Thomas Krottinger Shares Some Things That Went On Behind The Scenes Of Survivor 48: 'I Could Have Lost My Eye'

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With another episode of Survivor 48 having come and gone, one recently ousted castaway’s presence was certainly missed on our reality television screens on Wednesday (Mar 26): Thomas Krottinger.

Stealing the hearts of individuals all across America, Thomas was undoubtedly a fan favorite on Survivor 48, ultimately shattering said hearts upon his elimination. Now that he has had his torch snuffed, though, Thomas has (fortunately) not stepped out of the spotlight entirely.

Recently, Thomas has taken to the media to share some serious Survivor secrets, including some things that went on behind the scenes during his short-lived stint in Fiji.

Keep scrolling for the piping-hot tea…

Who Is Thomas Krottinger?

via Robert Voets/CBS

On Survivor 48, Thomas was a member of the original Lagi tribe alongside Shauhin Davari, Eva Erickson, Joe Hunter, Bianca Roses and Star Toomey, and he was known primarily for his sassy one-liners and #SavageAF gameplay.

Outside of Survivor, though, Thomas is 34 years old, living in Los Angeles, California and working at Sony Music Publishing. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined the company in 2017 as the Senior Manager of International A&R, eventually becoming the Director of A&R, the Vice President of A&R and now the Senior Vice President of A&R. How impressive is that?

In an exclusive interview with Parade‘s Mike Bloom — before beginning his rather short-lived Survivor stint — he opened up about his career path thus far. According to Thomas himself, despite moving to the City of Angels to become an actor, he “took a music law class in college and fell in love with the music business,” which ultimately led him to his current occupation. He continued:

“From there, I just interned all around town and got some really amazing mentors, and then got my first gig at an agency… I kind of tricked my way into A&R, because I had no experience, and ever since then, I just kind of conned my way up.”

When he is not working, though, the “outgoing, emotional and loyal” castaway enjoys binge-watching The Real Housewives franchise, making (and eating) ice cream, drinking cold brew, spending time with his dogs, reading and more.

Celebrities, they’re just like us… right?

Thomas Krottinger’s Elimination

Despite being extremely successful back home, Thomas was not so successful in Fiji, getting his torch snuffed shortly before the merge portion of the game. Yikes!

Earning a “Steal a Vote” advantage on a journey — as well as developing a strong bond with the “California Girls” (AKA Shauhin and Joe) — Thomas was seemingly in a good position on Survivor 48. Well, that is until he was perceived as too big of a threat by original Civa tribe members Kyle Fraser and Kamilla Karthigesu, who he found himself on the Vula tribe with after a tribe swap.

Heading into Tribal Council with the new Vula tribe — consisting of Thomas, Shauhin, Joe, Kyle and Kamilla — the “California Girls” had a false sense of security, as they thought they had the numbers to keep the original Lagi tribe strong. When Kyle unexpectedly played a Hidden Immunity Idol, though, Shauhin, Joe and Thomas were stunned, ultimately leading to the latter’s untimely exit. Poor guy!

In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly‘s Dalton Ross after his elimination, Thomas explained exactly what went through his mind when Kyle played his Hidden Immunity Idol.

Despite feeling as though he was the least threatening of the “California Girls,” the Texas native admitted, “I kind of had a feeling it was me.” He continued:

“When we hit that beach on Vula, the first time I was gone from the four of them, I came back and Joe and Shauhin told me how intensely the two of them were coming after me and trying to break us up and tell them that I was lying to them, which I was.”

After this oh-so intriguing statement, Thomas then proceeded to share some things from his short-lived Survivor stint that never made it onto our television screens.

Thomas Krottinger’s Behind-the-Scenes Secrets

When Dalton asked Thomas to “blow our minds with something that happened out there that didn’t make it to TV,” he swiftly replied, “Lagi beach has no food. You saw how Civa was talking about cassava root last night. We had nothing. We had coconut and I hate coconut.”

After bantering back-and-forth about food with the longtime Survivor reporter — as well as their shared hatred of coconut — Thomas then shared a personal anecdote about sea snails. “One night we were so hungry, we scavenged for sea snails for hours on end, and then we did a sea snail boil and we ate a bunch of sea snails,” the recently ousted castaway spilled, but then things went south. He continued:

“Star got violently ill before going to our first Immunity Challenge. She was up in the jungle, everything was coming out. We didn’t know if she was going to be able to stand up to go over the net and push the thing up the hill, and then she went beast mode and crushed it and it was incredible.”

“That was a moment where I was like, ‘I don’t know what we’re going to do. All six of us have to do this!'” he concluded.

Speaking of challenges, he then discussed what really happened when Bianca hit him in the face during a later Immunity Challenge, giving him a black eye that he rocked for the remainder of his Survivor journey.

“Medical said that if it was half an inch up, I could have lost my eye.”

How scary is that?

What else didn’t make our television screens on Survivor 48, though? The world may never know.

Nevertheless, to see what does make our television screens, tune into brand-new episodes of Survivor 48 each and every Wednesday via CBS, or stream them the following day via Paramount Plus.

Following the most dramatic episode of Survivor to date, things are certainly heating up…