‘Deal or No Deal Island’ host Joe Manganiello reacts to Parvati and Phillip spat (exclusive)

Each week, Deal or No Deal Island host, game master, and executive producer Joe Manganiello will weigh in with Entertainment Weekly regarding the latest events on the Banker’s Island. This week, he reacts to the big Parvati and Phillip falling-out, strategic decisions during the excursion, an emotional scene between Dickson and David, and La Shell’s deal gone bad.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Phillip really came at Parvati for what he deemed a “disgusting” move of making a “conscious choice to take somebody’s childhood trauma and use it as a chess piece in the game.” And he didn’t even stick around to talk it out with her. This is part of what makes reality competition so fascinating, in that everyone has a different code of what is and is not acceptable. What was your take on this whole interaction?

JOE MANGANIELLO: Yes, precisely. David says it in this episode: “What’s with the emotions in this game?” It’s “just a game,” but if you win, it could completely change your life and the lives of the people around you… but there are also genuine friendships and alliances that are built within it… BUT you have to multiply the strength of those bonds by the nonstop adrenaline rush of the highs and lows of the competition. It’s what’s so great about DONDI.

As someone who’s been a professional actor since his early 20s, I’ve seen plenty of performers playing characters who are going through the emotions that players actually go through on the show, but what I absolutely love about my job as host is the front row seat to real emotion. If you want to know what disappointment looks like… it’s on our show. If you want to see genuine elation… it’s on our show. Aside from running the games, I really love that I get to set up and highlight all of the emotional complexities so that the folks watching at home can spot those little nuances along the way.

Did Parvati say what she did in order to try and manipulate Phillip into helping her get Will eliminated? Yes. Did Phillip then attempt to throw off Parvati’s safety streak by timing his talk with her right before the excursion? Maybe… but let it be known, it did wind up hurting him in the challenge. It’s why I love competition reality. A situation like this forces everyone at home to take the litmus test: What would I be willing to do to win, and is there a line I wouldn’t cross for upwards of $10 million? Are you a Parvati in this situation? A Phillip? Or someone else? 

Let’s get into the excursion. What was your big takeaway from both the order that people were cut from the race, and the decision by Lete, CK, and Phillip grouping together to make Dickson vulnerable to the Banker?

Initially, Dickson speaking up for Lete being left behind seemed like good social game. Dickson is in a good spot strategically because he is firmly embedded in his alliance with the Family and it appeared that Lete was going to be voted out of the excursion by the rest of the players anyway. Him speaking up in her defense wasn’t going to sway the vote, but on the positive side, it could allow him to set him up for a dual alliance with Lete on the side — and let’s get it straight, the man has a crush on her.

BUT… then at the next stop, he votes to eliminate himself, which hurts Parvati and David in terms of their voting bloc for the rest of the excursion. In the end, it seemed like he had some sort of breakdown in his gameplay which then became clear later on when all of the other players eliminated from the excursion, including Lete, turned on him in order to save their own necks.

The Family went from a cute little alliance to something much more when Dickson told David about his issues with his real father and how “You’re everything I wanted in a dad.” This scene and the emotion behind it really took me by surprise. What has it been like to see Dickson’s story unfold and this new TV relationship form?

There’s a reason why stories like Frank Herbert’s Dune and George Lucas’ Star Wars resonate with audiences. They’re coming-of-age stories about heroes finding themselves while battling the odds. And let me tell you something: DONDI season 2 is right up there… HA!

Somewhere there is footage of me during the axe-throwing challenge giving Dickson a motivational speech about Bilbo Baggins — a guy from a small town who answers a wizard’s call to adventure, who then leaves the place he grew up and in the process, winds up helping a group of dwarves reclaim a mountain of gold from an evil dragon. He then returns home to his village forever changed with untold riches and stories to regale everyone with.

Dickson has had to deal with a lot in his life, and I think I speak for most everyone when I say that you can’t help but root for him. What you’re watching with him this season is more than a game. It’s one of those moments in reality competition where it genuinely transcends the genre and you get to watch a life-changing transformation.

You asked a question at the Temple that gets at the very heart of the big Deal or No Deal quandary every player faces: What’s more important, safety or money? La Shell went for money and paid the price. What did you make of her decision, which ended up eliminating her when she made a bad deal?

I sensed during her battle with the Banker at the Temple that La Shell felt like her gig was up. There was a sense to me that she knew she had gone about as far as she thought she could go in the competition and wanted to add as much money for the rest of the competitors before bowing out. She didn’t want to pick another case and have it potentially drop a million dollars off of the offer. That’s what was behind me saying, “You really walk the walk.” I’m commenting on her altruistic nature. She played a great game and exited in heroic fashion. And then there were six.

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