He came in trying to conceal his identity, presenting himself as a humble landscaper.
ButRock Carlsonhad a history and a past that surpassed many of his contemporaries onDeal or No Deal Island.
Anyone with a heart will understand his decision.
Image by Peacock, Nimesh
ROCK CARLSON:Hey, let’s let it roll, brother.
ROCK:Man, I’m doing great.
Well, let’s open it up.
Image via NBC
How are you feeling after that wild episode?
ROCK: Oh, fricking great, man.
I played my game, brother.
There’s no regrets with me.
Let’s start simple.
If you could describe your experience in three words, what would they be?
Image via NBC
ROCK: God, that’s tough.
But with much appreciation, man.
What was it like stepping foot on the Banker’s Private Island and those stunning accommodations?
It was like, Holy sh-!
Like I just jumped out ofJungle Bookor some sh-, man.
I mean, it was like damn, howler monkeys going off and yelling and screaming, man.
You got the snakes and ants fighting rats on their hind legs.
I mean, everything was to kill you, and then the cast wanted to kill you too.
ROCK: But the accommodations.
Hey, listen, they made our bed every day, man.
Put new sheets on.
I’m like, Oh my God.
I don’t know why they put new sheets on every day.
It’s maybe some of the cast were sh– their pants.
I don’t know.
It was absolutely beautiful.
Now, how much preparation did you do prior to stepping out on the island?
ROCK: I just watched Season one ofDeal or No Deal Island.
But I’ve watched a lot of reality TV shows, so I really didn’t do too much.
I mean, I’m working here in my yard with jackhammers, everything else.
So I had pretty much physical stuff.
My running was off a little bit.
Man, I tell you what.
That’s the fastest and the hardest I ran right for 47 years, man!
Now, you mentioned you watch reality television.
Let’s talk about the evil doctor.
What was your reaction when you sawDr.
Did you know about his reputation?
ROCK: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
I saw Mr. Penguin in his outfit, rolling on that boat.
Brother, what are you doing, man?
I mean, come on, man.
I was just this landscaper, you know, 59-year-old dude that just happened to be there.
You know,SurvivorandBig Brother, it’s not like a happy marriage, you know.
They’re great, and they get along.
I think that one is, you know, CBS.
And, you know, CBS, but I don’t think that they’re really compatible people.
So I thought, hey, this is a good time to really watch now.
I got two big shields in front of me.
ROCK: That’s where I was at.
Maybe I picked something up from him, you know.
And I knew Parvati straight from the airport.
I saw that right away.
Let’s talk about this week’s excursion.
What was your strategy for this challenge?
ROCK: The sandcastle one.
See who’s in whose car, who’s driving, blah, blah, blah, you know.
So if they didn’t want you to go, you weren’t going.
And try and get a bigger case.
You don’t know where they’re at inside the goddamn thing.
And you gotta dig it.
You gotta get it.
So, my strategy was to get it.
But there was a part where they scan it, but I didn’t have my glasses.
I couldn’t see sh- from Shinola man, as far as anything.
What were the high value cases or not.
And when I looked down that trail, my God, it was trail all the way down.
Well, I saw these.
I thought, “Where the shit did everybody go?
Like, where did they go?
I was like, s-, I must have taken the wrong turn.
Where the hell am I?
Well, I saw the two cases.
I saw the one on the left was higher than the one on the right.
So I said, I better take it.
So that’s what I did.
And so I took it and then everybody’s talking about what you got in your case.
What everybody knew, because they were all walking around seeing what you got.
AndLetecame to my aid in the in command thing, or the chain thing, whatever they call it.
She said, “Let me go first, and I’ll help you.”
And I trusted her because Lete was not one that was really getting into anything.
And, of course, Dr. Will made a comment to me when we were out there.
And I said the same thing back to him.
It was like, basically, no way.
I already had a deal with Lete.
So I went with Lete.
Rock Was Convinced About A Women’s Alliance
Let’s talk about Parvati and Philiip’s decision.
Do you think they made the right decision to split the case the way they did?
ROCK: Absolutely not, but I don’t think there was any other case they could have split.
Except for, they were probably going to split Dr. Will’s.
Okay, now she just saved me, like the episode before.
So I’m like, ‘What are they doing?”
And I know Maria.
What the sh- going on?
So I thought maybe they were talking about something else.
But then I heard my name, and I thought, son of a gun.
So I wasn’t going to go down there.
But then Joe says, “Make a decision.”
ROCK: She wanted to be Sydnee.
She thought Sydnee would be a bigger shield for her.
Okay, so yes, I definitely think they made a mistake.
I was on simmer, man.
I was low key in it and everything else.
And I was going to start playing a little bit tougher, you know.
So anyway, I think 100% she made a mistake, yes.
You really wanted to play the Banker’s game.
Was there any doubt in your mind that it was your turn?
ROCK: I tell you what.
I thought there was a woman’s alliance brewing.
When CK was talking with Parvati, and then the other two,La ShellandSeychelle.
I thought, “Oh my God, here it is.
“They’re teaming up.
It is a woman’s alliancegoing on and they’re going to take me out.
So I think also, because of Parvati wanted me out before.
So I immediately said, “I want to play.”
I want to play the banker because I wanted to control my own destiny.
And if I was going to go, I was going to go out on my goddang terms.
But there was nobody going to deny me on this one.
Just looking like a dummy.
‘Deal or No Deal Island’ wouldn’t be as fabulous without the Banker’s Assistants!
Talk to me about your amazing family.
How proud of you are they?
ROCK: They tell me all the time how proud they are of me of this.
You know, I kept my dignity and respect.
Everything was everybody else and community and everything else, you know.
So this was really, it was great because that was the whole key.
Was for my family.
I mean, hey, reality superstar, come on.
Let’s get real.
65 years old, what am I going to gonna do?
Go on and book of the OGGladiatorsor some sh-.
It was amazing for me.
That was the reason why I did it.
I wanted them all to say something.
But my thing was, hey, I’m going to have a great time here.
I hope everybody enjoys it.
I get a couple laughs here.
And the audience, get a laugh out of it, you know.
But I’m telling you, it’s a deadly place, man.
It’s deadly there on that island.
You see all kinds of sh-.
But I’m so proud of all of them.
Listen, nobody’s going to pressure a Rock Dog into anything.
Let me tell you, WOOOOOO.
I’ve been my own person my whole life.
Listen, I’m a shark, man.
I swim by myself.
I don’t need that.
But in this you need partners.
Anybody knows that in reality TV.
And I’m outside a lot in the Jacuzzi.
I look up in the stars.
And the other two were like my mom and dad.
So, the three of them are together and clumped.
And I was like, no way.
Coupled with the fact of the 75% statistics that I had it.
But I knew I had that money in my case.
But the main contributors were the three numbers left.
So that’s it.
That’s the reason why I did it.
It was a rough one to watch, but you went out in iconic style.
Congratulations on your amazing run.
And hey, maybe we will see you onNaked and Afraidone day!
ROCK: I don’t think so.
I don’t know man.
I know you never know, bro.
I don’t like any closed doors.
Well, thank you so much for joining.
ROCK: I appreciate your time.
Deal or No Deal Island 2airs Tuesdays at 9:00pm on NBC.
All episodes are available to stream on Peacock.
