‘I want to be George the Terrible’: Survivor’s greatest villain returns

Before a second has screened, the new season of Australian Survivor – theme: Heroes v Villains – already has a World Championship Wrestling vibe about it.

In the villains corner, we have season six finalist George Mladenov: “I take a great deal of pride in being known as the greatest ever Survivor villain. But it puts a lot of pressure on me as well. Can the king deliver again?”

Writer and broadcaster Benjamin Law and “King George” both star in Australian Survivor: Heroes v Villains.Credit: Nigel Wright/Network Ten

And in the heroes corner, it’s writer Benjamin Law: “These are just objectively heroic people. Someone like Gerry who has saved lives and survived unspeakable tragedy. Or Matt, who’s a surf lifesaver. And of course on the villains side you’ve got someone like George, who’s just a diabolical mercenary.”

Modesty – and honesty – prevent Law from describing himself as a hero. At 39 years old going into the competition, he was one of the oldest in his tribe, and to say he was out of his comfort zone would be a gross understatement. “I’m going to be shedding all vanity and ego watching this show because we are stripped of so much,” Law says. “We’re brought to our knees when it comes to emotions – and hunger.”

On the upside, after watching season six – Brains v Brawn, the season in which Mladenov featured – Law realised you didn’t have to be a supreme athlete to succeed. “To have those tribes so evenly split between people who usually use their minds and people who usually use their bodies to compete – it actually turns out to be quite an even playing field,” he says. “As much as the show is about physical challenges and brute strength, it’s also about craftiness and intellect. It made me think there is space for people like us.”

And while Law reckons he has his heroic-adjacent moments, he decides to borrow the words of fellow tribe member Paige: “If you think of yourself as heroic, you’re probably a bit of dickhead”.

The villains tribe includes broadcaster Anjali Rao, real estate agent Fraser Lack and Olympic pole vault champ Liz Parnov.Credit: Nigel Wright

Mladenov, meanwhile, still relishes being a villain. “What makes a villain on Survivor is someone who is willing to do what it takes to get the job done,” he says. “And despite the fact that I didn’t have the biggest pecs or the biggest biceps, I was the last man standing in the outback [where season six was filmed]. I showed a man with a plan – a villain like me – is the most dangerous kind of person to play Australian Survivor. And I’m really proud of that.”

Of course, Mladenov didn’t win season six. He lost to physiotherapist Hayley, who also began the competition on Mladenov’s brains tribe. She returns this season as a hero. Doesn’t that suggest that it’s the nice guys who finish first? Not according to Mladenov.

“I didn’t win because I had the most bitter jury in Australian Survivor history,” he says firmly. “But what I learnt – and what I’m hoping to do differently – is to manage people’s perceptions of myself better. The perception my horrifically bitter jury had was that I didn’t respect the physical side of the game. And they couldn’t get over that fact.”

To that end, between seasons Mladenov pursued “an Olympic-level” fitness and diet regimen – and he does indeed look remarkably buff. He’s counting on being of more value physically, to aid his ascension to the Survivor throne. But mostly, he’s counting on being the same old George.

“I went to the Macedonian Church of Cabramatta right before I went out to Samoa,” he says. “And I have made every single prayer possible to make sure the Macedonian Jesus is on my side.”

Mladenov is also battle-hardened after competing in some of the harshest conditions of any Survivor worldwide. “And that’s a bit of an edge I have on the other contestants,” he says. “I have to use every single angle available to me to get ahead. And if I can make sure that people are miserable, I’m going to do that. I don’t want to be George the Lionheart. I want to be George the Terrible. I want to make sure that people suffer.”

And if there was one piece of advice he’d give to a desk-jockey newbie like Law, what would it be? “Stay out of my way.”

Australian Survivor returns on Monday, January 30, at 7.30pm on Ten.

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