by Gina Scarpa

 

When Malcolm Freburg was eliminated on Survivor: Philippines right before the final tribal council, it was clear that if the show was going to bring back returning players the following season, he'd be one of them. He did indeed return for Survivor: Caramoan, Fans Vs. Favorites 2, and was quickly targeted as a threat by most of his tribemates. Last week, he shocked the tribe when he, Reynold, and Eddie all played idols to oust Phillip but when he came up short in an immunity challenge this week, the favorites struck back and voted him out. We talked to the fan favorite today in an exclusive interview about the experience of playing Survivor twice in a row.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did playing the game twice in a row take a toll on you more physically or mentally?
A. Malcolm: Physically, I was a waif. I was like, "God, I look sickly!" I was nowhere near the shape I was in at the beginning of Caramoan that I was for Philippines. Mentally, I was just exhausted. I think it was 68 days total back to back. I was pretty damn wiped out.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was your reaction to being asked to come back as a favorite, especially considering how new you are to the Survivor world?
A. Malcolm: It was a really cool experience. They asked me back after being voted out of Philippines, I knew I was coming right back. I was exhausted and angry, I came so close to winning, and I said yes immediately.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Why do you think you were on the outs with the favorites? Was it because you didn't want to work with Phillip and have him dictate your game?
A. Malcolm: I put myself on the outs. I managed to weasel my way in in the first couple days. No one had seen my season so no one knew what to expect. I was always on the bottom, I wasn't part of strategic conversations. Very early on, I knew I was going to flip. I had no intention of sticking with the favorites to the end. That's why I started pulling in Reynold and Eddie.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Would you have gone to the end with them though? You are all great physical competitors and I would think you would all split the jury too much.
A. Malcolm: Yeah, when Corinne and Michael were involved, I wanted to go to the end with those two more. Once it got down to three of us, we were just trying to survive one vote at a time. Had it gotten down to that, it would've gotten tricky.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Playing all three idols was definitely one of the most memorable moments in Survivor history, but do you think it was the right move getting rid of Phillip or should you have made a play for someone like Andrea instead?
A. Malcolm: I think Phillip was the right person. He was the glue holding this whole Stealth nonsense together. It didn't go according to plan at all. The idea was to get everyone to vote for Phillip and then we'd get to keep the idols.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: There are a lot of people left playing a very good game. In your eyes, who is the most dangerous to get to the end?
A. Malcolm: While I was out there, and we were coming up with all these plans, the core members of the majority... Andrea, Dawn, and Cochran... were the ones calling the shots and making the decisions. Maybe they're not the best players or most aggressive, but they were the ones calling the shots.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Which elimination was tougher, Philippines or Caramoan?
A. Malcolm: The Philippines ones, I was almost crying! That one was way rough, being 24 hours away from the end. This one, as much as I was cursing, it was a relief. I have been in Survivor move for 6-7 months.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What's been the best part of the Survivor experience for you in this last year?
A. Malcolm: Gosh, you know... I've been very fortunate to be popular. It's not something I expected. I was completely prepared to be a villain when I went out there. Getting to watch it with my family who are die hard fans, they enjoy it so much... that's been one of the most fun parts.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What are you planning to do next?
A. Malcolm: I'm planning on eating for the next year until I get to a normal size! That's my long term goal.

 

Survivor: Caramoan airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS.

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa