The following interview was conducted on location in Fiji before filming began for “Survivor 50.”
Fifth time’s the charm?
Jungle Man Ozzy Lusth is back in action and ready to finally claim his crown! And while viewers may think they know what they’ll be getting when one of the game’s most adept physical players returns to Fiji, according to the man himself, “Now, I’m like Grandpa Ozzy and I’m gonna be sitting around the campfire telling stories, getting to know everybody.”
In our pre-season interview below, Ozzy says he’s ready to right some wrongs from his past “Survivor” career, and that includes getting to know people on a deeper level and improving his social game. He also shares some strong opinions about Kyle and Kamilla’s return, relative newbies Rizo and Savannah, and whether he and Coach will be able to put their bad blood aside.
TVLINE | You get the call to come back. It’s been a while since you’ve been on. What was your thought process like?OZZY LUSTH | Honestly, there was zero thought process involved. When you see Jeff’s face surprisingly pop up on a Zoom call asking you to go back and play “Survivor 50,” you say “hell yes.”
TVLINE | What has been going on in your life since we last saw you?I moved away from Venice Beach after living there for 20 years. I moved to my hometown in Guanajuato, Mexico, and I opened a vinyl bar/music venue restaurant. It’s by far the hardest thing that I’ve ever done in my life, but it’s been great preparation for coming out here and gossiping with a bunch of Survivors.
TVLINE | How are you feeling now that you’re back and about to start your fifth season?Oh man, it’s an absolute dream come true for the fifth time. I love this game. I’ve grown up playing this game and to get one final shot to win the million dollars, to win the title of Sole Survivor, it’s a dream come true and I’m gonna be relishing every single hard moment of it. Look, if they call me back for Survivor 80, I’ll be there. I will never say no to “Survivor.”
TVLINE | We know you’ve got the survival skills, but what are you going to bring to the table this time that might be a little different from what viewers have seen in the past? I’ve got the survival aspect on lock, challenges on lock, but at some point, little Ozzy had to grow up. Now I’m like Grandpa Ozzy and I’m gonna be sitting around the campfire telling stories, getting to know everybody. I can’t play the same game that I played in the past. I’ve got to play a much more connected game.
TVLINE | How you feel about the size of your target and what you might do to shift people’s perceptions of that? My target level is, I would say, maybe just slightly above average. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give myself a 7 potentially, but there are much bigger targets out here than I am. I’m kind of a washed-up has been Survivor. It’s been 16 seasons since I played last, and I didn’t really even perform that well on my last season, “Game Changers.” And we have a threesome of Joe, Kamilla, and Kyle coming in hot, just ran that game into the ground. Joe almost caught up with me and my five immunity wins, and Kamilla and Kyle with the underground game just running people! We also have two brand-new Survivors that nobody knows a thing about, but granted, if they got invited to come back and play Season 50, you know they made a huge impact on Season 49. So five people right there that have much bigger targets than myself and I’m gonna play that up as much as I can.
