Three-time Survivor castaway Colby Donaldson is apparently hoping he doesn't repeat his past mistakes on the CBS reality show's upcoming 50th season.
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Colby made the jury on both Season 8 and Season 20, Survivor: All-Stars and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, respectively, but he had to vote for the winners and watch the $1 million prize be awarded to other people.
Now that Colby will be playing for the fourth time, he told People that he'd like to have a redeeming season and impress viewers with his gameplay once again.
"It's hard for me to reconcile the way I played the last two times," Colby admitted to the magazine just days before he began filming Season 50 in Fiji.
"Not necessarily proud of the outcome, but I'm also not proud of just how I handled adversity in the game. A lot of why I wanted to come back was I wanted to right those wrongs for me."
Colby said when he played on his second and third seasons, he was "trying to be relevant and needed exposure," which are "things that can cloud your ability to play this game full tilt."
Colby was in his twenties when he competed Survivor: The Australian Outback, and the fan-favorite player decided to move to Los Angeles after the game, where he pursued an acting career and appeared in Curb Your Enthusiasm, 8 Simple Rules, Red Eye, and more.
Colby, who has lived a quieter life in Texas for about a decade now, suggested he's going to have his eye on the ball -- and on the prize -- when he attempts to outwit, outplay and outlast again.
Colby shared with People how he's been herding cattle and welding on the same land as his great-grandfather.
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"I don't think I would've ever been a consideration by [Survivor host Jeff Probst] and by the team if I weren't back in Texas doing what I'm doing because my intentions for playing the game today are just as authentic as they were 25 years ago," Colby said.
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"I'm not sure I could say that about the second and third time I played."
Jeff, for his part, told the magazine last year that he was excited to watch Colby play again.
"I have a lot of empathy for him because he had to come out of Texas and suddenly be thrust into this giant, global spotlight called Survivor, where people were naming their kids after him, and everybody wanted to know him. But he's just Colby," Jeff recalled.
Colby and Survivor producers apparently both felt his casting on Season 50 was meant to be.
Colby said he called Survivor's current casting director, Jesse Tannenbaum, immediately after learning Season 50 was going to feature returning players.
"I called him up, and I said, 'You don't know me, I'm Colby Donaldson, but Probst had just announced that 50 would be a returning player season.' So I said, 'Man, I just want to throw my hat in the ring. I know it's a long shot, but I'm sure you're getting inundated and bombarded with calls,'" Colby shared.
"He was quiet for a second. He said, 'Colby, actually no, you're the first one that's called. We haven't even started casting 49 yet.'"
While Colby hopes to have an epic season, he also said Season 50 will be a great chance to say goodbye to the franchise that has presented him with so many opportunities over the years.
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"At my age, there won't be another shot. I'm okay with being the old guard and passing the torch to the new guard. It's going to be fun to see some legends born out here."
Survivor's 50th season is set to premiere on Wednesday, February 25 at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
