Spoilers ahead for Season 1 of The Circle on Netflix.
Netflix has completed its first American season of The Circle, and there was a lot to love. Joey Sasso was certainly one of those major positives for the season, as the New York native became a fan-favorite with his honest and heartwarming attitude. Fans are well familiar with the alliance and bromance he formed with fellow contestant Shubham Goel, but Joey exclusively revealed to CinemaBlend there was another friend he made that we didn't see.
I spoke to Joey Sasso following his win on The Circle, and asked about whether or not there were any moments from the game that were cut from episodes that he wished had been included. Without missing a beat, Joey revealed that he literally created a friend using materials from the welcome box at the competition's beginning, and confided in it throughout the entire game.
Everyone's seen in the first episode, right? We had in the box a bunch of Play-Doh and I remember thinking 'Play-Doh, what the hell is this?' So when I was bored, you could see me in the first episode just mixing it into this ball. And I ended up making a face with it and I named the guy Garfunkel. Throughout the entire show. I'd be sitting there during downtime sketching or talking about something that happened. Basically he was like my Wilson from Castaway.
So while The Circle was drawing attention to Ed bringing his mom along to play the game, Joey was chilling out in his apartment with his imaginary friend made out of Play-Doh Garfunkel. As mentioned previously, Garfunkel only gets a bit of screen time at the beginning of the show, where Joey can be seen fiddling with the Play-Doh and combining it.
It's an amazing reveal from Joey Sasso, and one can't help but wonder what a "Garfunkel cut" of The Circle Season 1 would look like. Imagine Joey having that heart to heart with Miranda and sharing that sultry kiss all while the Play-Doh idol he's secretly conferred with the entire game is just chilling in the background. Joey assured us he committed to the bit throughout the course of the show, but at the end of the day, had his doubts it would make it into episodes.
I remember the night of Game Night I was just having a time in my life just talking junk to everyone. Just laughing and then, you know, being like, ‘Garfunkel, shut up! You're so negative all the time!’ All this crazy stuff like that. That was something I actually really thought, there's no shot. They're not putting any of that stuff in there because it's just me being ridiculous with this imaginary friend who's made out of Play-Doh.
As ridiculous as it may have been, Garfunkel allowing Joey to talk out his gameplay could have been the key to what won him The Circle. From a fan perspective, it would be very interesting to learn what else from other competitors was cut from the show if something that big was removed from Joey's experience.
The Circle Season 1 is currently available to binge on Netflix. Stick with CinemaBlend for more details on what's coming to the service in the near furture, and for the latest news happening in television and movies.
