It's in the news today, but it was actually on TV Reload, the podcast past week. They welcome back guys to TV Reload. As you may know, my name is Benjamin Norris and this is your podcast to get all the insight goss all the popular TV shows you may be watching from around the world. Undeniably, our TV sets are a major part of our home entertainment, and yet very little is known about how our favorite shows get made.
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on your chosen podcast platform. On today's podcast, I have twenty twenty three's TV villain Sam here to talk about his time on The Traders season two, which had its dramatic season finale this week on Network ten. Not since The Honey Badger have we been left so empty handed in a television series finale by the time Roger Korser explained what could happen in that Three Trader final showdown.
I'm pretty sure we all saw what happened coming. However, I think if anyone is talking about where it all went wrong or who was to blame, I think it might be left with today's guest. Sam played a brilliant game. I think he did polarize his audience and his fellow players, but it did make for some pretty entertaining viewing. And you have to hand it to him, he did get away with murder. Literally. Sam in his own time, is a sales marketing whiz and attractive guy on Instagram. Please
go check that out. Who had turned his small time country boy lifestyle into this very determined and ambitious lifestyle. I think we're going to learn a little bit more about Sheriff Sam today, and I will grill him on some of the twists and turns that he managed to manipulate. I will ask Sam why he chose the Traders and find out which dating shows he had turned out over
the years, which includes Love Island Australia. We will unpack the finale and find out why he thought Camille needed to leave Blake and himself the money, which may have you asking why did he not leave the money for Blake and Meal. Sam will talk about his TV villain status and if this will have any effect on his
life or if it'll affect any further job prospects. Plus, we will get plenty of exclusives from behind the scenes of The Traders season two, which finished last Sunday night, but you can catch up on and I do suggest you do contenplay anyway, guys, let's bring Sheriff Sam into the podcast and I really hope you enjoy this very insightful and interesting look at The Traders season two.
Look, I'm going to set you up here.
I'll get straight into this because I've only got you for a limited time. But i just want to say thank you for doing this chat.
All good, happy to be here.
So what an amazing season? How are you feeling after watching that explosive finale?
Back look, this whole season has been incredible, so much fun. I was able to play a character that was an absolute super villain that I expected to only last three or four episodes because I wanted to make big moves. I wanted to make it as interesting as possible for the viewers to watched the show. That was my main thing was to make good TV. Either you're going to love me or hate me, but you were going to watch.
So that was my main thing. I wanted to achieve and I just kept going further and further, and then the end result was massive, Like it was huge, but at the same time, I felt like I won because I had so much fun the whole episode.
Well, you can look at it as like a three way tie, I guess, just with no money.
Yeah, I was. I was the last Trader standing. I actually was. The other two walked away and I was still standing there with all the silver.
I wanted to ask you, did the producers know who you'd written down?
I don't think they. I don't think they knew. Let at last they could see it out of my shoulder. But no, yeah, everyone was shot. No one knew.
Did you hear that rumor that this finale of the second series for the Australian Traders that the producers sort have had to look through the rule book or contact the original creators to ask what to do in this situation? Do you heard that?
No? I didn't hear anything of that. I was short, but I knew the rules I knew that if three traders were at the end and that no one got the money. That was explained to me. I understood that, partner.
Okay, I'm just really curious as to why you would wanted to have had three traders left in that finale vote or the final vote, because you were pretty proud of the fact that you got those three there. But the red flags for me, the warning bells were going off. I was like, Sam, I don't think you know what you're doing.
The thing was the reason we took a million, because she played with such honesty in the game. She didn't she always kept saying she didn't need the money. She said she'd come from a wealthy family. Her partner made lots of money, she's got a house, she got a kid. She doesn't she isn't here to have fun and play
an honest game. And I was like, well, that's the perfect trader to have right there, because they're not here for the money and they will write share And Blake's like, to me, we need to get rid of her, and I was like, look, we don't really need to get rid of her. She's going to play an honest game. She doesn't want the money. All is good. Let's this all three go to the end. It's going to be cool with the first three as well, to ever go to the end.
And no, she wrote steel, how did you honestly think that vote was going to go? Like you know with you writing Steer, I was there any possibilities that you know, Blake wouldn't have and you would have ended up with all the money?
Like me and Blake had like small chat that we would we would steal it, so we both kind of were understood where we would play. And we're looking at each other at the grand finale and I knew he was going to steal it. He knew I was going to steal it, so we're like, yeah, look, we've done all the work, we might as well, you know, get paid. And yeah, that didn't happen, but he was pretty heartbroken
and they didn't show it. But I actually went up to him and I was hugging him and I was like trying to make sure he was okay, because I know he really need that money for other reasons with his family, and like I really wanted that money stycle buy my first house. I never went on the show for the money. I went on there just to make good TV.
But I guess you know, how did it get to the point where Camille would rather tank the whole thing than see you get anything?
Yeah, that's what's That's what's strange Because if I was in her position, if I was fifty years old, had my family, had all my finance set up, and I seen two young kids who played it amazing game, got all the way to the end and really deserved the money, I would have just been like, you know what, you two,
this one's going to change your lives. Like she knew that I needed for my first house, she knew that Blake needed for his Stanley reasons, and she would if she said, like wrote, I'm going to share it with you guys because you deserve it, and this is going to change your lives, and I know you're going to steal it, but here enjoy it. She would go down as one of the greatest game players ever because she was actually a good person.
Well, she looked really uncomfortable when she was providing you with her rationale, like I don't think it was a fair or sorry, I don't think it was an easy choice for her to make, you know.
Yeah, no, I think part of her actually wanted to share it and us to enjoy it, So I think she was. It was probably a last minute decision for her to steal it, and it would have looked really bad if me and Blake both wrote Share and she wrote Steele. That's what I was also worried about. I was like, if she writes Steel and takes it all and she's nothing in the game, I'm going to look like an idiot. So either way, I had to play exactly how I wanted to play in this game, and
I did exactly what I wanted. Every person who would attack me in the game, I would banish them. I would then murder them, so I won.
It's so brittal, but you know, we as an audience have been watching this all the way up into that moment, and you know, it seemed like you left standing there while the other two left devastated. What happened when the camera lights went down? Were you able to talk amongst the three of you or if you've never spoken ever again, I'd love to know some behind the scenes on that.
I've talken with Blake. Yeah, I've talken a lot with Blake. I talked with him after the show's finished. We've met up and we've gone over everything. Me and him are sweet. I'm pretty good with nearly all the contestants. They all have realized how well I played the game, like we didn't see any of this coming, So that part's been good.
At the end of the day. From episode one, you've been Reality TV gold. I'm loving the fact that you were leaning into some villainry there.
And I'm a trader and the rules of being a trader is you got to lie, you got to manipulate, you backstab, You've got to cause problems, and you've got to make everyone not know what's happening in this game. And I understood that to a t. And when I tried out for this game and the producers are trying to figuret who's the trader, Who's a faithful, I was never going to be a faithful because I was here to play the traders and it's about the trader. And that's exactly what I did. I played a trader to
a level that has never been played before. Everyone plays a smart calm game where I was like, I wanted to get rid of a trader on episode two and I almost did it. I was very close and everyone you know, you can see the fear in people's eyes when I'm trying to do these moves and I'm doing these interviews and the people they're not saying anything, but they're like, is this guy like crazy? Like he's wow.
I'm just shocked that you haven't been on any other reality TV up until this point. I mean, I did hear a rumor that you'd been asked to do Love Island and maybe the Bachelor. Maybe it was just Love Island.
I've had Love Island contact me twice. But I'm waiting for the call of to be the Bachelor.
Okay, so I think after being an ass on this show, that you're going to be made the Bachelor.
Yes, because I would be the most interesting person as the Bachelor. But also Survivor. I'm a huge Survivor fan. I've wanted to play Survivor the last five years. So that is Survivor and Bachelor is where you're gonna You're gonna see me. I'm going I'm going to do that. We just wait for the call up and I'll see which one.
Comes first, and you will say yes. Well, I'm hoping that they do a Villains versus Heroes or something like that. With Survivor because I feel like I'd audition for that show just to go up against you.
Yeah, look, you can come up against me, and you know I could play I can play both. You know, I got cast as a villain, but it doesn't mean I'm a villain. I can also be a very nice person.
So what's the real Okay, then you've got to tell me this. So then being Sam the real person, what's the difference between that and the person we've seen on this show.
The real person is from the country. I grew up in a small country town and ride horses. I do farming, and I'm just a normal, quiet person. But I love acting. I love making just content. I love making videos. If you go through my Instagram, you'll see I make videos of just making fun of myself for a situation. I don't take anything serious. So when I have something that I need to do, I will just mold my character
to that and I'll have so much fun. So for the weeks that were filming The Traders, I was the sheriff, and I had so much fun because I could just be naughty, silly, loud, and you know, I would go do these outrageous things and then go back to my room and piss myself laughing on what I just did, and I'm just thinking, on, did you actually just do that? And then I was just like, this is so much fun. I can't wait for tomorrow to do something fun again.
And then people like think, oh, he's such an evil person. I've raised over sixty five thousand dollars for charity from myself. I've done so much work through the Bush Buyers in Australia. I spent forty four days fighting for as a volunteer, saving houses, saving animals, saving people, ambassador for stand By You Foundation, they protect domestic violence. There's so much things that I do good that people don't really know about me, and I think I'm this villain.
Do you think being this TV villain will affect the way that people see you in the future? I mean, do you think it would change you being able to work with these ambassadorships? I mean, was that a concern for you?
No, No at all, because anyone who understands the game understands I'm playing a character, and anyone who knows me knows what I'm like. I do marketing, I work with some of the most powerful people in the world and the most powerful businesses. I've worked with Kevin Hart, just trained Jake Paul. I do marketing at the most famous hotel in the world. I work with top celebrities and my job is to work with anyone and that's what I do so well. So I was able to do
this for the last six years. And that's why I'm able to go into a show like this with nineteen different personnal nineteen different cultures, nineteen different beliefs and be friends with each and every single one of these people. And I'm still friends with them all, and that's why I was able to control the game. That's why I was able to get them to do things for me and to believe what I was saying because they were actually my friends. Just because I would lie at the end.
That's part of the game. But I'm friends with all these people. They've all invited me to come to their place and stay with them and watch the show with their families, so it's not going to affect me at all. To be honest, I love that I'm cast as a villain because there's so many people who are going to want to watch what I do next, and that's good.
It was interesting that you were saying about Ash Pollard and that you wanted to banish her. In the second episode, there seemed to be some real tension that we could see as an audience. Was there anything that she had done personally that we didn't get to see on camera or did you just she'd rub you the wrong way? What happened there?
She just wasn't friendly and she was rude to me at the start. And when she rubbed me the wrong way like that, I was like, I always wanted to get rid of a trader early. That was my game plan. And I met Blake and I was like, lovely dude, heard about his family, heard about his outside life, heard the reasons why I wanted to be on the show, why he needed the money, And then I talked with Ash and Ash was just like, Oh, I just want to put some marble on my kitchen and I go
to buy a new BMW. I was like, I know which person needs the money, and I know which person I'm going to take out. And I did that, and look, I'm sure Ash is an amazing person. She's got a family and everything, so there's no hard feelings. But at that position of the game, I needed to make a decision on the two, and I made the right decision.
Who would you say the players that you felt the most excited about banishing or murdering.
The most exciting? The one that scared me the most was when I murdered Luke. I love Luke. Luke is a fantastic game player. He's a fantastic family man. I see how well he takes care of his kids. I actually look up to the guy, and I've seen what he's done in Survivor and it's massive and it's inspired
me so much, especially in this game. So when I was going to get rid of him, I didn't want to get rid of him, but I had to get rid of him because he knew I was a trader, and if I kept Luke in the game any longer, I could be done. So when I got rid of him, I was so nervous because then everyone else. He told everyone else that was a trader, and if he got murdered that I'm done, everyone's going to know on the trade. So I'm like, oh my god, what am I going
to do to try and figure this out? So getting rid of Luke that was the scariest. The rest of them was fine. I didn't even bother, Like I kept all my friends in the game, like Gloria, annabel Luke, Keith Liam. They were all like my friends, like really good friends, like I would be friends with them for life. Simon was amazing, Paul, you know, the whole cast was cool. You know, I rowe like everyone, Hannah. They're all really good people.
You know.
I felt bad. I did feel bad, actually yeah, but they were all amazing people.
I just felt like you should have been recruiting Annabelle or Luke a little bit earlier. Like I kind of felt like the producers even wanted that to happen. I don't know whether I was having too many wines while I watched the show, but I was like, kept thinking, they clearly want them, these traders to recruit another person, and I feel like they clearly cast Annabelle and Luke to be faithful to start with, but to be I think the traders would be wanting to make them, you know,
to recruit them. And then you guys kind of didn't do what that plan was.
No, whatever the whatever a normal person would do, I'll do the opposite a normal person would. You got rid of a trader, you need another trader for numbers. I was thinking that I could just get rid of Blake as well, and I'd just be the only trader. That's what I wanted. You know, I don't think you can do that, because you can't, but I didn't want another trader needed in Blake. We had so much confidence in
our game plan because you had two people. We had Blake, who was just fitting in quite calm, and then you had Me, who was very loud, friendly with everyone, and we could protect each other because we weren't. We're not the same person, so we're like Ying and Yang. So that worked so well in the show that we're like, we don't need anyone. And we only brought Famelion at the end because she knew I was a trader, where I could have just murdered her like I did with everyone else, but I didn't.
Well, you were playing to the strength of you thinking that she was going to be able to let the money go, and then it turned out that she didn't. Do you think that she didn't do that because she didn't like you as a person, or like, do you think it was more personal?
We were really good friends. We actually worked together the whole season on all the votes. Every vote, she would come to me and ask me what I wanted to do, and she'd do it. She actually was one of my closest friends in the game. So it would have been Luke, Annabel, and then Camille and Gloria. So I was closest with Camille. Why. That's why I was a little bit shocked as well, because it was just like unexpected, like she made out at the end, like in all things that how she
said everything. But we were really good friends in the show.
You know, there was that moment at the end where you were sort of saying to Camille, why didn't you let us have the money? But as much as that you have a real friendship, you have an existing friendship with Blake. You knew how much he needed the money. Isn't there a possibility that you yourself could have let him have that money by allowing that vote to play out differently? Wasn't that your choice as well?
Yeah, definitely, if I knew Camille was going to take it, I probably would have wrote a chair. As much as everyone's like bullshit, you wouldn't. I would rather Blake get his half and me get nothing, then none of us get anything too, Like I promise you that. Like, I know, he needed that money, and it makes me to think, should have you done it? You know I could. I
could have ended the game as the hero. You know, I've been the villain the whole time, and I could have ended it shocked everyone that Sam shared it.
Why didn't you do that? I think you would have been more celebrated, and you would your career would be bigger had you take us on an evil path only to redeem yourself at the end.
Yeah. Look, the villain is still there, so the people still want to see me for The people are still going to watch whatever I do next. And if they want to know who I really am, all they have to do is go to my Instagram and they'll figure out what I do with my life, how I treat people. And you can't be a bad person and do the job I do.
Do you think now that the show could really do with a finale jury? You just mentioned before that you'd love to do Survivor and you've watched that show because you loved Luke on there. Do you think that the way that The Traders comes to the end is the right way, because I mean, the audience wants to see someone get the money, I think, And then I feel like when you've got a jury, you can't really shit
on everyone. You kind of have to make sure that they will respect your gameplay enough to let you win. They will have to want you to win. Do you think that is something that should change in this game?
I like the jury because I've probably had about eighty percent of the cast or tell me that I deserve the money, and then the other fifty have said me and blake, but at least eighty percent or asked tell me I deserve money. So look, yeah, I wouldn't much rather if we could have given the money to charity or something that would have been awesome for me.
Do you work out how you were going to spend the money? Like had you thought? I mean, so you'll be like, I'm putting it east into our I mean if you use it.
For some savings and then pursue my acting career as where I'm going to go with. So you need if you're not working, you need some savings. So yeah, I'm still going to pursue acting no matter what.
What what's ot of acting? Do you are you into it? Are we going to see you in neighbors or home? And Away, or are you wanting to be in a Christopher Nolan movie? Like what is what's the ambition there?
All of them are neighbors, Home and Away. I feel like I could fit perfectly in there. I've done a massive transformation in the gym. I was really skinny. I was seventy nine kilos at the start of the year. Now I'm ninety two kilos. So I've spent the last nine months in the gym changing my body how I looked. I want to get really fit, and then i want to work on my acting careers, so I'm up for anything. I'm going to be looking for an agent to help me figure out what I'm going to do with my career.
So there's any good agents out there that want to learn a tic of a kid who wants to have some fun.
Well, I think you're a good actor. I mean we learned that from watching the show. I think that if you were watching TV to find people who can take on a role and play a role, well, I mean I've had a conversation with a few friends today who loved The Traders and watched it and they were like, really dark on you, And I was like, but he played the villain rey role so well, like, well, I think it needs to be celebrated.
Yeah, look, I'm getting celebrated. There's it's probably a forty percent celebration sixty percent like he's evil, he's bad. But it goes back to like people like the game, Like, how else would you want me to play this game? If I don't be a villain. You're not gonna watch it because it would be boring. You guys are watching this because you want me kicked off the show.
You want me banished so badly because he said something really cocky over there and he shooting his guns wa a wanker, And do you know I realize I'm doing this because it's fun, it's entertaining, and you guys are gonna watch it because you want to see me fall.
Well, I think these days we kind of enjoy the villain. I mean, maybe it's just me. I should stop saying for people. I think it's me. I think in twenty twenty three, I love a good villain, Like I feel like that's it. And I look actually back at the history of time and was my favorite characters like Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader, like all of these bad villains, the bad, the worser campy they were, the better it was, you know.
Yeah, I can play a villain so well as you can see. So what would be perfect if to cast me as a villain in a TV show or a movie and you've seen nothing yet, Like, I will play the best joker you know you have ever seen.
I just love the ambition. I think the ambition is there for you because you know you are a boy from the country. I'm crossing to you in Mikinos. I think I've followed your Instagram follow you back. Yeah, I've been watching from Afar and in a well done on the body transformation, I think I'll say that on behalf
of most of your subscribers. But yeah, I just think that you're a very ambitious man and I really look forward to seeing what you do with all of this, because I mean, I can see the nice person behind it all. But I think there's still going to be some people are going to need to see a different sign to you.
Yeah, yeah, that's it. Yeah, thank you so much. That means a lot to me. I guess more shows they'll see see me depending on how I'm going to want to be cast. Is another way of how they're going to pursue me. So look, if I get cast as a movie as a villain, I'm going to be a villain for the rest of my life.
What about though, you know the people that were on this show, were there any people that maybe took this reality TV too seriously with because I mean, for you, you're kind of doing it very tongue in cheek. Do you think any of the other people in the cast maybe we're playing it too seriously and have walked away feeling a bit disappointed?
A few have, I'm not going to say any names, but a few of them have taken it a little bit heart just like how they played the game. You know, if they get a little bit of online bullying, they struggle with it. No one's copying more bullying and heat than me. And I'm okay because I created it and
I'm fine with it. But a lot of people don't understand when you do these reality TVs, there's consequences that comes with it, and you have to be able to accept that either how you're persuade on the TV, how people are going to think of you in public, all these things. But look anywhere I've gone in Australia and someone's recognized me and asked for a photo. They've been so nice to me. So I've not had one bad thing, even if someone probably doesn't even like me, it's been amazing.
Like I was in Zamberro's and this little girl looked up at me and goes trade up and I'm like, that was my first interacting with someone and I was like, oh my god, you know who I am and we've got a photo.
Well, before you go the last question, I want to ask you something to ask everyone who joins the podcast. What is something from behind the scenes, something that we didn't get to see, kind of like a behind the scenes secret from your time making The Trader season two.
I have the biggest secret, and it is at the hotel. They're watermelon eight, better than any other watermelon on this planet. So go to the Robinson Hotel and try the watermelon. I couldn't eat enough of it. That was the best thing wapping up every morning walking down there. I would eat all my watermelon and then I'd see who watermelon?
Well, Sam, I just want to say thank you for that watermelon secret. Harry Styles will at least go there, doesn't he have a song called Watermelon.
Yeah, well you didn't mention that you wanted to be a singer.
You could have thrown that in there as well. The enactor okay, okay, Well Sam, I think you did a very good job on the show. You made it extraordinarily entertaining, and I was very much impressed with your gameplay, and I think you did a fantastic job and you should be very proud.
Thank you so much, thank you for having me, and yeah, awesome, it was so much fun.