A 'hero' comes back for round three

Amanda Kimmel’s only 25 years old, but because of a reality television program, she has grown well beyond her years.

With two stints on the CBS show “Survivor” and a third coming up when “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” begins Thursday, the Montana-raised actress figures she’s earned a decade’s worth of living in a much shorter time.

“‘Survivor’ has just opened me up as a person,” Kimmel said from Los Angeles, where she currently lives. “You learn so much about yourself. Even though you’re playing a game, people are who they are out there. It’s hard to deal with, but it’s a really good thing.”

One thing Kimmel did find out from both of her previous “Survivor” experiences was that she had what it takes to make it to the “Survivor” finals. She just lacked the last bit of stamina and strategy to push herself to the top as overall winner.

“I just couldn’t defend my strategy or the things I did. I was literally exhausted by the end,” Kimmel said of her losses in the jury votes. “I couldn’t close the deal, couldn’t convince other people to vote for me. I didn’t think I knew why they should vote for me, either.”

Kimmel grew up in cities throughout Montana, living in Bozeman, Billings, Whitefish and Kalispell. Kalispell is listed as her hometown on the CBS “Survivor” Internet fact page.

Her parents, Peggy and Larry Small, live in Kalispell and operate Aquasoothe colon hydrotherapy, part of the Wellness Education Center on U.S. 93 North. She also has a sister who graduated from Flathead High School.

Kimmel is living in California to audition for acting jobs. She said that her “Survivor” experience hasn’t been the hindrance to getting work that she had been led to believe.

“People have been telling me, ‘If you’re on a reality show, don’t even think about acting, no one’s going to hire you.’ But I’ve worked with people who are fans of ‘Survivor’ or fans of mine specifically because I was on the show.”

She first was recruited to be a “Survivor” contestant while she was living in Kalispell. Though she went through an audition process, she didn’t make it the first time. Then, after she moved to Los Angeles, the producers called on her again.

At age 23, she did two “Survivors” back to back in China and Micronesia. Her third experience, as one of the show’s all-star “heroes,” is set in Samoa. This is the 20th anniversary season for “Survivor.”

Of all those rejoining the cast, Kimmel said she’s most excited to be playing with James Clement again.

“He’s the only person I feel like I can trust,” she said. “And in this game, trust is crucial.”

She’s unhappy to see Boston Rob (Robert Mariano), though.

“I don’t want him back. You can’t trust him as far as you can throw him.”

She said it will be difficult to put her faith in anyone on the “Villains” tribe, who were cast as such because in previous “Survivor” seasons, they did something “that wasn’t noble or something people didn’t respect,” Kimmel said.

The “heroes,” according to CBS, have been defined “by their decisions of integrity, courage and honor.”

Kimmel admitted, though, that no one is faultless in “Survivor.”

“Really anyone could be marked as a villain or a hero,” she said. “Everyone has to lie, deceive someone and look out for themselves. No one goes through the game totally honest and loyal and does well.”

No matter what she may have done that she wasn’t proud of, Kimmel said her experiences have pushed her toward maturity.

“You learn a lot about what’s important,” she said. “You’re out there with nothing. I came back from my first season and got rid of all my stuff, I just didn’t want anything. Material things aren’t going to make you happy, it’s the people in your lives, how much you fulfill other people.”

“Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains” begins Thursday on CBS with a two-hour special at 7 p.m. local time.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4431 or by e-mail at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com