"The Circle"'s Winner Says Their Strategy Really Helped Them Win The $100,000 Prize
*Major spoilers for season 1 of The Circle below!*
Unfortunately for fans of Netflix's The Circle, the show's first season has officially come to an end. Throughout the past three weeks, fans got to enjoy a brand new reality TV show unlike any other. The goal? To survive each week from being eliminated through a series of popularity rankings. Come in last and you're gone. The catch? Not everyone in the game is who they say they are. The most popular player in the game will get the chance to take home $100,000.
While it was honestly anyone's game, original contestants Sammie, Shubham, Joey, Chris, and Seaburn (who played as catfish Rebecca) survived until the final round. However, it was Joey who ended up on the top and got to take home the grand prize. In an exclusive interview with Seventeen, Joey opens up about being judged by his castmates and fans, his mental health throughout the game, and what it's like to come out on top in a game that's all about popularity.
17: Congratulations on winning The Circle!
Joey Sasso: Thank you so much! Yeah, life has literally changed overnight. It's so insane!
17: Were you expecting to win?
JS: No, I'll tell you what, I really never expected to win. At all. I would've been so happy to see any of my other four castmates win and I would've totally had their backs and been supportive. But if it was gonna be two people that I wanted to win, it would've been probably Sammie and Shooby (Shubham) equally because I just adore both of them. So, I was just so excited to make it to the finals. To me that was really winning. I thought winning was out of my hands. There's so much more that goes into it with this type of game, this type of show.
Then when it came down to me and Shooby as the final two, you can see the look on my face, I looked terrified. 'Cause I never expected that this could be an option. I was like, "What is happening right here. Alright, let's just crown Shooby the winner so I can hug and tell him I love him and then we can all hang out afterwards." Then it when it was me. I was in complete shock. It took me hours to even wrap my brain around the fact that I just won this thing, because this game was so insane. It was so crazy.
17: You were the super-influencer the ratings before the finals. Were you expecting to go back down in the rankings because of it?
JS: You know, I wasn't sure with the whole super-influencer thing. We didn't know at the time how much time was left in the game. I've seen a lot of people online say, "Why would you take out Sean?" And also, "Why would you tell the whole crew that you took out Sean?" But, in retrospect, watching it, that might be actually what won me the show. Because, I thought, "I could leave after I do this." At any point, I can get blocked. And I'm the type of person that doesn't want to leave anything on the table. I don't want to have any regrets. I want to put it all out there so I made the best decision that I thought I had to make and I still think it was still the best decision to make.
I told every single person, you know, this is what I did and I think it's more bold in this type of game to do that because I didn't have to. It was sort of like being a catfish, so to speak. I could've been quiet and kept everything to myself, sort of like how someone comes in pretending to be someone else. But, I think I stayed true throughout the entire game of who I've always been which is no matter if for better or for worse, you're gonna get the honest truth and I'm gonna put it all out there and however you feel is how you feel.
17: Speaking of catfishes, one of the top 5 players was Seaburn AKA Rebecca. What was it like when you walked into the final dinner, seeing him there and realizing you were catfished from day one?
JS: Oh man, I mean, [it was] such a shock. But I expected it going in that there had to have been at least one person, if not more, who wasn't who they said they were. I've seen some people say, "Were you pissed off?" And it's like, "No, man."
You know when you're coming into this thing, it's a game. Some people are real. Some people aren't. And that's why I went, "I gotta say congratulations to you," and I gave him a hug. He's the only person who slid all the way through to the end without really being himself. But what threw me with him was you can tell that he was such a beautiful person. He had such a big heart, such a big personality. But you're still sitting there going, "Wait, in my mind this has been Rebecca for however long we were there. Who is this guy? What is happening right now?"
17: Was there a moment in time where you knew that it was going to be you five going all the way to the end?
JS: No, I really didn't think and know what was going to happen. I thought there were gonna be more eliminations. That's why, when I was a super-influencer, I made that decision. Not just for the next ranking, but [I was] thinking two rankings down the line. You get so conditioned to how things are gonna go and you're looking at the screen and at the players' profiles and it becomes a chess match of one person with one decision leads to ten other effects with all these other people. So, in my mind, we probably had two, maybe three, more rankings to go and it was going to go down to a final three and I wasn't sure how the winner was gonna be revealed. And it was such a relief when it was like final rankings. Like, I never been so happy in all my life of like, "It's done. The mental anguish is ending." It was really gratifying.
I also really respected Ed who came in the game so late and came out swinging. Especially when you're coming in as the oddball out. But I remember sitting there after we submitted the rankings and they didn't use this in the show, but it's a moment I remember so vividly, just saying, "I truly hope everyone feels as blessed and as lucky as I do right now, because, we made it together." I really felt that. I still feel that now reflecting back on it.
17: What made you want to sign up for The Circle?
JS: I've been living in LA since I was 18. I'm an actor, which a lot of people are just finding out now. And, like everyone who is a struggling actor, it's a very difficult to get work. I've always turned down reality show opportunities just because there's a stigma with them in the industry. But, with this, it was such a fresh concept. It was so new. It really had a message behind it for the world we live in today.
I really had to have a conversation with myself of, "Okay, I'm a struggling actor who's been out here for almost a decade killing myself. Am I gonna hold myself back from this opportunity?" Not any opportunity, because, if it was a different kind of show, I probably still would have never have done it. But with this, I was like, "You know what, man? There's nothing bad I can take from this. I can go in, have fun, be grateful for the experience." I have my film right now in post-production, so this on top of that, it's just a 1-2 punch of like how much of a better year can you have?
17: Was it a difficult process being on the show, especially since you're alone basically the whole time? Plus, it's a game, so that can mess with your head.
JS: It definitely does. I mean, it's funny watching the show from beginning to end, because you can see, not just with myself but with everyone else who makes it to the end, our excitement level coming in and then, in like the last four episodes, how we're all just exhausted mentally. Just like exhausted. Throughout all of it, I really tried to stay positive and just keep having fun since I was still in the game. But it really does get difficult cause the walls start playing tricks on you and you're just mentally tired. You don't have any music, any television. The amount of people reaching out to me saying, "This was scripted right?" Or "You guys really got to leave, right?" And I'm like, "Dude, this was 100 percent real." We were in there. We were going through it. And that's what you signed up for. That's what they let you know [before you join]. It's gonna be difficult, because, that adds to the stress of the game and that's why it's so interesting to me.
It's a double-edged sword of you want to stay in the game, you don't want to get blocked. When you don't get blocked, you are so happy, you have so much joy. But the longer you stay in the game, the more crazy you go. The people who leave get to go back to real life.
17: Were you surprised to hear from so many people who said that they didn't like you at first, but then you grew on them as the episodes went on?
JS: You know, it's been a really cool experience. After the show ended, like I'll talk to people online, even if you're still not a fan of me. That's cool man. I'm just happy you're enjoying the show. That's just life. But it's been really gratifying 'cause that's kind of been how my entire life has gone. I'm very loud. I'm the most mature person you'll meet, but I also have an immature sense of humor. And I'm very confident, which people take as cocky, which I never try to be. So when the show premiered and I saw that reaction from people, I was like, "Okay. I know, not only how this ends, but how I handled myself throughout the time being here. Give them time." But the magnitude of how many people felt that and how many people switched their mindset, it's kind of crazy.
It really is something that I dealt with my entire life that I can't really answer why. I know I fit into a type and a stereotype that can have connotations with a lot of negativity, but I've just never been that kind of person. You know, I always just say, "Give me five minutes to look at you in the eye and have a conversation and you will really see I'm the exact opposite of everything you saw before that."
17: It kind of goes back to the show's original message of never judging a book by its cover.
JS: Yeah, it was really cool just to see how many people recognized that I was just always being myself and being real as the show went on. [I also saw that] as I watched some of the episodes over. I went into this with the same way I went into my career in film which is I stay true to myself. I'm never gonna "sell my soul" or do what I don't feel is right. To see the reaction from fans all around the world who embraced that, I really can't even put it into words how amazing that is. Like, if you just sit there and think and reflect and let it hit you for a minute, it silences you. It humbles you. It grounds you. It's such a beautiful thing.
17: You and Miranda seemed to have sparked a romance with each other. Can you give us an update on your relationship?
JS: Yeah, with that situation, it's just been one of those things where I get why people are so into it and why [fans want] a yes or a no with what's going on. But I just don't want to confirm or deny anything with it, because I just feel like it sets up expectations for people that can make them happy or disappointed somewhere down the line or in the moment. But, what I can say to you is that I love that girl to death. We are definitely in each other's lives. We speak every single day and this experience definitely made me a friend for life in her. We have a relationship unlike anything I've ever had with someone else before. People can look into it as they may with that, but I can say, I love her to death. I really do.
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