Colby, Coach, and Stephenie on ‘Survivor 50’ (only ‘half of the cast is legends’) and ‘Heroes vs. Villains’ (‘the egos were at an all-time high’)

In the lead-up to Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, which debuts Feb. 25 on CBS with a three-hour episode, Gold Derby caught up with three legends of the game: Colby Donaldson, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick. The trio previously appeared together on Survivor 20: Heroes vs. Villains, and now they’ve reunited 16 years later for the landmark 50th installment.

Colby, Coach, and Stephenie tease what they can about the upcoming season, which features a series-high cast of 24 people from both the “old-school” and “new-era” versions of the reality TV show. Season 50 filmed last summer, so they “haven’t seen” each other in quite a while.

Stephenie says she feels “grateful” to play the game again that “shaped [her] life.” Coach may ruffle some feathers when he claims that only “half of the cast is legends” on Season 50. And Colby reveals that he initially didn’t “feel present” on the island, until he stood “shoulder-to-shoulder” with Coach and “it all came back.”

The players also dive into the fan-fave Heroes vs. Villains cycle. Back then, “the egos were at an all-time high,” Stephenie recalls. And Coach and Colby discuss, for “the first time ever,” what it was like physically battling each other in that season’s iconic first challenge. Fun fact: the Survivor 20 premiere originally aired Feb. 11, 2010, and will now be rerun on Feb. 11, 2026, as CBS counterprograms the Olympics with classic episodes.

Read on for our full roundtable interview with Colby, Coach, and Stephenie.

Gold Derby: Are you all excited to see each other?

Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick: Yes!

Colby Donaldson: Oh yeah. I mean, come on, these are two of my favorite people. It’s fortuitous that we were all three on Heroes vs. Villains, so that put us here together with you. But, in terms of doing a podcast, there aren’t two people I’d rather be with from Season 50. These are my two faves, for sure.

Stephenie: Yeah, ditto. I haven’t seen you guys in a while. I miss you!

The episode being rerun on CBS is called “Slay Everyone, Trust No One,” and Coach, that is a quote of yours. Do you remember saying that?

Benjamin “Coach” Wade: Of course. I have more titles than I think any other Survivor in history. I’ve got a way with words. I’m a big fan of improving. My dad used to say a long time ago, “That’s great that you did this, but what are you gonna do for an encore?” So, it always taught me at a young age to be better each time I did something. I trusted too many people the first time [on Survivor: Tocantins]. I was like, on [Season 20], I’m gonna trust less people. So, that’s kind of where that quote came from.

Can you believe it’s been 16 years since Heroes vs. Villains?

Stephenie: No, I can’t. I mean, that seems like ages ago, to be honest with you. I know everybody loves this season, but this is my least favorite season I’ve ever on, and I like to block this one out of my memory.

Coach: I think a lot of us feel that way. But you can tell [time has passed]. You want to get a close look of this hairline? Has it been 15 years? Hell, it feels like 25 years to my hairline, that’s for sure.

Stephenie: Seriously, it feels like forever ago. But, you know what, I went back and I watched it, because I was like, I need a little refresher before we talk about it. It’s very interesting watching it back, after we just went through 50.

Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick in ‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’CBS

What stood out to you on the rewatch?

Stephenie: The egos were at an all-time high, for sure. Especially on the Heroes, and not by anybody on this call. Just James and Rupert really thought they were something special. And then, I just didn’t realize Cirie threw my name out there so quick. Even her own ally, Amanda, was like, “We can’t get rid of Stephenie first, we kind of need her for challenges.” She’s like, “No, we don’t. I don’t think we’ll lose any more without her … I think it’ll be fine.” All these years! I’m like, wow, she’s out to get me then.

Colby: There were a lot of egos then.

Coach: It’s given us a great perspective. At that time, you could not become famous unless you really hit the jackpot. Now, everybody can become famous on social media, and so I think it diminishes the celebrity status that maybe some people were carrying around in their back pocket. It was the same thing on the Villains tribe. We were sitting around in a big circle, and I remember [everyone telling] their famous memory. And I remember thinking, everybody is just in their own mind, they’re larger than life, and nobody gives two rips about what anybody else is saying. It was a big aha moment for me to just say, yeah, you gotta take yourself a little bit less seriously. We’re just a small part in this big cog. But there were definitely egos running around, for sure.

Colby: I remember in that first episode, we were already seeing on the Heroes beach the fractures, and how things would ultimately really prove out. It was obvious and apparent early on. It had been years, almost a decade or so, since I’d played prior to that, but boy, had the game evolved and changed in a lot of ways. They immediately tried to target the strong players and get those out, even though they could help us as a tribe down the road.

The other thing I noticed, it was much more somber. Even before the loss in the immunity challenge, there just wasn’t a lot of joy or excitement. I don’t think we had the chemistry. Again, having come off 50, it was a complete contrast for me, just in terms of experience and immediate chemistry. We found ways to connect and get along and come up with a strategy on how we were going to play and compete. I felt that was absent in Heroes vs. Villains on the Heroes beach, save for me, Stephenie, and Tom, which were bonded. And so, when Stephenie got taken out early on, and then Tom, it was a huge shock and shatter for me, because I had to find a way to pick up the pieces after that.

Coach, you and I wanted to play together and find a way to get together, even then. We were reading each other across the beach, although we were competitive. You had to, Marcus, pick the one episode where Coach kicks my ass, and I’m sure he’s gotten so much mileage out of this over the last 16 years. But he owned me in that challenge, and there’s nothing I can say about it. I gassed out, he still had the energy and took it across the finish line.

Benjamin ‘Coach’ Wade in ‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’CBS

Coach: This is the first time ever that Colby and I have, A, discussed this challenge, and B, anybody has interviewed the both of us at the same time about this challenge. But I do think that the chemistry was off on both tribes. I think that we knew it was such a monumental season. I think that we knew that we’re playing with all these legends. OK, I can think of two people that probably weren’t a legend at the time, but they’ve become legends since. But there was definitely something off. I think on both tribes, it was such a dog-eat-dog environment. There was no time for anything, except for playing the game.

I love CBS, I love Survivor, but they screwed us two separate times in terms of putting an unknown on the season that we didn’t know about. In Season 50, it was Rizo and Savannah, and in Season 20, it was Russell. And having Russell out there, who we didn’t know anything about, he was ready to devour everybody in his path. You guys have not yet played on the same beach as Russell. You would have a conversation about ice cream 50 yards away, he would see it, and then he would start almost running towards you. And as soon as he sat down, he said, “What are you guys talking about? … I know you were talking about me. You’re trying to vote me off. It’s gonna be the last thing that you want to do out here.”

There was no fun or joy in it. That’s what was amazing about 50, because as all three of us can attest, that very first day, we could see that this was gonna be a different journey.

Stephenie: It just goes back to the egos. People weren’t grateful to be there. Nobody really wanted to play together, everybody was kind of playing for themselves. Rupert wanted to act for the cameras, and then James wanted to be the big bully guy, Rob wanted to be one way, and then Sandra wanted to be one way, and Russell wanted to be one way.

I really didn’t even want to come back for [Season 20], because it had been nine seasons. I was out of sight, out of mind. I was engaged, starting a life, and I knew these people were all at events, and out in LA, and hanging out together. I’m like, I’m gonna be sh– out of luck, because everybody’s gonna be aligned, and I don’t know anybody. Finally I see Tom and Colby, and I’m like, they’re decent, and humble, and hardworking, and I can definitely align with them.

Colby: I was thinking when I watched it back, tribe swaps are such a commonplace now, and boy, could we have used one back then. You know, an early game tribe swap would have shifted everything around. Who knows what would have happened? But it would have benefited me, Stephenie, you, all of us, in that situation. We just didn’t have it.

That first challenge in Episode 1 of Season 20 is an all-timer. Stephenie, within a few minutes, your shoulder is dislocated.

Stephenie: I do want to say, that challenge is the power of editing. It was completely edited. So, I dislocated my shoulder because we got the first point by leaning back and touching the mat, and when I landed, my shoulder locked out and got stuck out. Now, I had dislocated my shoulder on and off since 8th grade. I did it playing basketball, and it would come in and out constantly, and I had to get surgery. So, I dislocated my shoulder getting the first point. That’s how Courtney knew to say, “Break her shoulder.” We had gone multiple rounds, and that’s why Parvati was holding my arms behind my back, and then it looked like she pulled my shoulder out. She did not. I actually have the raw footage, from somebody that was out there that recorded it, and sent it to me after the fact.

Colby: Stephenie came into this game with a reputation. Everybody knew how competitive and athletic she was. She solidified herself as a beast on the beach when that happened, and it was the first challenge. All the dudes are standing around looking at her going, “Dude, this chick may be tougher than we are.” And it was unbelievable. I think it really helped Stephanie in that way, and maybe put a bigger target on her. I for one was just standing there going, “Holy sh–, this chick is tough.”

Stephenie: I was worried. That’s why I’m saying to Jeff, “What happens if medical comes out? Like, do I have to leave the game?” If I just relax, maybe I can get it in on my own. But I it hurt me, because I think James and Rupert immediately were like, “Oh god, this can’t be the Stephenie show again.” And that’s where the hatred started to come.

Colby Donaldson in ‘Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains’CBS

You two guys went at it in that challenge. Do you remember what Tyson said afterwards? Something to the effect of, “Colby can’t even call himself a man now because of the way Coach owned him.”

Colby: Oh yeah, Tyson got some mileage out of that one. First of all, you don’t want to get smoked on the very first challenge of a season. As a male, it’s tough on your ego. It’s just not good, right? And it gets in your head. And again, not knowing Coach at the time, but certainly knowing his reputation, I’m sitting there in the back of my head going, “This guy’s gonna be rubbing this in to me for years.” It was what it was, right? Then you just gotta go back, lick your wounds, and go figure out a way to get this turned around physically.

Coach: I certainly have not rubbed it in his face. I’m a big believer in you analyze your weaknesses, and then you work on those weaknesses until you make them your strengths, and you take your existing strengths and friggin’ go out there and slay dragons. The first Survivor, I was terrible in challenges, I had trained completely wrong. I was a bit of a paper tiger, and so I’m sure that that might have been in Colby’s mind, that this guy is not a challenge beast, and Colby came in as somebody that was fantastic. The first time I grabbed ahold of Colby in that challenge, I felt the power in his muscles.

Anyway, I want to just, I was really impressed with Colby in Season 50. Seeing his arms ripped in all these preseason interviews, I’m like, I thought I had big arms, but they’re half of his size. But a shout-out to Colby, because I saw him that first day on the beach, and I said to myself, “He still has it, and he might even have it better than he had it in Heroes and Villains.” So, hats off to you, Colby, for just staying a champion, man.

Give me a word or two to describe what was going through your mind when you stepped on the Survivor 50 beach for the first time.

Stephenie: I was just grateful. When I first stepped out there in Season 10, I was in my 20s. And I definitely thought after Heroes vs. Villains, I’d probably never do it again. All these years later, I was just really grateful that I was still in good enough health, and had the ability to be able to leave three kids, and come out there and play a game that I love, that really shaped my life. I hope it will shape my children’s lives when they see me out there. I hope that I’ll be a good example for them, and many other children, and just women in general.

Coach: My first thought was, I can’t believe I’m doing this again. My second thought was, and this is gonna probably not even be a popular opinion, half of the cast is legends. When you’re on Heroes vs. Villains, it’s a full cast, maybe minus two. But this cast, half of them are legends. So, my second thought was, I’m happy to be on the beach again, and they lined me up next to Colby. My biggest pervading thought was, do I still have it as far as putting myself in challenges? Do I still have it as far as being a coach? Is the team gonna let me coach them in challenges? Am I still good enough? Am I still going to be valued? Then you have to stomp it in the mud and say, “I am good enough.” As you put that out into the universe, over and over and over again, then you’re gonna believe it, and then everybody around you is gonna believe it.

Colby: Listening to those two, I gotta say, my thoughts and feelings, when I go back to the very beginning of 50, they’re an amalgam of the two. First of all, Stephenie hit the nail on the head with gratitude. That encompassed everything about why I wanted to go back, and what drew me back in this last time. But I also echo what Coach said in terms of, am I good enough, and am I supposed to be here? And for me, Ponderosa and the pregame leading up to it, I was so uncomfortable to the point where I even talked to the psychologist about it. I didn’t even feel present. I just could not get comfortable. But when the front of that barge dropped down, and we walked up on the beach, and I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Coach for the first time, literally getting my feet in the sand, it all came back. And then, I knew I was where I belong.