show" when she was younger. (Wait—it's not?)
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Stacey Powell (Upolu)
Age: 44
Residence: Grand Prairie, Texas
Occupation: Mortician
The determined single mother explained her social game in a series of non sequiturs: "I have to get in where I fit in...I'm a strong woman, I don't have to cry to nobody...My voice can sound intimidating, but I'm not. It's just the way I talk. It carries." (On this last point, she speaks the truth, as we saw heard ourselves during filming.)
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Dawn Meehan (Savaii)
Age: 41
Residence: South Jordan, Utah
Occupation: English professor at BYU
Dawn and her husband have six adopted children ages 7-16. "They're all different backgrounds so we don't really resemble each other much," Dawn told us on set. "It's a lot like a tribe here," she laughed. "My biggest obstacle will be to not fall into the mother role—or try to adopt someone!"
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Elyse Umemoto (Savaii)
Age: 27
Residence: Las Vegas
Occupation: Dance team manager
Miss America's second runner-up (as Miss Washington in 2007) is hoping for a similar top-three outcome this season in Survivor. Although her musical skills—singing, playing piano and trumpet—are not much of an asset in this competition, the struggles endured by her Japanese, German and Native American grandparents give her an edge: "It's literally in my blood to survive," she says.
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Jim Rice (Savaii)
Age: 35
Residence: Denver
Occupation: Medical marijuana dispenser
He may sell pot but he doesn't act like someone who smokes it: Jim's résumé includes an MBA, a career on Wall Street, a winning poker tour stint and other entrepreneurial schemes. "I've never even smoked marijuana and I still haven't to this day, but I just can't believe how much it really, really helps people," he enthuses about his new calling.
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John Cochran (Savaii)
Age: 24
Residence: Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Harvard Law School student
Ever wonder how Woody Allen would fare on Survivor? "Cochran" (not to be confused with O.J. Simpson's late defense lawyer Johnnie Cochrane) is your answer. Although the Survivor superfan's chances at winning the million-dollar prize are slim at best (he says the thought of initiating alliances makes him "nervous"), he definitely deserves a prize for his neurotic comedy. "I'm probably the least attractive male member this season," he says self-deprecatingly—then goes in for the kill: "But it's not as huge a dropoff as it would be in other seasons. It's not a super-duper attractive season."
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Keith Tollefson (Savaii)
Age: 26
Residence: Edinia, Minn.
Occupation: Water treatment tech
With his strength and athleticism, Keith—who is also a certified EMT—could be viewed as a physical asset by his tribe. Or a weak link: He also has a pacemaker from a congenital heart condition. "I'm facing two barrels right now," he said about his tribe potentially viewing his as a double threat. "Physical strength as well as sympathy votes—I've got to play it pretty hard pretty quick."
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Mark Caruso (Savaii)
Age: 47
Residence: Forest Hills, N.Y.
Occupation: Retired NYPD detective
"I'm a little Italian daddy bear," says the cheerful, cuddly former cop. Being openly gay during his 20-year career as a New York City morgue detective "wasn't easy," he admits, "but hopefully I made it easier for the [gay] men and women who followed me."
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Semhar Tadesse (Savaii)
Age: 24
Residence: Los Angeles
Occupation: "Spoken word artist"
The onetime Miss Eritrea told us she plans to "act" ditzy, and if her primping and hair tossing are any indication, she deserves an Emmy. She also cites Nicaragua champ Fabio as the player she is most like...because he was underestimated. (And obsessed with his own hair?)
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Whitney Duncan (Savaii)
Age: 27
Residence: Nashville
Occupation: Country music singer/songwriter
This isn't Whitney's first time at the reality rodeo: She scored a recording contract after competing on Nashville Star, and one of her songs is featured on the new Footloose soundtrack. She also cowrote a tune with Celebrity Apprentice champ John Rich. Tragically, Whitney's cousin Holly Bobo, who was abducted in Tennessee before the country crooner left for Samoa, is still missing.