Valerie Waugaman Sounds Siren on American Gladiators

As Siren on American Gladiators, Valerie Waugaman has an opinion on why this reality show revival has been so successful. She recently shared it with TV Guide:

TVGuide.com: So, how did you become a gladiator?
Valerie Waugaman: It just fit into the path of who I've been all my life. I've been very competitive and athletic since I was a child, and I competed in volleyball in college, and then I went on to compete in professional figure competitions in the IFBB, the same federation that made Arnold famous.

They found me because I was a fitness model, and they were looking for female physiques just like mine. They called me and said, "Would you try out to be a gladiator?" I grew up watching the show, so I was just like, "Heck yeah, this is great." [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: How did you form your gladiator persona?
Waugaman: After the first couple of weeks of training camp, the network said, "Listen, it's not about creating a character that is like a fantasy character, it's really just yourself, but amplified about 10 times for TV." So you bring your own personality, but up to the next level. Siren is just me, amplified.

Read the full interview with Waugaman now.

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.