Russell Hantz

Template:Survivor contestant Russell Hantz is an American reality television personality, best known as a contestant on the reality TV show Survivor. He was the runner-up in Survivor: Samoa, and second runner-up in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.

On both seasons, he was voted "Sprint Player of the Season" by viewers, winning a cash prize of $100,000 on both occasions.

Survivor

Survivor Samoa

After applying to compete on the show Pirate Master, Russell Hantz was called by casting two years later to appear on Survivor: Samoa, the nineteenth season of the show. After being assigned to the Foa Foa tribe, he quickly demonstrated his preference to play through lies and deceit. After making alliances with every person in his tribe, he also attempted to sow discontent by causing havoc whenever possible. In an early interview, he stated his belief that if he could control how his fellow survivor's felt, he'd be able to control how they thought.

His tactics, ultimately, were successful enough to get him to the final three, however, the resulting animosity towards him was his ultimate downfall. In his final speech, Russell documented each of the moves he made to get rid of the people sitting in front of him. His explanation, of how he eliminated John by first lying to him to get rid of Laura may have been a clever tactic, and perhaps the only way he was going to stay in the game, but clearly alienated some of the Jury. His belief that the jury would vote for the person who best played the game, and would ignore their personal feelings was clearly a mistake, as he lost the jury vote to Natalie White 5-4, and placed second in Survivor Samoa.

Although he didn't win the one million dollar prize, Russell Hantz did take home the Sprint “Player of the Game” award, and a cash prize of $100,000. "I feel like I played the best strategic game in history," Hantz told host Jeff Probst. "I can guarantee millions of people probably think that same thing."

The day after the winner was revealed Hantz and White appeared together on the CBS Early Show. "I don't think she deserves it," said Hantz. "That's my opinion. I don't think the world thinks she deserves it, because she didn't even get in the top three for fan favorite. So ... ." Hantz continued his criticism of White, "You know, when you play a football game, and you're the quarterback to the football game, I'm throwing all the touchdown passes, right? She wasn't even on the field. She was my cheerleader."

Survivor Heroes vs. Villains

Russell Hantz was invited back for season 20 of Survivor, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. Named a "Villain", Russell immediately found himself on the outside of his tribe. Allied with Parvati Shallow and Danielle DiLorenzo, the three found themselves facing a formidable alliance led by Rob Mariano, aka "Boston Rob". Through a series of clever and risky moves, Russell was able to keep the three in the game, and eventually eliminated each member of Boston Rob's alliance, except Jerri Manthey and Sandra Diaz-Twine, who switched allegiances to save themselves.

After the tribal merge, the Villains established firm control over the game when Russell was passed a Immunity Idol by the Heroes James Thomas, Jr. (JT). Believe Russell was the last man left on the Villains tribe due to a all-women alliance, JT attempted to sway the game in favor of the Heroes by recruiting Russell. The move backfired, and Russell quickly eliminated JT.

The game then progressed quickly with few surprises, except for the elimination of DiLorenzo, whom Russell eliminated out of a fear that her alliance with Parvati would be too strong for him to overcome. The few opportunities for the Heroes to re-establish a foothold were quickly dashed when they were unable to maintain an united front.

In front of the Jury, Russell argued that as veteran Survivor players, the jury must recognize his superior skills at playing the game. However, he again misread how the jury would feel about the way he lied to push ahead in the game. During the Jury Q&A, Danielle confronted Russell and told him "No one respects the way that you play the game". Candice Woodcock told him that "You have to tell lies in this game, but you can go too far. You told... lies you didn't need to tell, and you hurt people doing that." However, the most damning comments likely came for Rupert Boneham. "Russell... to be honest in this game is a very hard thing. To be a manipulative, deceiving, lying person is very easy. You took the easy way out, and if you think you should be proud of how you got here, you're sadly mistaken."

When the votes were counted, the veteran Survivor players gave Russell none. He finished the 20th season of Survivor in third. America, however, felt differently. For the second time, Russell won the Sprint “Player of the Game” award, and the cash prize of $100,000.

Future Seasons of Survivor

There are rumors that Russell will be asked to return on Survivor for a third time. In the Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Reunion, Russell suggested they have a Russell vs. Boston Rob season. As of September 14, 2010, nothing has been confirmed yet.

According to Jeff Probst, future seasons of Survivor will have to consider the "Russell factor" when hiding Immunity Idols.

Personal Life

Russell Hantz was born October 10, 1972. He currently resides in Dayton, Texas with his wife and four kids. He runs an oil outfit called Hantz Tankering Service in Dayton with his dad and brother and a bar in Lafayette, Louisiana called Bootleggers. In Survivor: Samoa, he claimed to have made $1.7 million the year prior.

Arrest

On April 23, 2010, Russell was arrested for committing an assault while partying near the bar he owns in Lafayette, Louisiana. A woman confronted Russell, so he allegedly shoved her to the ground. As this was just a simple battery, Russell was released later that day without bail but was given a misdemeanor summons and a scheduled court date.

External links

• Russell Hantz (Season 19) at CBS.com
• Russell Hantz (Season 20) at CBS.com
• Russell Hantz at IMDb