ED MATTHEWS

Annie Castellano poses for a portrait inside her family's restaurant, The Capri Fish House, on Wednesday, July 2, 2008. Castellano will appear in an episode of American Gladiators on Monday, July 7, 2008.

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Local “American Gladiator” contestant Annie Castellano watched Monday’s two-hour finale with no hard feelings.

“I feel like I accomplished a lot just getting as far as I did,” says Castellano, who was knocked out in the semifinal round. “To make it to that level was the best experience of my life. I’m not taking it as hard as you might think.”

One of 40 everyday athletes in NBC’s contest of strength and endurance, she was pitted against 17 gladiators, action stars and stunt professionals with names like Crush, Beast and Tor.

“Her constantly upbeat, bubbly personality and sky high energy level,” the official site says of Castellano, “is in direct contrast to her diminutive, 4-foot, 11-inch frame. What Castellano lacks in height, she more than makes up for in confidence.”

On July 28, though, the ride ended when she competed against two other female contestants.

“I gave it everything I had,” says Castellano, an acting student and daughter of Isles of Capri restaurateurs. “It just wasn’t quite enough.”

The level of competition was dramatically increased in the semifinal round, she says. “The gladiators really turned it up a notch. They were out for blood.”

Tim Oliphant of Missouri and Ally Davidson from Dallas won.

Without any prize money in hand, Castellano is back to waiting tables at her parents’ restaurant, the Capri Fish House, and planning on returning to Chicago to pursue her degree in performance at Columbia College. And she wants to get back into her real passion: comedy.

“I’m going to head back to (famous comedy workshop) Second City and keep going forward with my goals,” she says.