“Survivor” has had plenty of great reality TV villains over the years.
From the “Black Widow” Parvati Shallow taking out her male competitors one by one, to Tony Vlachos sewing seed of chaos on “Survivor: Cagayan,” villainous characters, while not “evil,” have given the Emmy-winning reality competition series some of its best and most dramatic moments over the last 25 years.
While the likes of Jonny Fairplay – who lied about his grandmother’s death to win a reward challenge – and Richard Hatch – the original “Survivor” villain – are certainly in the running for the most villainous player of all time, neither come close to former castaway Russell Hantz, who brought his trademark dastardly gameplay to three separate seasons of the series.
Is Russell Hantz the Greatest ‘Survivor’ Villain of All Time?
Russell made his “Survivor” debut on the cast of “Survivor: Samoa” in 2009 as a father of four and the owner of an oil company. Despite being an infrequent viewer of the program before his casting, Hantz told PEOPLE in December 2009 that he was inspired to audition after watching Parvati Shallow on “Survivor: All Stars.”
The self-made millionaire went on to appear on the show twice more, on “Heroes vs. Villains” and “Redepmtion Island.” Though he failed to take home the “Sole Survivor” title on any of his appearances, Hantz continually made series history, from being the first player to unearth a Hidden Immunity Idol without a clue, to setting the record for the most Idols found across multiple seasons at seven – if you include his appearance on the Australian spin-off series.
CBS/GettyDespite making it to the finale on both “Samoa” and “Heroes vs. Villains,” Russell’s brash and callous gameplay, coupled with his deliberately chaotic behavior at camp, led the juries of both seasons to award the million-dollar prize to other finalists who played a more palatable game.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt [Russell’s] going to go down as one of the most notorious villains we’ve had on ‘Survivor,’ if not the most,” said longtime series host Jeff Probst in an interview with PEOPLE immediately after “Samoa” aired. “He came in from the first day going, ‘I am going to tear this game up.’”
Russell Says He’s Done with ‘Survivor’ After Playing 4 Times
Probst later referred to Hantz as his “least favorite ‘Survivor’ player” of all time, but encouraged the reality star to return to the series, calling him “riveting to watch.”
Hantz responded to the call in a March 2025 post on X as casting for the series’ upcoming 50th season began.
“‘Survivor’ has an opportunity to redeem themselves and have an amazing season 50 and what do they do… burning down their own house,” he wrote. “All we can do is watch it burn!”
Days later he followed up the post with a secondary statement, telling fans, “Take me out of 50. I will not play even if they ask.”
CBS/GettyThe statement follows after Hantz revealed in a 2022 YouTube video that he would be selling all of his old “Survivor” memoribilia so he could “move on” from the series.
“Do you think when I’m on my death bed that I’m going to be thinking about these buffs? I’m going to be thinking about thinking about the things that I’ve done with my children,” he said in the video. “[It’s like] when a loved one passes away and you’re holding on to those items because you’re holding on. And I get it, but eventually you have to let go.”
What is Russell Hantz up to in 2025?
Now that he’s seemingly washed his hands of “Survivor” for good, Hantz is focusing on his career as a content creator on TikTok and YouTube.
In September 2025, he revealed that he would be rebranding his social media accounts to focus more on travel, telling fans, “We’re going to…see this beautiful world together.”
He similarly added that he’s in a “better place” now than he was while competing on the series.
He was never and will never be a millionaire. He has always been a liar.