A New Breed of Hollywood Hopeful

Sept. 22, 2003 -- You could say Kaya Wittenberg and Josh Souza are part of a new breed of Hollywood hopeful — young people who crave the rush of reality-show fame.

Between them, they've already been on eight reality shows and counting. Souza got his start on Big Brother, then went on to Blind Date, his own TV pilot, and an Internet chat show.

Wittenberg appeared on the original Temptation Island with his girlfriend, Valerie, and that led to The Weakest Link and Cannonball Run 2001. But why are these guys so willing to expose their most private emotions on national TV?

Top casting director Marki Costello said for people like Souza and Wittenberg, and thousands of others, the reality-show rush has become almost an addiction.

"All of them finish shooting these shows, and they have a camera following them 24 hours a day, a mic guy, everybody," he said. "And all of a sudden they get off these shows and they're hooked."

Wittenberg said his first brush with reality celebrity was "literally a roller coaster."

"It was very emotional and then we came out to L.A., and it's — you're overwhelmed with all this attention. I mean people aren't meant to get that much attention that quickly," he said.

Souza said appearing on Big Brother changed his life. "For the first time in my life I developed 100 percent confidence in the way people perceived me," he said. "And I said to myself, OK, you know, I'm studying to be a civil engineer, but I can do more than that."

Thank the Camcorder

Reality TV as we know it today really took off with the first edition of MTV's Real World in 1992.

The series followed every move of a group of 20-somethings thrown together in a New York City loft, brilliantly simulating the kind of vérité home video that families were now shooting with camcorders in their own homes.

"A whole new generation of kids have now grown up where every important thing that ever happened, there was a camera present," said cultural critic Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University. "By the time a lot of kids are 8, their entire childhood has been a reality show."

Those camcordered childhoods have in turn inspired a generation of reality show addicts.

Right now, reality shows are what younger people want to watch: Over the last year, six of the top 10 programs for viewers between the ages of 18 and 34 were reality shows.

And for many of these viewers, participating in these shows is every bit as important as watching them.

"We used to think that Big Brother was going to be a bad thing," Thompson said. "The notion of cameras looking at us from security things was going to be oppressive and that's what [George] Orwell talked about.

"Orwell, however, didn't have Survivor, Big Brother, and The Bachelorette in mind. Orwell didn't realize that instead of being oppressed by the camera, 50,000-strong would say, 'Please, please, please pick me.' "

A Reward for Being You

The desire to be picked is so great that young people are willing to line up by the thousands for a shot on a show like American Idol. The all-American obsession with fame may be the main motivation, but there can be other rewards.

Trista Rehn from The Bachelorette not only got a proposal, her dream wedding to Ryan Sutter will be watched by millions this fall.

Even losers on reality shows sometimes get lucky. Bob Guiney may have been rejected by Trista, but he ended up with a book deal anyway — not to mention the starring role in the next edition of The Bachelor, beginning this week.

"Reality television, I think, is, is great, because it really gives people, normal people an opportunity to be in a situation that they might never be in — in their lives," Guiney said.

"But at the same time, you know, I know it's fleeting, and I know that you know it can all go away tomorrow. Maybe it's my upbringing — I am pretty confident in the fact that not quitting my day job is the best decision I have ever made in my life," he said.

But Don't Hold Your Breath

Fame indeed can be fickle in the world of reality television. Take, for example, the "stars" from the first season of Survivor.

Richard Hatch won the million bucks, then had to settle for a radio show in Rhode Island and a few modest TV appearances.

Colleen Haskell, America's sweetheart, landed a role in a comedy called The Animal, then returned to reality television — but behind the scenes, as a producer.

Tough talking truck driver Susan Hawk got 20-odd TV guests shots and a part in a film called Bubble Boy.

In fact, the steadiest employer of reality stars may well be Playboy magazine. Three of the women from Survivor have appeared on the cover, as have Sarah Kozer from Joe Millionaire and Darva Conger, the momentary bride from Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire.

"It's not as easy as everybody thinks," said Costello, the casting director. "We don't give away a sitcom at the gas station here in Los Angeles."

Where the Cool People Are

But for reality junkies, reality is its own reward. The phenomenon of a reality-show celebrity is new, said Wittenberg — but it's not necessarily any less significant than the other forms of celebrity.

Wittenberg said he has attended some Hollywood parties, and among the movie celebrities, the TV celebrities, and the reality people, he said, "I can honestly say the coolest people are the reality people.

"You understand why they're picked to go on these shows. They're like, in some way they're kind of crazy, or they're out there, or they're wild, or … there's something about them that's really special that you know the minute you talk to them."

There's even soon to be a whole channel for reality TV addicts: Reality Central, a new cable venture that will run old reality shows and features on their stars.

"Older people in a sitcom where they're screaming and yelling at each other — I mean, it's not that exciting to me," said Wittenberg, who is also a spokesman for the channel.

"You know, throw a bunch of young, cool people in Conflict Island, that's interesting," he said.