Richard Hatch grabbed the $1 million prize, but "Survivor" pixie Colleen Haskell is winning fame and fans with her role as an animal shelter volunteer in the movie "The Animal."
The 24-year-old said she fell into acting after her torch was snuffed in week 11 of the 13-week series.
"My life was turning upside down and all I wanted was for the show to be over. Have fun, smile, do the interviews and then go back to normal life," Haskell says in Entertainment Weekly magazine.
Her mother convinced her that life would never be normal again, so Haskell hired an agent and landed a Blistex commercial to pay off her school debts. As for her crash course in filmmaking, Haskell said she's still learning.
"I did a lot of smiling and nodding and not hitting my mark," Haskell said. "Frankly, I didn't even understand the end of the movie until halfway through filming."
Haskell's reticence seems to have made casting directors and filmmakers even more determined to make her a star.
"What drives me crazy is she's never nervous, ever," said director Luke Greenfield. "She has fantastic improv skills and she's eerily talented."