‘Survivor 50’ Players Reveal Personal Stakes in All-Star Season

As Survivor approaches its landmark 50th season, returning players are chasing more than the coveted $1 million prize. For veterans of the game, a win carries added weight — legacy, redemption and the chance to reshape how their story is remembered.

Days before filming began in Fiji, The Hollywood Reporter was on location and asked all 24 castaways what would winning this potential landmark victory would mean to them. Their answers — ranging from emotional reflections on family and identity to candid admissions about pride, regret and unfinished business — reveal why season 50 isn’t just another all-star edition. Even after a quarter century, the drive to outwit, outplay and outlast remains intensely personal.

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Cirie Fields: I don’t even know that words would explain the feeling of accomplishment I would feel. I dream about it. I hear it, I see it in my mind. And when I see it, I’m thinking about how I’m going to be able to hold it together. The most important things in my life have been 20 years or more. My marriage, my children, my career. I’ve been a nurse for 23 years. So Survivor is as much a part of my life as my family. To end the era with a win that I’ve been chasing for 20 years? It’s too big to even imagine.

Jenna Lewis-Dougherty: I’ve had the longest time to feel regret about things that I did or didn’t do correctly. I’ve also had the longest time to lose sleep over this and wonder if I’d ever get a shot at being back. It would mean that I came full circle. It would be 25 years, a quarter life, of me playing Survivor to finally win. I’ve had 25 years of being known as a Survivor but not a Survivor winner — I’m not gonna miss this shot. 

Chrissy Hofbeck: I actually do think that’s going to happen, and let me tell you what I’m going to do with that money. About two years ago, I was diagnosed with the BRCA gene. Eight weeks later I had my breasts, ovaries, and fallopian tubes removed proactively. I also have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer and melanoma. I could potentially face large medical situations in the future, so I would like to put some money aside so I don’t bankrupt my family staying alive. When you play for your life, it lights a good fire underneath you.

Christian Hubicki: It would validate me coming here. It would validate my overall approach to not just this game but how I take to lots of things in life, which is aggressively and analytical but also full of heart, determination and drive. But most of all, I would be proud of what I can show to my newborn son. He was born six weeks ago and it adds a completely new dimension to the reasons to be here. It would show him that it was wonderful to play Survivor and do all the things I did that season, to get all the way to seventh place. But you don’t have to accept that as a ceiling. You don’t have to accept any ceiling. 

Dee Valladares: Winning would mean everything. That visualization is all I’ve been obsessing about in pre-game. I feel like Jeff [Probst, host] would be proud to turn that parchment over and say my name. I think he would be proud. The first thing I would do is go up to him and be like, “Are you proud of me? Please be proud of me.” This is his baby and it’s a huge responsibility to be on 50. I want to make sure I never take that for granted.

Mike White: It would be surreal. It’s already kind of like a weird dream come true to have played Survivor and be a part of this monumental season. I feel like I’m really in the Survivor family. So to win would be almost too much. People would come to my house and burn it down, I think.

Rick Devens: First of all, I’d be unbearable. You think Sandra [Diaz-Twine] talks about being the queen? Just wait. I don’t think I’d be able to control my emotions. It would just be overwhelming. As silly as it is to think about and imagine this game all the time — it’s given me so much to me and I’ve taken so much from it — the thing I haven’t taken from it is that crown. I’d almost be embarrassed by how much it would mean to me.  

Angelina Keeley: Outside of having my girls, winning this season would be the honor of a lifetime. People would never stop hearing about it. I’d be that old grandma, at 90 in my rocking chair, being like, “I won Season 50,” and telling stories about the island and jacket. And my grandkids are going to be like, “We can’t hear about the jacket again, grandma.” To come back after seven years, and show growth and progress — to show that you fall down seven times but get back up eight — that’s the story of Survivor and that’s my story, too.

Benjamin “Coach” Wade: If I’m the winner of Survivor, my life won’t change one bit. I’ll go back to being a school teacher. It wouldn’t matter if they paid me $5 million. I’m going to go back to being a teacher and give those kids that magic and love that I do every day, and focus on my family and put that money in the bank and just keep on doing the same thing I’m doing.

Emily Flippen: I haven’t let myself even think about that reality. You saying it is the first time I’ve even conceptualized it. Because I think it would mean so much. It would be a lot of validation for me in a way that I don’t give myself. I’m a deeply insecure person and very self-deprecating and don’t tend to believe in myself. I still want to be a realist, but also have a level of confidence I’ve never had before. It would just be validation that when you set a positive mindset and expectations for yourself that aren’t on the ground level that you maybe do better than you expect.

Quintavius “Q” Burdette: Coming into 50, what I believe right now is that I’m the hottest New Era player to play. If I were to win 50, I could start talking about being the hottest player in the last 10 years — legendary status. So to win this ultimate season with these players, some of which are already legends, to beat them out? That’s big time. My son would watch me win. My wife is a big Survivor fan and for her to say her husband is the winner of her favorite show growing up, it doesn’t get any better than that. 

Tiffany Ervin: I’ve dreamt about that moment many times. Jeff is usually wearing a navy blue shirt when he pulls my name out of the urn and announces me as winner. Winning this season doesn’t just make me a great Survivor player, it cements a Survivor legacy. But beyond that, it means something personal because it means I was able to grow. I was able to actually take what I learned and apply it, and use it to get me to the place of victory I wanted to get to the first time. I would have actually benefited from the mistakes I have made in the past. 

Colby Donaldson: Being able to pull it off this time would be me going out the way I came in. Although I didn’t win the first time, boy did I play a good game and I’m proud of that. I’m proud of everything that happened the first time I played and I’d love to replicate that. So to do what I did in Australia but actually win? For a 51-year-old that would be pretty sweet. 

Kyle Fraser: If I win season 50, it finally means I’m the best at something. I said in my Final Tribal Council in season 48 that I want to be representative of my season. But I also want to be representative of this game. I care deeply about this game. Not only for what it’s done for my family but for the life lessons I’ve learned that I think have truly made me a better man. I would love, and be honored, to call myself the representative of Survivor. A two-time winner, twice within the span of a year who loves the game. If I won again, I’d be The Goat. 

Kamilla Karthigesu: I’ve been watching this show since I was 10 and never thought I’d be able to play because they didn’t allow Canadians to play for a while. My dream came true. I got to play 48, I crushed it and now I’m here again. I can’t imagine what winning it would feel like. I remember sobbing the morning after 48 because I’d never been that proud of myself. Winning 50 would top that.  

Ozzy Lusth: Winning 50 would allow me to found an eco-village and teach permaculture, and run mini Survivor experiences: bushcraft, spearfishing and surfing. A place for creativity, wellness and compassion. I would be able to share my love and connection to nature as well as my love of the game. Resilient communities will be valuable cornerstones of support as the world becomes more and more divided. A place to disconnect from the rat race and recharge in an abundance of nature, art and music.

Rizo Velovic: A slogan I go by is “If you’re dreaming big, dream bigger.” Winning Survivor 50 is dreaming the biggest possibility I’ve always ever wanted. I’m the first Albanian person to ever play Survivor and the fact that I now get to represent my country in back-to-back seasons and make them proud is something I’ve always wanted to do. Winning Survivor 50 would be the cherry on top of this entire experience. 

Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick: Honestly, it would mean everything. It wouldn’t even be about the money. To prove to not only myself but my children that mommy really can do this and this is really hard. Harder than anything they can even imagine in their little lives right now. And then to all the people that have supported me for over 20 years who always believed in me, it would mean everything in the world. 

Savannah Louie: Even though I’m living this dream right now, I haven’t even processed what happened in 49. As we were getting to the end, obviously I’m trying to win the game, but as we get closer there are things you’re proud of. And I felt in season 49 I couldn’t fully celebrate those moments because I was so focused on getting to the end. So when I think about what it would mean to win Survivor 50, if it’s anything like 49, I don’t know if I’d even be able to process what that means. Whoever wins this season will make Survivor history and to have my name be part of that history would be incredible.

Genevieve Mushaluk: I daydream about saying to my husband and parents when they pick me up from the Winnipeg Airport, “You will never believe it, but I won.” My dad would cry, my mom would think I’m lying just because it’s so fantastical and that type of stuff doesn’t happen to someone like me from Winnipeg. My daydream is their expressions when I get back to Winnipeg. 

Aubry Bracco: Oh my gosh. I wouldn’t have words for what it would mean to win this season. It would be the culmination of the last 10 years of my life. I’ve played Survivor for 111 days, that’s a long time.

Joe Hunter: I get emotional just thinking about it, because what an honor it would be to be crowned the winner. I don’t take that lightly with this group. The impact would be so powerful and it’s because of who’s here. When you have that kind of expertise and skillset and are able to navigate that, it would be something to be extremely proud of.

Charlie Davis: That’s eternal glory right there. Legend status. And it’s $1 million. Let’s not forget that’s always the big ticket item of winning the game. Coming from someone who came real close to winning it, I can tell you I think about that a lot. It would be awesome to have.

Jonathan Young: It would be one of the best things that’s ever happened to me in my life. It would be an honor to be up there with the greats who have won Survivor.  It takes a special person to come back out again. None of us knew what to expect the first time. Now we know — we know how hard it is. That’s very admirable. Whoever wins, they deserve to win. 

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Survivor 50 premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBS, streaming on Paramount+. See how the cast is divided into their tribes here.