'Siberia' Cast on Co-Star Injuries, Lost Fingertip

Published

Actors Johnny Wactor and Joyce Giraud lost a fingertip and twisted an ankle (respectively) during filming of NBC's Siberia, yet the dedicated stars of the new scripted reality series are happy to defend the project's "anything goes," guerilla-style filming.

"A lot of the things that happened in the show are real and that's why it feels so authentic," explained Giraud, who suffered her real-life injury the first day on set.

Pics: Whatever Happened to Your Favorite Reality Show Stars?

"On day one of production, I stepped on frog 'cause they make us go on this pond. I stepped on a frog and twisted my ankle," said the actress who plays Carolina, one of 16 contestants sent to Russia (with just the clothes on their backs) to compete for $500,000.00.

Meanwhile, her co-star Wactor earned a more substantial injury, a fingertip lost while chopping wood, which was so compelling, the powers that be kept it in the show.

Said Giraud, "That wasn't in the script. It really happened and they really went with it and shot it."

Related: Oprah Scores Lindsay Lohan Reality Show

Modeled off of a Lost-meets-Survivor premise, Siberia puts its actors in brutal, unpredictable conditions while providing them with last-minute scripts in order to maintain predetermined storylines while cultivating honest reactions.

Siberia airs Mondays at 10/9c on NBC.