The Traitors Interview: Jeremy Collins on Who Is in the Best Spot Right Now

Don’t cross The Traitors and you may buy yourself some time. Survivor veteran Jeremy Collins discovered that the hard way when the Traitors put a literal nail in his coffin to signal the end of his game at Ardross Castle, after he disclosed – to the wrong people, might I add – his suspicion that Big Brother’s Danielle Reyes is a Traitor. It didn’t matter that Jeremy was spot-on with his theory, his death knell was that he went too hard too early and trusted the wrong people. 

A last-ditch plea to save himself failed spectacularly, and Jeremy’s hopes of making it to the end died a quick death. To get his take on why his game was cut short, I hopped on Zoom for a chat with Jeremy to get the scoop on all things Traitors, including if he’d want another chance to play the game again. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

How surprising was it that you were the one the Traitors decided to murder? 

I was pretty surprised. I remember when Alan [Cumming] said my name, I could hear the gasps. I was really shocked that I was one of them [in the coffins]. 

What do you think led you to be at the top of the list?

I was going pretty hard at Danielle. At one point I told the other three Traitors that Danielle is a Traitor. I said to Carolyn, "Just watch her." I was talking to Rob, and he said, "Who do you think is a Traitor?" I said, "Danielle," so I can understand why she came at me. But I had a good rapport with those three, so looking back, they could have fought harder for me.

What tipped you off on Danielle being a Traitor?

I talked to Danielle a lot, and at one point she was crying and everything. And I was like, those tears don't look real. I told Derek if she asks for the shield, she's a Traitor. When Wes was giving me my shield, I had two votes [for me] — Tom and Britney. And I was like, "I don't need a shield. I'm good." I took the shield anyway, obviously. But if Danielle asks for a shield, "Derek, she's a Traitor because nobody said her name once." That was the biggest thing that dropped that said, oh, she is one.

There were definitely instances where Danielle, and even Bob the Drag Queen, were a little over the top with their reactions and with specific questions they were asking.

A little too much. The day after Dorinda went home, Bob walks into the dining room and he never looked up at the board. He's like, "Oh my God, what's going on?" and it was a lot. My twin brother is gay, and they resemble each other; they're both dramatic and flamboyant. And I said, "That's just who [Bob] is. He's not a Traitor." I wish I didn't think of it like that. I wish I went with my gut.

Let's talk about the coffins. For a lot of people, having to lie in a closed coffin is a nightmare. What was that experience like for you?

Going into the game, Alan asked, "Would you want to be covered in bugs or in a coffin?" And I said, "Covered in bugs." That night, it was freezing. It was so cold I was shivering. When you get in the coffin, it's warmer, and then they close it. I was probably in there for seven or eight minutes, but it wasn't bad. It was just a lot of thoughts [running through my head] throughout the game, like, what's going on in the game that I'm missing? What did I mess up on? How can I get out of this? The coffin was that was the least of my worries.

Two weeks in a row, a Survivor has been eliminated from the game, following Tony's dramatic exit in Episode 3. The remaining Survivors, Carolyn and Boston Rob, are Traitors. Are you surprised that it's played out this way?

I am surprised. Going into the game, everyone looked at Survivors as the gamers. We all as Survivors [agreed], let's stick together. For two of us to be gone so quickly, it's not a good read on everybody. It's not a good look. I think that other people will look at it and say, there are two more Survivors, we have to have one Survivor that's a Traitor. It's going to be some tough sledding. Carolyn and Boston Rob should have fought a little bit harder to try to save me. I think Bob should have fought to save me. Dylan came after Bob and I said I had his back. 

In your final plea to save yourself, you said that you would work with the Traitors if they spared you. How true is that statement?

I was saying anything. I was more worried about having to go back and clean up the mess with everybody else because they're not going to trust me anymore. I worked hard to gain people's trust, and now I got to work hard to get out of it again. I wasn't worried about what I had to do for the Traitors. I probably wouldn't have believed it myself.

After your elimination, Boston Rob targeted one of his fellow Traitors, Bob the Drag Queen, who was voted out. What was your reaction to that? 

I used to tell Bob all the time, "You're doing too much, man!" He said one thing that Rob didn't like, Rob flipped it on him and said, “I'm done with him.” The thing is, if Bob kept me around, I would have probably been on his side when they were going at each other.  

Who would you have worked with had you remained in the castle? 

Derrick. Me and Derrick would have stampeded through this game. Me and Nikki were good. I thought we could have made some progress in the game. I would have linked on with someone like Ivar, and Sam, and try to bring people in because you need numbers. But those are the two top people that I would have been looking forward to [working with]. 

Who do you think is in the best position in the game right now? Who do you think is in danger? 

I think Carolyn right now is in the best position. Like, nobody suspects her. She can tell you she's a Traitor and you don't believe her. I think Rob went too hard when he went after Bob, and that's got him in trouble.  

If you were asked to go and play this game again, would you? Would you do anything differently? 

I had such a good time. I would probably play again. I loved it; it was so fun. I told [Survivor host Jeff] Probst that I retired from reality TV, and then I was watching Season 2 of The Traitors in bed, me and [my wife] Val. I said, "Val, I would do this." She was like, "Really, you would play this game?" I'm like, "Yo, this looks so fun." And then I got a call the next day. It was wild. So yes, I would play this again. I think I played too hard in some ways. So maybe I'll pull it back a little bit, but then again, that's not my style. If I played again, I think I would have gone even harder.  

Is there anything that was missed in the episodes while you were on? 

They did a pretty good job. I had a lot of great conversations with Dorinda. I had some great conversations with Nikki and just the downtime, hanging out with everybody. Gabby is so funny, just little things like that. My last season of Survivor, there was a lot of animosity. If I didn't go home, people would be mad because I didn't get voted out. Because they took it personally, we never bonded after that. Going into this, I'm like, this is a game and everybody, treat it as a game. So there were a lot of really good bonds. And Tony said it when he was leaving: All the relationships are real. 

Who's your pick to win the season: the Faithful or the Traitors?  

Carolyn. Nobody knows she's a Traitor! 

And maybe we'll see you back in the castle... 

I am good at second chances.

Stream new episodes of The Traitors every Thursday at 9p ET on Peacock.