'Survivor' Winner Richard Hatch Says Host Jeff Probst 'Has Lost Sight' (Exclusive)

There have been plenty of “villains” throughout reality TV history, but the star that has come to define modern TV villainy as we know it is Richard Hatch . The O.G. Survivor winner, Hatch used his time on the island to scheme, scam and strategize with a cutthroat ruthlessness and shameless cockiness. (This was, of course, the man who spent much of his screentime nude, much to his tribemates’ chagrin.) While those attributes didn’t win Hatch many friends on that program— Survivor cast mate Sue Hawk famously dubbed him “Richard the snake, who knowingly went after prey”—it did earn him a million bucks and a worldwide reputation as one of the fiercest figures in competitive reality TV.

And now Hatch is bringing those villainous bonafides to House of Villains Season 2 , joining a cast of fellow reality antiheroes like The Real Housewives of New Jersey ’s Teresa Giudice , Flavor of Love’ s Tiffany "New York" Pollard , The Challenge ’s Wes Bergmann and Big Brother ’s Jessie Godderz as they fight to prove who’s the biggest baddie of all, to win $200,000 and to earn the title of “America’s Ultimate Supervillain.”

Ahead of the House of Villains season 2 premiere — which will debut with a special two-episode extravaganza across two nights, with the first 75-minute episode airing on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 10 p.m. ET on the E! Network and the second to follow on Thursday Oct. 10 at 10 p.m ET — we chatted with Hatch about if his reality legend status was a benefit or a burden going into the house, if his gameplay has evolved from those Survivor days and what he really thinks about Jeff Probst.

Related: 'Big Brother' Star Jessie Godderz Shares the Reality TV Show He Is 'Embarrassed, Ashamed and Disappointed' He Wasn't Cast On (Exclusive)

Christina Izzo: So Richard, you have a long reality TV history. You've competed on several reality competition series over the years, the most famous being Survivor . Why did you decide to come back to competitive reality TV, and what was it about House of Villains that made you want to do the show?

Richard Hatch: Oh, I've been on one or two, that's for sure. Coming back, it's not as if I've ever really disappeared. But it's just the challenge for me. It's always about people, who are we? I feel pretty competent in my abilities to perceive who we are and those kinds of things and so I like to be challenged. And this one did!

Did you watch House of Villains Season 1? Did you take anything from the first season to prepare for the second, any do's or don'ts?

Well, I took that humans are nuts! And that I would have no trouble. But you know, that was Season 1, and I had no idea who they would get for Season 2.

What did you think when you found out exactly who you would be competing against? Did you have any preconceptions of any of them?

I mean, I didn't know a number of these people, but I knew a number of them as well. It's hard to answer 'What did you feel?' because I can't say the order in which we appear, but when you walk in, you're playing . Especially for me, I'm full-on. I'm full-on in the game.

Did any of your castmates surprise you with their gameplay or their villainy?

Indeed! There were big surprises on a couple of different levels for me. Individually and personally, there were some surprises about who some people really were in person. On another level, I was blown away by how generally un-self-aware we are as humans, and I'm not.

I recently chatted with your co-star Jessie Godderz, and he said there were two people that he thought should have been on House of Villains Season 1: himself and you. He called you an icon, a legend. Having that kind of legendary reputation, even amongst your fellow competitors, did you consider that a plus or did it give added pressure going into the lair?

Well, the truth is nobody knows me. People perceive who I am based on these shows, and so that's something I have to use no matter what game I play, no matter what show I'm on. It's just something I expect. Connecting with people and helping them understand who I am and who I'm going to be with them, it's my job. It's the role of hopping in. So I guess I expected that. I expected to be perceived in particular ways. Some of the people would get it, some of them wouldn't. In this case, many, many wouldn't. I mean, most of these ppl didn't even know they were playing a game. I don't even know how to describe it...how unaware these people were.

Villainy is, of course, subjective but you're self-aware of your lore, your persona. Would you personally consider yourself a villain and what do you think are the most villainous things you've done in your reality TV career?

In Survivor , I think the participants and the viewers and Rosie O'Donnell and everybody else afterwards perceived me to be about as villainous a human being as one could get. And then, over time, these slow-learners figured out what unscripted drama is about. And come COVID, a whole throng of people started watching the show again, and they started writing to me asking, 'Well, why did they think you were a villain?' I just knew how to play the game. I'll do anything within the context of the rules of the game. I have no qualms whatsoever with full-throttle, just playing that game. And if you categorize that as villainy, I'm about as villainous as you get.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About 'House of Villains' Season 1

Were there specific skills — whether it's making alliances or establishing connections or backstabbing people — that you possessed from your reality TV career that you thought would be extremely helpful here?

All of those have to be in your arsenal. The way to win these shows is to be adaptable. You have to adapt to whomever it is that you're interacting with, period. You can't win without that. But in addition, I believe you have to be self-aware, so we'll see how that plays out!

Now that you've done House of Villains Season 2, would you do a return to Survivor? Or are there any other unscripted dramas that you'd love to tackle in the future?

The show that was written for me, I'm hoping and waiting to participate in: The Traitors . That's just, oh my gosh, that is literally written for me. I've watched every one, New Zealand, all of them.

Who has been your favorite Traitor?

I don't have one. Different people have played interestingly from my perspective but particularly in the American version, too many people aren't playing well, which is great for me. I don't know why, but they just don't seem to think ahead of time and don't seem to get the point. Wait until you see [ House of Villains Season 2] — the emotions, and the way in which some of these people interact. I have never seen, in the 24 years I've been doing this, anything like this.

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Just like Traitors , House of Villains also has an exciting host guiding things. How was it working with Joel McHale? Is he a Jeff Probst in the making?

I hope not! No, I think Jeff Probst has lost sight — he's a great host, but he's too involved, from my perspective. Joel is perfect. Joel observes and comments and takes heat from us, and lets it roll off his back and just is what he is, he's just perfect. He's not trying to be the show and intervene in ways that are affecting things going on. He's just a plain riot and just so bright and so timely. He's just really good at what he does.

Now that you've experienced a House of Villains cast firsthand, if you could cast the show's third season, who are reality TV personalities that you'd love to see join the franchise?

I have no idea.who else might be a good villain. Is that my own ego coming in? I don't even think about other players! I watch [reality TV] and I'm particularly interested in who gets it, who really gets it and maintains the kind of perspective of 'This is a game, go all out' but doesn't lose sight of, look, it's not real life. So I look for these kinds of psychological things, but I don't really store and categorize, like, "Who's this and who's best at that?" So off the top of my head, I couldn't even tell you who I would think of as a villain. But if I worked with casting, I think I'd be good at figuring it out.

And finally, can you tease anything for fans going into House of Villains Season 2? Anything that sets it apart from Season 1 or other reality shows?

Let's say this: I've never met a human being, anything, like [Tiffany Pollard, a.k.a.] New York. That's the tease, how she and I interact. I have never encountered a human being like her in my entire life .

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

Related: Monica Garcia Joins the Cast of 'House of Villains' Season 2