Survivor’s Richard Hatch Says Russell Hantz ‘Went Too Far’
At the 10th anniversary party celebrating Survivor’s 20 seasons Saturday night, the first-ever winner Richard Hatch was still the most popular guy in the room.
“I’ve been that guy for a long time, so it feels good,” he told PEOPLE at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. “I’m kind of used to it. It’s an honor. It was one of those things to have happen in life, to have been in the first season, and I won’t call it luck that I won, that’s for sure, but it’s lasted and people have started to understand the show. It’s great.”
Hatch, 48, looking healthy and upbeat, attended the party with his husband of 5 years, Emiliano Cibral, 33, and faced a constant parade of contestants and fans eager to talk to him. “I would love to meet Richard Hatch,” said Cirie Fields, a three-time contestant, who is returning as a hero for season 20’s Heroes vs. Villains edition. “To meet the ultimate villain has always been a dream of mine. I’ve watched Richard Hatch play, I’ve watched from the first season and I thought he did everything right.”
That’s more than Hatch can say for many winners that have followed in his footsteps. When asked if there have been other players’ strategies he’s admired, Hatch says, “I have trouble thinking of people with strategies! Here we are, 19 seasons in, and I bang my head against the television thinking, ‘Do you not have any idea what this game is?’ There are very, very few, but those few who have been playing are a pleasure to watch.’”
Would Samoa’s Russell Hantz be among those few? “Russell played well,” Hatch says. “I don’t think he played as well as I played, and I think the reason is because he lost some of the subtlety of the game and I explained that to him. I think he lost sight [of] how he himself, while playing well, impacted jurors, his peers who then have to decide how he lives or dies at the end. And that’s a crucial part of the game.”
Reflecting on his victory 10 years ago, Hatch adds, “Even though it was the first season and I really walked a fine line, I still had to consider [my peers] and barely won because Greg Buis … told me — when it was 3-3 and his vote gave me the win — that it was almost my hubris that cost me the game. But … he respected my game and gave me the vote. Russell went too far and was too ‘in your face’ to the contestants. I talked to the camera, I talked to the viewers openly as the game is designed for us to do, and was cocky and arrogant … but I wasn’t to the contestants. That’s where you lose.”
Hatch, who served three years in federal prison for tax evasion and was released in October, says there are “lots of things that are really, really exciting [coming in 2010]. Anything that happens outside jail is exciting to me! Right now, there are a number of projects on the table and this week in L.A. I have taken meetings that have been fantastic, so I am excited.” –Cynthia Wang
http://tvwatch.people.com...ssell-hantz-went-too-far/
