Surviving 'Survivor': Utahn returns for another season in 'Heroes vs. Villains'

LOS ANGELES — In person, Tyson Apostol is a funny guy.

Oh, he's not a stand-up comedian. But, face to face, his incredible arrogance is far more amusing than it sometimes seemed the first time the Utahn was on "Survivor."

He's one of 20 former contestants who returns for the new season — subtitled "Heroes vs. Villains" — and guess which side he's on?

Um, he's not one of the heroes.

"Everybody can be labeled any way they want. It could have gone either way," Apostol told the Deseret News.

Well, fans of the show might disagree. It's pretty much typical Tyson when you ask him if he had any hesitation about signing on for another season.

"Not too much," he said. "I did a little bit, because I was like, damn, I already did all the awesome I could muster without really trying. And to do that again without trying would be a chore. But I'm pretty confident in myself."

That's an understatement of epic proportions.

Apostol made an impression on "Survivor: Tocantins" viewers a year ago with his supreme confidence. OK, arrogance. And that's a word that the 30-year-old bike shop manager and former professional cyclist from Lindon uses to describe himself.

When he was approached to do another season of "Survivor," Apostol wasn't immediately made aware he'd be cast in the role of a villain. As opposed to last time, when "I just had to assume it for myself."

For the 20th season of "Survivor," producers have brought back 10 contestants viewers loved and 10 they loved to hate.

"The heroes-villains thing — I don't know why they did that, because all the heroes are boring," Apostol said. "So you've got a boring tribe, and you've got a bad-(expletive) tribe over there cracking jokes and being awesome. So, 50 percent good. That's not bad."

It was his joking that made him into somewhat of a villain the first time around. Or, more precisely, it was the fact that a lot of viewers couldn't tell that he was joking when he said things like, "I love seeing people cry when you crush their dreams."

Or when he told viewers, "Lying to everybody … actually brings me pleasure. I never liked Sierra, ever. I have no clue why she's out here other than to just give hope to stupid people around the world."

Um, ha-ha?