by Gina Scarpa

Daniel James III is a longtime RealityWanted member who has seen much success from being a part of our site. He booked two shows before being cast on the hit Animal Planet show Hillbilly Handfishin'. Though his team didn't walk away with any cash, the producers of the show ended up loving him. Now, Daniel is hoping to land his own reality show and talked with us today about his journey to becoming a household name.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you decide to sign up for RealityWanted initially?
A. Daniel: I signed up in 2008 because I hadn't moved to L.A. yet. I signed up on the site and was just applying for different shows. Previously, I was auditioning for other shows but I would have to investigate. When I found out about RealityWanted, it made it easier to go there and look at all the casting calls in one place. I took a year off from my job and moved to L.A. in 2009. I got really involved in the site and it's been amazing ever since.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was the first show you were on?
A. Daniel: The first thing was this dating show called Conveyer Belt of Love. So hilarious! It was like, really weird but it was a show they were going to put on NBC. These women were going to be picking guys and first of all, I'm gay! I did it and they thought I was hilarious and would be a fit for the show. You had to go on this conveyer belt like at the baggage claim. They put all these guys on it and we had three seconds to talk as it came around... it was the weirdest thing in the world!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: That sounds too funny, I'm sorry we never got to see it! What was next for you?
A. Daniel: Second was ABC's Crash Course. They were looking for teams of two to come on the show and basically, take out all your road rage! No, we had to participate in all these obstacle courses in a car. You had to use your teamwork skills. The first thing we had to do was... we were in these NASCAR type cars and the first obstacle was that we had a boat hitched to the back of the car. They had all eight cars in the lane. You had to use your backing up skills and you had to back up the car and the boat. The dynamics are different so using those skills, your mirrors, and your partner, so it was pretty interesting! It was the wackiest thing! At the time, Wipeout was the new big show on tv and this was supposed to be something like that but we were in cars. We're all immediately in this big car pile and whoever finished first wins. Of course, I got excited, I didn't even put my glasses on, and we were second across the finish line. I thought I was pushing on the brake but I had it on the accelerator and I'm sliding backwards. Me and my best friend and cheering and I ran into the guard rail that a cameraman was on top of it. He went flying off of it and it was a mess!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Most recently, you were seen on Hillbilly Handfishin', which was so entertaining to watch. How did you feel going into it?
A. Daniel: I was nervous! First of all, I read the casting call and immediately saw it was looking for pairs. My best friend Eddie, who did Crash Course with me... I'm always calling him to do stuff with me and he never knows what he's getting into. I submitted for it and they immediately called back. I had never seen the show, I just knew it was an opportunity to get on tv. I auditioned on the phone, went on a Skype video, and still didn't know any of the details. I had no clue whatsoever what the hell I was getting myself into! Neither did Eddie! My friends were like, "Do you know what this is?" but I wasn't even concerned. I just knew I was just gonna be on tv. Well, we got to Oklahoma and we get out there in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't until we got to the river and they walked us through what we were gonna be doing and I was like, "Yeah right!" I had signed the contract, they paid for me to come out there, so I couldn't back out. I was really ready to! I was like, "Who does this? This is insane!"

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's been the big goal you've had in mind when it comes to television and the entertainment industry?
A. Daniel: Well, I always know that I wanted to land that big show. For me, Hillbilly Handfishin' seems like that big show. The producers were excited and kind of offered me a spinoff that they want to work on. Ultimately, that becomes a reality and that's because of RealityWanted that I land my own show. I worked really hard, as you saw, to get where I'm at. A lot of people aren't gonna go that far. That's something I would say, although we want to get cast on shows... how bad do you want it? Be aware of what you're signing up for!

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How can people keep up to date with your journey?
A. Daniel: They can always follow me on Twitter @DanielJamesIII and always follow me on Facebook with the same name. That's how they can stay tuned and hopefully, this show comes to pass and we'll see what happens. It's been an amazing journey. It's been wacky, but that's what I am - wacky!

(Image courtesy of Revlover Radio)

Follow Gina @ginascarpa