The Big Picture

Justin placed 26 in
Physical: 100
, picked his death match opponent, and made it to the final 4.
Justin succeeded with Team Jae-Yoon’s plan in the mine transportation challenge.
Justin lost due to his grip strategy in the endurance race but had the support of former contestants.

Season 2 of Physical 100 started with everyone running on manual treadmills and ranking them by their performance. Justin Harvey did quite well on the reality competition series, placing 26 out of 100. But there was still a long road ahead of him to get to the over $200,000 prize or 300 million won. That includes the perks and hardships of working with a team and having to push yourself to your limits alone. The South African actor was in the movie The Witch: Part 2. The Other One, and works in Korea. However, he repeatedly said he did a little bit of everything when it came to sports. He also had the attitude of wanting nothing less than winning the title of the “perfect body.” Collider talked to Justin over Zoom on April 2 about his experience filming the Netflix show.

The athletic actor said repeatedly that he participated in physically strenuous activities throughout his life. He told Collider that he played rugby for 10 years throughout school as well as cricket. The South African contestant also listed tennis, squash, CrossFit, scuba and free diving, yoga, and rocking as his other activities. Justin placed 26, which meant he could have the advantage of picking his death match opponent if someone higher didn’t choose him.

Physical: 100 One hundred contestants in top physical shape compete in a series of grueling challenges to claim the honor – and cash reward – as the last one standing.Release Date January 24, 2023 Creator Jang Ho-gi Cast Hee-Dong Son , Jing-Yong Park , Jung-Myung Cho , Hae-Min Jung Seasons 2

Why Justin Harvey Challenged Jee-Hyuk Kim in ‘Physical: 100’
Image from Netflix

Season 2 showed professional rower Jee-HyukKim taking his time to look at the people in the bottom 50. Justin interrupted him and asked him to choose him instead. “He was down there, and he had also taking his sweet […] time,” he explained. “And I was like, ‘Alright? This is taking a while, and it was like the third contestant, you know, was like really taking their time. So like, ‘OK, I just need to like, throw it out there, maybe like, giving him a little mid-game challenge. And so, I was saying, ‘Hey, you and I, we’re gonna have to do it.’ Because if I challenge in front of everyone, he can’t really say no, right? Because he finished higher in the running challenge.” Jee-Hyuk placed 22 and accepted the challenge and lost in the water arena.

Related Netflix’s ‘Physical: 100’ Is the Best Reality Competition Show This series does what other reality competitions can’t!

The top 50 then had to split into teams of five. The actor realized he was at a disadvantage. “When I entered, I looked around, and I really didn’t recognize a lot of people,” he said. “So I really felt out of my depth a little bit, being an actor and being among so many amazing athletes. And what kind of felt like they knew each other, like there was some kind of chemistry before. And so I felt a little bit, uh, out of my depth.” However, he said he wanted Korean Thanos or Min-Su Kim to pick him. The bodybuilder recognized him from his movie, but chose other cast members. “In the end, for me,” he later said. “I really don’t care. I just wanted to get on someone’s team, so I can start supporting right away.” Justin made it to Team Jae-Yoon Lee instead.

Justin’s Cart From Hell on ‘Physical: 100’

The underground theme of season 2 led to some impressive sets unmatched by other physical shows. One of them was mine transportation, where people had to connect carts and put them on the rail track. Then load as many sandbags as they can and push it back to their other teammates. Team Jae-Yoon had the shocking plan to load all the sandbags in one trip instead of splitting them. Other players thought this would be a huge mistake. However, Justin stuck to the plan.

“Min-Hyung [Joo] said, ‘You can do it, just load all of them and smash it,'” he revealed. “So I was like, it’s gonna stick to the plan, load of all of them and I just, uh, hope that I could make it budge. And then as it got moving, I was surprised. So yeah, that was kind of lucky, but it just comes down to planning and executing on the plan, I think.”Andre Jin was part of the interview and added that Justin’s low center of gravity was also perfect for moving the heavy load.

Why Did Justin Harvey Lose ‘Physical: 100?’

The teams were disbanded in the top 20 and instead had to compete against each other for a spot in the finals. Justin beat Sung-Bin Jo, Hyun-Jeong Lee, and Min-Hyung in the endurance race. That meant he was in the final four. The first round had everyone holding their bust, which was 40 percent of their body weight. Justin looked like he had good form, leaning back to counter the weight and closed his eyes. What was he picturing?

“I was on a beach somewhere in Hawaii doing my…what is it in USD, bro? Two hundred and 50k just chilling first class,” he answered. But the athlete admitted his form wasn’t great and that might’ve been why he lost the round. “Even though I stuck to my strategy, I have to admit it was the wrong strategy,” he said. “I went in and I gripped it with two hands at the same time. And I think that was my mistake wore out my forearms on both sides where the other guys were going one one. And I think that was my downfall.”

Some of the former contestants were able to watch the final four compete in a different area on a monitor. They yelled their support for Justin when it looked like he was losing his grip. Andre then was determined to hold out until Justin lost. But would the outcome be different if the finalists couldn’t hear the cheering? “I really don’t think it makes a difference when you’re in the zone like that, if you’re just so tuned into what you’re doing,” Justin answered. “So, even if anything, it helps you it kind of motivates you. But there’s definitely no disadvantage to it. I would say.”

There is a lot of pressure on the contestants throughout the competition. The actor said the scariest part was the thought of letting his team down. “And that applied, whether we was the maze challenge or the carts,” he mentioned. “So, I think that kind of anxiety was worse than the solo mission, where I had to play for myself, I would say.”

Justin Addresses Amotti Winning Season 2 of ‘Physical: 100’
Image via Netflix

Once again, a cross fitter took the prize, with Amotti winning season 2. Justin gave his reaction to Crossfitters being undefeated in the reality TV show. “I think Crossfit is about to explode globally,” he predicted. “There’s not going to be a person who doesn’t do Crossfit.” Justin said he hopes a wrestler wins a season in the future based on their performance in the game. He pointed out 18-year-old high school wrestler Jun-Hyuk Jang did very well. “So I think wresting itself is, just as good as rugby and Crossfit with regards to sports that are good for Physical 100,” he said.

Luckily, Justin stayed physically healthy throughout the competition and didn’t mention any injuries from filming beyond cuts and bruises. “My battle scar is on my heart,” he said. Beom-Seok Hong from season 1 returned this season and became runner-up. Justin answered if he would return if offered the opportunity. “My competitive nature says yes,” he said. “But I think I made my mark on the show.” He’ll wait to see if they ask him back.

Season 2 of Physical:100 can be streamed on Netflix Watch on Netflix