Reality TV’s Special Forces: Troops-turned-stars talk about their stints on the small screen - Entertainment, TV, Television - Navy Times

Reality TV’s Special Forces: Troops-turned-stars talk about their stints on the small screen

Employing strategy, tactics, skill and leadership under pressure while living and working with a diverse group of people, all with the nation’s eyes upon you: It’s the stuff of everyday life for anyone who’s ever been in the military. It’s also much of what makes reality TV so compelling.

So it’s no surprise that military people past and present have performed so successfully in the unscripted dramas and competitions of the small screen. Army veteran J.R. Martinez is just the latest to capture reality TV fans’ attention. With burns from a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq covering much of his body, Martinez’s fancy footwork and emotionally charged performances helped him clinch the Mirror Ball Trophy on “Dancing with the Stars” on Nov. 22. He joins a growing cast of former and even current military people who’ve left a very real mark on the sometimes unreal world of reality TV.

Among those now showing or coming soon:

Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan: A Navy explosive ordnance disposal team is at the center of the action on this show that recently premiered on the G4 network. Other G4 shows in the works will feature everything from Apache pilots to female troops on the front lines.

Military wives: Two new shows featuring military spouses are in the works. “Military Wives of San Diego” and “Army Wives of Alaska” promise to bring the unvarnished reality of life on the home front.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition: Ty Pennington and crew opened the latest season in Fayetteville, N.C., with a new house for Navy veteran Barbara Marshall, who helps homeless female veterans. Producer Diane Korman says this season will feature several military families.

“After 10 years in two wars, there’s tremendous interest in the military and the heart-thumping reality of its missions, whether in war or on the home front,” says Lt. Col. John Clearwater, an Army liaison to the entertainment industry.

With more military people getting their 15 seconds of fame, we checked in with five current and former reality show veterans who made it big on the small screen to see what lessons they learned along the way. From applications and casting calls to the on-screen dramas and redeploying back to real life, here’s what they had to say.

Winning the audition

A blown-out knee put an end to Chris Reed’s Marine Corps career, but that didn’t stop him from maneuvering through the second-season reload of History Channel’s “Top Shot.” Long before he could start hitting bull’s-eyes on the “American Idol” of marksmanship, however, he had to catch the eyes of casting directors.

Reed figured he’d let his shooting skills do the talking with a killer video. Armed with two camcorders, one borrowed from a neighbor for close-ups of the targets, “I went out in the backyard with my bow and set up a 50-yard moving target shot that I’d been practicing on for the Buckmasters competition.” He nailed the baby-powder-filled balloon on the first shot. He followed up with rapid-fire skeet shooting and over-the-shoulder-while-aiming-with-a-mirror pistol trick shots and a 450-yard shot with his .30-caliber rifle.

“I figured maybe some of this stuff will impress them.”

It did, says “Top Shot” casting director Semi Aboud, but just as important was Reed’s plain-spoken confidence and down-home personality. “In the video, I remember him shrugging and saying, ‘I guess you could say I’m just a good ol’ country boy.’ He was real, and I just thought that America should get to know him.”

Trumping the competition

West Point grad Kelly Perdew decided it was time to pull out the audition equivalent of a flashbang grenade. Sitting in a room with about a dozen other “Apprentice” hopefuls, Perdew had made it through the initial sifting that had culled tens of thousands into just a few hundred. Now another would-be contestant seemed “to have the objective to talk as long and loud as possible.” Ranger School taught Perdew that winning strategies rely on well-timed tactics, and he figured the time had come to seize the initiative. “This guy was in the middle of some completely politically correct answer, and so I slammed my hand down on the table and said, ‘That’s the biggest bunch of bull---t I’ve ever heard.’”

There were more than a few dropped jaws as Perdew proceeded to offer his own answer, but he figured he’d made the right move when he saw the casting director chuckle to herself. That much was confirmed when she pulled him aside as everyone else was being shown the door.

“You had to have some look, some charisma, some standout, some something about you to get to that point,” he says. “From there, I felt like it was just supercritical to just be authentic. While I am kind of a smartass and will yell loudly in a crowded room to get a chuckle, I am significantly more than that on a regular day-by-day basis. You’re not going to fool people 24 hours a day for weeks on end on camera.”

Real-world drama

Nothing sucks the fun out of your stint on reality TV more than a sudden dose of real life. That’s what happened to Ryan Conklin on the 21st season of MTV’s “The Real World” when he found out he was being recalled to active duty for another tour downrange. Conklin had already been discharged after serving with the 101st Airborne Division in Iraq but was still subject to involuntary recall from the Individual Ready Reserve when he found out he was headed back. It was a powerful moment.

“You’ve got that packet in the mail that you’ve been dreading,” the voice of his brother tells him over the phone. “You have to report to active duty.”

“Shut up!” says a shaken Conklin. “If this is a joke, it is not funny.”

“Ryan, I’m dead serious.”

Within moments of hanging up, he struggles to hold back the tears, but it’s no use. “I just don’t want to put my parents through that again,” he says.

“I was in this tunnel vision of questions,” he later tells the audience of an MTV reunion show. “My mind was going a mile a minute. People who say they’re not scared are lying.”

Making it a career

While most reality-show cast members get their 15 minutes of fame and then head back to real life, Reichen Lehmkuhl used his fourth-season “Amazing Race” victory to grab onto what only in polite circles can be described as a colorful new career in show business. Among a variety of film, stage and TV appearances, Lehmkuhl has made reality TV his mainstay, including stints on “Fear Factor” and 2005’s “Kill Reality” on E! Entertainment Television.

The openly gay Air Force Academy grad and former flight instructor has seen plenty of drama with his newfound celebrity. His relationship — and subsequent breakup — with former N Sync singer Lance Bass garnered plenty of tabloid press, as did the purported leak of nude photos of Lehmkuhl by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. Now in his second season with Logo’s gay reality show “A-List: New York,” Lehmkuhl also has published a series of beefcake calendars and a book about life in the Air Force as a gay service member. He’s even launched his own line of jewelry and a new fragrance.

Surviving a big win

A former Army mechanic married to a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, “Survivor” superstar Sandra Diaz-Twine remembers what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck. But that’s not a problem these days. With not just one but two $1 million “Survivor” purses to her credit, Diaz-Twine is one of the biggest money winners in TV history. Still, she knows the money can burn out faster than a snuffed tribal-council torch.

“You have to be realistic. The money is not going to last forever, so you have to be smart,” she says.

Indeed, Uncle Sam takes almost half right up front. Still, after her first win, it would have been easy to kick back a bit, but she went straight back to work as a sales associate at the Fort Lewis, Wash., exchange. By the time her second tour came around on “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains,” she was working as a bank teller at Fort Bragg, N.C., where she continued to work until recently.

“I’m still the same person when it comes to money,” she says. “I still drive the same car. I still clip coupons and get the Sunday paper for the sales. And I never pay full price for anything.”

Instead, she’s tried to invest wisely, buying a house and opening up college savings accounts for her two kids. “My only real splurge is traveling,” she says. “We like to go places.” While her husband, Marcus, prepares to deploy to Afghanistan early next year, she says she’d welcome another trip downrange on “Survivor.”

“That’s how I make my money!” she says with a laugh.