Joe Manganiello reacts to Dr. Will storming off ‘Deal or No Deal Island’ set (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 island. This week, he reacts to Dr. Will Kirby walking out on the excursion, the rules that allowed Will to undo an accepted deal with the Banker, another showmance partner being eliminated, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Okay, prepare yourself for a lot of Dr. Will questions. First off, explain exactly what happened with him walking out of the excursion. Why did he leave and where did he go?

JOE MANGANIELLO: The interesting thing about the excursions on DONDI, as opposed to other competition shows, is that ours are extremely strategic in nature, and I realize that they can seem complicated at times because there are so many different ways to choose to play them, but it’s all by design. In the hammock excursion, for example, most of the players were focused on (a) communicating with each other in order to bring back the biggest possible amounts for the Temple and (b) resolving the conflict of who out of the two players would achieve safety from elimination.

The extra variable that threw everything off during the battle between Dr. Will and Dickson was Dickson’s intense fear of heights. Dickson was so uncomfortable that even at that first level, he wanted out. And as soon as Dr. Will gave up the fact that his first-level case was lower than Dickson’s, Dickson prioritized his immunity and went for his rope to lock them in. In that moment, Dr. Will realized he made a mistake in trusting Dickson with his case value. He assumed Dickson would prioritize bringing back the highest possible cases just like every other guest prior, but Dickson’s overwhelming fear of heights took over, and he realized that if he pulled the rope, he’d not only get to come down from the hammock, but he’d earn safety.

So in a knee-jerk reaction, Dr. Will, seeing the writing on the wall, went for his rope, too, in the hopes that him pulling first would grant some sort of advantage. But in doing so, he and Dickson locked their cases in with Dickson’s value ultimately being higher. Dr. Will, knowing he was now vulnerable as a result of Dickson’s trickery for a second week in a row, stormed off into the jungle, and we had to close out the excursion without him.

Let’s get into what went down in the Temple, which was even more bizarre. You present Will with his first offer of $72,000, and he immediately presses the button and accepts it. But then, after getting hammered by his castmates, he unaccepts the offer and says it was not official and keeps playing. Walk us through the rules and how you all sorted through that whole situation.

 The rules state that a deal cannot be accepted or rejected until I verbally say, “Deal or No Deal.” If you go back and watch previous episodes, I oftentimes open the case and say, “Now, to make it official… Deal or No Deal.” But even with that being said, and me knowing the rules, I was still a bit taken aback when Dr. Will slapped the button that quickly and demonstratively. Once the initial moment of shock subsided, I just sat back and watched the fireworks. 

Do you really think Will’s entire plan was to fake taking the offer, or did he rethink his drink after getting bashed by Parvati and David and found a loophole to keep playing?

If you haven’t already, go to my Instagram feed and watch the behind-the-scenes footage from last week’s episode where Dr. Will tries to bend the rules and put himself up to face the banker at Temple. I, of course, have to stop him and remind him that that was against the rules. If you ask me, judging by the smirk on his face while he did it, Dr. Will knew what he was doing and was attempting to make himself out to be somewhat of a hero in that moment.

No one wants to be seen as the bad guy when they put someone up against the Banker, and I think Dr. Will was trying to score as many points with the crowd as he could before dropping the hammer on Dickson. I’ll say it again, DONDI is a game of superior strategy, and for two seasons in a row now, you’re seeing the veteran gamers pushing the limits of the rules looking for any possible way to gain an advantage in the competition.

Finally, give us your eulogy for Maria-Grace, who became the first casualty from the Family, and went out right after her showmance partner in Storm.

 A wise man eulogized that “elimination ends your game, not your relationships…” Due to the fact that Storm and Maria Grace, who were both eliminated in back-to-back weeks, are staying for the remainder of the season in the same cast hotel, I’d imagine that’s true.

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