Deontay Wilder, Kevin Kreider, John Bercow


The Big Picture

  • The Traitors series challenges players to navigate mind games, deception, and paranoia, forcing them to question their instincts and strategies.
  • Former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder demonstrates positive masculinity by openly expressing his emotions and encouraging other men to do the same.
  • The Traitors shattered expectations for contestants Kevin Kreider and John Bercow, leading to personal growth and reflection beyond the game.


The Traitors series focuses on mind games, plotting, and deceit. But for the Faithful players, there is an additional level of paranoia and sadness. Paranoia surrounds whether they’ll be murdered by the Traitors or, worse, send another Faithful home. Playing the game requires a mix of sharp instinct and observation, with the challenge of figuring out whether those instincts are right, wrong, or come from a sense of bias. Because it’s such a social and psychological game, going in with a clear head and an even more precise strategy is essential.

Strategy and awareness are two things that every fighter, actor, and politician needs to thrive in their particular field. Fighters train and spar to gain practice and strategize different ways to move their bodies to overpower their opponents. Actors must develop a character by understanding the character’s goals and then strategize how to play that role to reach that goal emotionally. And, for politicians, strategy is paramount to the work they do. Politicians should eat, sleep, and breathe strategy, as every word that comes out of their mouths carries immense weight while in office. They must also have a clear understanding and basic awareness of how people think. Politicians have to understand their voter base, actors have to understand their interactions with other characters, and fighters need to be able to read their opponent’s body movements to prepare to defend themselves or go on the attack.

One would assume this would mean that a former heavyweight champion of the world like Deontay Wilder, a politician like former UK Parliamentarian John Bercow, and an actor/reality TV star like Kevin Kreider would be the biggest threats in a competition like The Traitors, but that is simply not true. The game, specifically for the Faithfuls, becomes a clash of the id, ego, and super-ego. These Freudian terms are the three significant aspects of a person’s personality: the id is instinctual, the ego is how a person navigates through the world, and the super-ego is where a person’s sense of morality resides.

With no influence from the outside world, including access to phones and social media, these three aspects of each person playing The Traitors begin to clash pretty quickly. It’s hard to trust one’s instincts in a vacuum, after all. Especially when those instincts turn out to be incorrect. Is being ruthless really the only way to win, or can sincerity prevail? Crumpa had the opportunity to speak with Deontay, John, and Kevin before and after their experience in the game. They had specific ideas and expectations going in but gained way more than they could have imagined.

The Traitors (US)

Contestants in the game move into a majestic castle and work as a team to complete a series of dramatic and challenging missions to earn money for the prize pot. Some contestants are traitors some are loyal.

Release Date
January 12, 2023
Cast
Alan Cumming , Kate Chastain , Cirie Fields , Arie Luyendyk Jr.

Rating
TV-14

Seasons
2


‘The Traitors’ Shattered Expectations In Season 2

Dan, Sandra, and Kevin 'The Traitors' S2 appear shocked
Image via Peacock

Kevin Kreider came into season 2 of The Traitors as prepared as anyone could be. He shared during filming, “I watched every version. It was so good. I watched it with my girlfriend. It was really one of those shows that I didn’t think I’d get into, but then you get addicted, » he admit. « Then I started watching the UK version, and originally, I thought I wanted to be a traitor almost immediately because it seemed like they always won.” Kevin is most well known as a member of the cast of Bling Empire, a show that follows a group of wealthy East Asian people living the dream in L.A. Kevin is both a model and an actor and was excited to have the opportunity to be on the show.

When asked about why he decided to join the show, he said, “There’s a SAG strike”, which was true at the time, as this was in the early fall of 2023. Strike or not, Kevin entered the game having watched every season available to watch and had decided on his strategy before he arrived. A strategy that changed, according to Kevin, immediately. He shared, “I had an idea going in, and then once I got here, it totally changed. What worked for that one show, or three shows that we watched before, there were so many different personalities. But then with our cast, when we came in, I was like, ‘Oh, this is really going to change now.’ So 1705509684 I’m almost like [going] by the seat of my pants right now. Like, moment to moment, just seeing like what’s going on and stuff.”

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John Bercow, on the other hand, chose to come into the game with an open mind. And this makes sense, given that a former government official is competing with a group of primarily reality TV stars. He shared, “In terms of overall pressure, I suppose there are two slightly competing phenomena for me. On the one hand, it is completely new, because I’ve never done this sort of thing before… » he noted. « So there’s that element of the unknown. The one element of the known, albeit from a different environment, is that– having spent 25 years in public life, just over 20 years in the British Parliament, and just over a decade as Speaker, I did experience, albeit in a different form, I did experience some high octane moments, some pressure, some experience of Prime Ministers trying to push me around and tell me, ‘You’re not going to do that, it’s not going to happen.’ I’m going to do my job. Am I being macho about it, or gung ho, or cocky, or complacent? Absolutely not. I think that’s a case of pride comes before a fall. But am I sort of, to be blunt, bricking it? No, I might be bricking it about a physical challenge, but am I bricking it about a conflict? No.”

John’s level of self-awareness is very important, especially in a game like The Traitors. But, did his parliamentary experience help him in the game?

Kevin and John both had unique experiences in the castle. Kevin’s inability to use his planned strategy led to his experience being more than he had ever anticipated. He said: “[This experience was] shattering, and kind of shattered my own reality. Actually, in my own life, because I thought there were so many life lessons in this that ring true to people from my own experiences.”

John, on the other hand, said his experience on the show was, “unsurpassed.” He expanded upon this, saying: “Nothing that I’ve ever done by way of an activity or a television show has been more stimulating. So I loved it, which is not to say I was great at it. I did I hope okay and have a lot of fun. It was unsurpassed. It outstripped my expectations.”

‘The Traitors’ Deontay Wilder is a Shining Example of Positive Masculinity

Deontay Wilder 'The Traitors' S2 smiling
Image via Peacock

Deontay Wilder is known to boxing fans as The Bronze Bomber (though he recently changed this to Doctor Sleep) and was the heavyweight champion of the world from 2015 to 2020. One can be certain that his fans were shocked to see him on a show like The Traitors. Standing at 6’7”, Deontay has an imposing presence, and thankfully, that presence is filled with warmth and positivity. One could argue that he is the epitome of a gentle giant. He is a man who fought in a brutal sport for a living, and he subsequently stands out as a picture of masculinity. He is all too aware of this, and when he started the show he made a point to share how he plans to use his platform.

When asked if he was prepared for the emotional aspect of the game, he shared: “I think I’m prepared for it. I’m an emotional type of human being. You know what I mean? I don’t have fear in expressing my emotions.” Deontay went on to say, “Whether it’s crying. Whether it’s laughter, whether it’s affirmation of words, or whatever, being that I am a fighter. But I [want to] help other men to be comfortable with themselves and to step outside the box. Especially when it comes to tears, » he asserts. « As far as certain men in certain cultures, the way you grow up, you’re taught to show no fear, don’t cry because you show weakness. And when guys see me, and the occupation that I’m in, to see me shed tears and makes it seem like it’s okay.” Emotional intelligence is a gift, especially coming from someone like Deontay. He is proof that masculinity can be kind and loving, and that expressing those emotions is better than holding them in.

Deontay’s strategy is an emotional one as well. He said, “I’m an empath, so I pick up on energy all the time. And my strategy was to come in, be myself, as always, in everyday life, and come in and meet people. Pick up on their energy before picking traitors. So, when the game starts, if anything changes, I will pick up on that, » he said. « And that’s kind of been my, my strategy. I’m a people person, so I’m always talking to people. I’m always interacting with them and always picking up different feelings, auras, vibes, and getting on the same frequencies. So that’s been my strategy. We’ll see if it plays In my favor.”

The emotional approach is a risky one given the prevailing paranoia in the group, and it has already proven to be more difficult than he may have bargained for. Regardless of this, Deontay is grateful for the experience.

Following the game, he stated: “For me, [the] one word I can describe [this] as [is] a blessing. For me, a lot of people will see me getting emotional, which they definitely didn’t expect. I didn’t expect it as well. But you know, I don’t shy away from showing my emotions because I always tell other men that, you know, it’s okay to cry because it’s only a cleansing. We can only bottle up and hold so much until our cup runneth over… so [if] your cup fills up with water so much, to the point you don’t have a place to release, you’re going to self-destruct. And sometimes that self-destruction can cause a lot of things that you’ll regret doing or saying.”

There’s an Emotional Outcome of Being a Faithful in a Traitorous Castle

Peter, John, and Janelle 'The Traitors' S2 laughing
Image via Peacock

The issue Deontay brings up is a major problem for many men, especially cis-gender men who hold themselves up to impossible standards. The stifling of emotion, which is seen as “manly”, often leads to the self-destruction Deontay mentioned, or sometimes even worse. According to a piece from Mission Harbor Behavioral Health: “Suppressing emotions can lead to depression and anxiety, but for men especially, it can also increase their risk of suicide. Men are much more likely to commit suicide than women… For men, being told to ‘man up’ or ‘act like a man’ is something they learn in childhood, and it stays with them into adulthood. Over time, men get really good at turning off their emotions or coping with their feelings in a way that is more acceptable for males. It creates a cycle of toxic masculinity, which can be hard to break once it’s a habit.”

People like Deontay, Kevin, and John each work in industries that are often stereotyped. Their experience in The Traitors shattered those stereotypes and expectations wonderfully.

For Kevin Kreider, it was a life-changing experience. He said: “I think, even Deontay could probably relate to this. In Hollywood, there are a lot of traitors in real life. A lot of friends who could even be traitors or will betray you. I found [the experience] very shattering of my own real world, and it related a lot. And, um, you know, there were times of faith that I thought were really great off camera that Deontay and I were speaking about that really helped me get through all of this… Sometimes– a lot of time actually, you just need faith. You just need a reminder. You don’t always get the luxury of having Deontay around, though, but it’s just it really reminded me of real life, and I had to do a lot of reflection afterward.”

One might be surprised that a murder mystery reality show could have such an impact on these celebrities, but it is just proof that there is no other show on right now quite like it. To hear more about Kevin, John, and Deontay’s experience in the castle, check out the full video interview above.

New episodes of The Traitors are available to stream on Peacock Fridays at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT. Watch on Peacock

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