‘Survivor: Philippines’ interview: Angie Layton on Russell strategy, ties to Malcolm

We learned quite a bit about Angie Layton on “Survivor: Philippines” this season: she fights hard at tribal council, loves cookies more than anything else in the world, and she has no problem cuddling with Malcolm in the shelter.

It felt last week almost like she was going to be in this game for a while, but then she fell victim to what has become a bit of a recurring crisis here: the inability of the Matsing tribe to actually win a single challenge. We had time during a conference with reporters Thursday to ask Angie a few questions about her time on the show, and also about whether or not she would effectively gone against Malcolm at some point like he did against her.

Cartermatt.com – When it came to Russell, as there ever any talk about the fact that he wasn’t that good of a decision-maker the first time he played? It seems like that could be a reason to get him out [since the same thing was happening].

I think we were all judging from what happened in our tribe. We didn’t really bring up past seasons. He just made his own decisions and did things his way, even though he said that he didn’t want to be the leader but was really acting as the leader.

How much was your relationship with Malcolm blown out of proportion by Roxy last week? Obviously, you would probably still be there if you and him were really closer to him and Denise.

She blew it up over the top, obviously. She blew it up out of proportion and it wasn’t necessarily. People cuddle in ‘Survivor’ to stay warm. It just so happened that me and Malcolm were the only ones that were cuddling. I’m sure on some of the other tribes everyone was cuddling.

But she blew it up, and that was kind of her big thing like ‘remember me this way.’ I tried to stay composed during tribal council, and unfortunately for her it made her look bad. I knew I was safe and she was going home.

So had you stuck around over Russell, would you have stayed with Malcolm or Denise until the end, or would you have went against them if you thought that you had a better chance at winning against someone else?

Well, things change in ‘Survivor,’ and they can change in an instant. I would have been willing to stay in the game with them long enough so that I was safe; but if I was given an opportunity to get in another alliance, of course I would have if it would get me further in the game. It’s a game!