There wasn’t a single second in Survivor 50 that Rick Devens counted himself out. And in a new, exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly’s Dalton Ross, he’s telling everything that went down on the island—whether the cameras caught it or not. And with Devens as speedy as he is while hunting for idols, I’m sure he kept the camera crew this season on their toes.
While we got a legendary dance sequence from Devens the morning after he secured immunity, an idol, and a $2 million final prize from flipping the MrBeast Super Beware Advantage coin, there apparently was a lot more idol activity from the two-time player than the cameras would lead us to believe. “I never stopped looking for the idol. I was constantly looking.”
While the final edit made it look like Devens gave up on his idol search after Jonathan Young started babysitting him in the jungle, the reality was he continued far beyond that. He shares that the only times on the day of his elimination he wasn’t looking for an idol were when he was, “taking a break to hydrate or have some rice.” And he emphasized that even though he expected he’d be going home, he made sure to contribute to camp, “I’m gonna help clean the pot. I’m a team player.”
He also used the time to give his “farewell tour” around camp as he tried to mend fences between the game Devens and the real Devens. “I was very reflective all day,” he recalls, which we saw at home as he got emotional with Joe Hunter, telling everyone, “Listen, I’m crazy out here as a game player, but I love you. I so appreciated being in this game with you.”
And the players weren’t the only people on that beach that Devens had a blast playing with. He shares that the entire cast has an incredible relationship with and appreciation for production, calling it akin to a family reunion. He notes that there’s still people from season 1 working on the show, so everyone who came back was excited to see the people they don’t get to keep in touch with after the show.
“Christian [Hubicki] and I the whole beginning of the season are doing all these [Star Trek] Paramount+ jokes just to try and make production laugh,” he remembers of his early days in the game. “So when I started doing the dancing and celebrating [after getting the MrBeast idol] and they’re laughing behind the camera, I’m just like, ‘I gotta go bigger!’” His desire to give the crew the best footage possible definitely led to Devens getting some unforgettable screentime.
And the first thing he said to Jeff Probst and the rest of the production team after getting eliminated? “You guys almost made me an alternate!” Considering the incredible gameplay we got from him and how he truly kept everyone on the island as well as fans at home on their toes this season, it’s safe to say the show has no regrets putting Devens in, even if it was at the last minute. “Jeff wanted us to give everything and I’ve definitely heard from Jeff that he feels like I gave everything, and that meant a lot.”
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