Joey Sasso says 'The Circle' mentally prepared him for quarantine, and 15 more things you didn't know

• Joey Sasso, the winner of the first season of Netflix's "The Circle," has begun co-hosting Million Stories Media's "Heads or Tails," a show that seeks to answer everyday people's questions about the pandemic.
• While discussing the show with Insider, he answered some rapid-fire questions about the ways that "The Circle" prepared him for self-isolation, where he and fellow contestant Miranda Bissonnette stand, and his dream gig in Hollywood.

Joey Sasso, the New York-native on season one of Netflix's "The Circle," won over viewers with his authentic and endearing nature. He had the same impression on the other contestants, leading him to score the $100,000 grand prize at the end of the social media-themed reality show.

Since "The Circle" wrapped, Sasso has started co-hosting Million Stories Media's "Heads or Tails," a show in which he fields people's pandemic-related questions and invites experts to weigh in and provide information.

While speaking with Insider about his work on the program, Sasso answered rapid-fire questions about the ways that filming "The Circle" mentally prepared him for the pandemic, the status of his relationship with fellow contestant Miranda Bissonnette, and his ultimate celebrity crush.

1. Tell me why you decided to be a part of "Heads or Tails" and why the show is important to you.

I decided to do "Heads or Tails" immediately after the show was pitched to me. It's very rare that you hear a pitch and immediately have that gut reaction to say "yes" without much thought. This was that rare occasion.

I felt that the show was so timely and really had so much to offer to people who are stuck at home with tons of questions about how this pandemic is going to affect their financial life.

Also the fact the show could also be entertaining and hold your attention without ever feeling like it was preaching to you, which is always boring. I knew this would be something that would be so much fun for not only myself but for the audience that would be tuning in.

2. What do you hope people take away from the show?

I hope that people leave each episode of the show with a better understanding of the situation that we are in right now and can walk away with more knowledge for themselves about how to proceed moving forward.

Right now there is so much information coming at us every single day and it can get very confusing, especially for me being someone that doesn't track everything going on every single day.

The way each episode narrows in on one specific question is something that I think is brilliant, to really take the time to think that question out and have a complete understanding of the question after the episode concludes.

3. How did your experience in "The Circle" prepare you for self-isolation?

My time in isolation during "The Circle" prepared me for this quarantine in so many ways.

I feel like it really gave me an understanding of what it's like to be completely cut off from society and have to rely on your own mental strength to make it through each day, to become comfortable living a similar pattern every single day and have to hold it together without losing my mind.

At the time of filming, it was incredibly difficult, but having made it through that made this isolation that much easier.

We didn't have access to television, music, and texting, so seeing everything I have to keep my attention occupied every single day during the pandemic makes me feel very thankful that we live in a world where so much is accessible right from home.

4. Has the way that you use social media changed since appearing on the show?

Since appearing on the show, it's very safe to say that the way I use social media has changed in every single way that I can imagine. I was always on social media but I never put any thought or effort into it. Getting a lot of followers or likes, stuff like that was never important to me.

That really hasn't changed for me still; what has changed is my entire outlook on the positivity that people can get from following me.

I receive messages from all over the world with people who say the nicest things to me and truly love following me on a daily basis so that becomes a job in many ways but it's one I am extremely happy to do. I never want to be the typical social media dude doing stupid stuff for attention or trying to go viral.

People have really responded to who I am as a person, and that's really cool. I do everything that I can to interact with as many people a day as I can on every social media app that is out there today.

5. What's one thing that people didn't see on "The Circle?"

One thing fans didn't get to see on "The Circle" that I think everybody would have loved was the first time Shooby and I talked one-on-one in a private chat. It was on the first day in "The Circle" when he ranked last in the ratings. That's really when our friendship started.

He was very down and thought he was going home, but I assured him that he would be fine and we would go all the way to the end together.

It's crazy that it really all happened that way, but seeing how many people love our friendship it seems like a real missed opportunity that people never got to see that.

6. If you could pick one of your fellow "The Circle" contestants to quarantine with, who would it be and why?

If I could pick one of my fellow "Circle" contestants to quarantine with it would easily be Shooby. That's a no brainer for me. We get along so well and balance each other out in so many ways.

Shoobs is so chill and just goes with the flow. We laugh about the dumbest stuff but at the drop of a dime talk about the most serious stuff. He's a great friend, and I adore him. We'd have no problem passing the time in quarantine together.

7. Dream job or project in Hollywood?

My dream project in Hollywood would most definitely be to work with either Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, or Leonardo DiCaprio.

In many ways, these three men influenced everything I love about cinema and my own personal taste of what I'm drawn to in that medium. I have already accomplished so many childhood dreams and will always continue to work towards making my other ones a reality.

8. What do you comfort-watch? What do you watch when you're sad?

My comfort binge show is definitely "Ghost Adventures" on the Travel Channel. I've watched it religiously since it started way back in the day. It's such an enjoyable show, and I am so into everything paranormal-related.

Plus, those guys put their lives on the line, man. Zak Bagans has been fighting demons for a frickin' decade. That guy is such a G!

9. Who is your celebrity crush?

My biggest celebrity crushes are definitely Lady Gaga and Vanessa Hudgens.

Getting to meet Gaga made that crush so much stronger because she is such an amazing person who is so down-to-earth. She truly deserves all of the success she has achieved in her career.

10. Do you have a Google alert for yourself?

I most definitely do not have a Google alert set for myself. It's funny, I was talking to a new friend recently and she was telling me all of this stuff about myself and I was like, "How the hell does she know that?" So when I asked her she was like, "I Googled you, stupid." It really never occurred to me.

I'm not somebody who gets my confidence or validation by how much press I have gotten or will get. It definitely is something that comes with the territory of being in the entertainment industry and it's much cooler for me to be able to meet and interact with all of the journalists I have gotten to speak to.

I can promise you I am not ever sitting at home Googling myself. However, my manager/publicist reminds me all the time that he has Google alerts on me and updates me regularly on the latest.

11. What's the best advice your parents gave you?

The best advice my parents ever gave to me was just to always stay true to who I am and to remember the values that they raised me with. Things like loyalty, love, family — things that our entire family is all about you would think would be common but for so many people they have no idea what those things are all about.

On my crazy journey in life, I am proud to say that I have always remained true to those core values, and they have helped keep me strong when I have been down and stand out from everybody else.

That's why I always tell people to stay true to who you are because there is only one version of you and you are the most badass person there is. Self-belief and confidence in yourself are integral, in my opinion, to achieving everything you want in your life.

12. Who's your most listened to artist on Spotify?

My most listened to artist on Spotify is definitely Eminem. I've been a die-hard fan of his since I was a kid, and to me, he is the best artist of his generation. I can never get enough of him.

13. What's a question you wish you'd never get asked again?

One question I wish I would never get asked again is "Are you and Miranda together?" or "Did you take Miranda on that date?"

I have gotten this question literally thousands of times and still get asked it daily. Even though I have clarified publicly, as has she, that yes, we did go on that date but are not together, people can't seem to let it go. It's all good fun, and Miranda and I are definitely in each other's lives and are great friends but we are not together.

14. What's the weirdest rumor you've ever heard about yourself?

It would be cool to say I have heard some weird a-- rumors about myself floating around out there — I'm so into weird rumors about people — but truthfully I haven't heard any.

When people tell me how "famous" I am or stuff like that, I really don't believe it. To me, I'm the same Joey I have always been. I'm definitely not popular enough to warrant cool a-- rumors, but if that ever happens I will totally stir the pot and have fun with it cause I think things like that are so entertaining.

15. Do you post your photos to Instagram yourself?

Yes, all of my photos and posts on social media are done 100% by me. Nobody runs any of my accounts or oversees what I do.

When people are shocked that I am so accessible to them and get back to them, they can't believe it. I can attest to the fact that at the end of every single day my fingers and hands are in legit pain from responding and conversing to people all day long and this is an everyday thing that has been going on since the show premiered.

It's something I really feel blessed to do no matter how stressful it is or how much work goes into it.

I just wish sometimes people realized that I am only one man with two hands and 24 hours in a day. They can get really pushy and nasty sometimes because they don't get a response when they want or a back-and-forth conversation like they want.

And at that point, I'm not ever hesitant to point these things out to them because I know that I do not see anybody else out there in my position taking the time on a daily basis to make interacting with their fans a priority in their lives.

16. Have you ever been starstruck? Who was it and what happened?

The one time I remember being really starstruck was the first time I met Adam Sandler in Central Park in New York City. I must have been 14 or 15 years old at the time and to this day I worship that man. I grew up on all of his stuff and love what he does. It felt like an out of body experience.

I get overwhelmed with the low level of fame I have gotten. I can't even imagine what it's like for him on a daily basis when he goes out into the world. But, he was so kind to me and let me have a picture with him.

That's a moment I'll never forget, and I'll never stop saying that Adam Sandler is one of the best guys in Hollywood.