Ky Furneaux Interview: Host Discusses 'Naked And Afraid' Appearance [VIDEO]

Ky Furneaux recently spoke to Celebeat about her time on Discovery's Naked And Afraid.

In the interview, Furneaux discussed her time in the Louisiana swamp with partner Billy Berger, as well as her stunt work and future projects.

Celebeat: How was your experience on Naked And Afraid?

Furneaux: Naked And Afraid was one of the most intense things I have ever done. I constantly risk my life in situations on set but this was such an intense period of time where 24 hours a day for 21 days I had to be alert to any danger. We were in the swamp in reptile mating season so the snakes and alligators were at their most aggressive and active – every step had to be taken carefully.

Celebeat: Did you have any reservations going into the show?

Furneaux: I was on Season One of the show, and so I was worried about how it would be portrayed by the network and how it would be received the audience. I trusted Discovery and their quality of show and so I signed on despite the extreme nature of the show. I have been very impressed how Discovery kept the true nature of the show and made it something that people of all ages enjoy watching and get inspired by. I believe it is their top rated show at the moment.

I loved the idea of beginning from scratch with absolutely nothing and so the challenge caught my attention. It’s always been a dream of mine to challenge my survival skills to their utmost and I knew this show would do it. I also knew that I had the skills to make it in this kind of situation and so I never had reservations about that, in fact I was just thrilled to jump into what I thought would be the biggest challenge I have ever faced.

Celebeat: Were you hoping to accomplish anything in particular when you joined Naked And Afraid?

Furneaux: I really wanted to show the world that women are amazing in survival situations. It has been too long thought of as a male dominated skill and I know from experience that women bring incredible attributes into situations like this and are often underestimated. I believe that survival is about 80% mental and both sexes are equal in that department. What we may need to make up for in physicality, we can make up for in endurance and problem solving.

Celebeat: Were there any surprises?

Furneaux: I was surprised at the fact that we had no dry land for 9 days. When I pictured every possible scenario prior to heading out there, I didn’t picture one where we would be knee deep in swamp water for an extended period of time. We are the only couple to date that had no dry land at all.

I was also surprised by how cold it was. We were assured that we would be in a location where we could survive the night without fire if we couldn’t make one. It was the coldest May on record for Louisiana and some nights dipped below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and some days were not much better. It meant we had to have fire by dark on that first night and burning 24/7 for the entire time we were out there or we wouldn’t have survived. Finding wood that would burn in a swamp took most of the day to collect, let alone worrying about food or water.

Celebeat: What did you think about your partner?

Furneaux: I was very fortunate to have Billy as my partner. We definitely had different ways of dealing with stress but he was a nice guy to hang with and had some invaluable skills in the environment we were in. The land he played in growing up was similar to the swamps and so he had some insider knowledge of how best to deal with it.

Celebeat: How did the show differ from your prior experiences on outdoor shows?

Furneaux: There is nothing that can compare to Naked And Afraid. On other shows we are dry and warm (or will be soon), we have access to food and water and a much larger support crew. There was absolutely no intervention by crew on Naked unless lives were in danger and even then it wasn’t about helping out, it was either you are tapping out mentally and leaving the show or deathly sick and having to be removed due to life threatening situations. It is the real deal.

Celebeat: We see you've done stunt work, what were your favorite projects?

Furneaux: I really do love anything that Marvel does. I mean, who wouldn’t want to play a superhero? Thor was fantastic for me - the crew were wonderful, the cast were a blast and I got to play a weapon wielding warrior goddess. I also loved playing ass kicking Agent Hill in The Avengers.

Celebeat: What's next for you?

Furneaux: I have a book out which is a survival book specifically for the modern women titled Superwoman’s Survival Guide and I am spending some time promoting that while writing my second book.

I am currently doing stunts on a few different shows including Sons of Anarchy (actually writing this from set right now) and I have a few survival shows in the pipeline that feature me as the host that I am very excited about.