Stephen Colletti Is Ready To Fire Back

Throughout his career, Stephen Colletti has navigated his way through a love triangle with Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari on Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, and Brooke Davis’ coming-of-age struggles on One Tree Hill. But none of that drama has come close to the treachery and intensity he experienced on The Traitors.

“The mean streets of Laguna Beach, California,” he laughs, speaking with Bustle from his home office over Zoom. “Oh man, if you're watching the MTV version, it looks like it's pretty tough out there. But there is no amount of time in Laguna Beach that could have trained me for the Castle.”

Colletti could be classified as a reality TV child star, getting his start on MTV’s 2004 reality show as a 17-year-old with a complicated friend group, including Conrad and Cavallari. After graduation, he pivoted to the scripted side of TV, landing the role of Chase Davis on One Tree Hill, before creating the comedy series Everyone Is Doing Great with his OTH co-star James Lafferty in 2021.

While he was “scared away from reality TV” for quite some time, Colletti admits he was afraid to say no when The Traitors came calling. “It was a fear of passing on the opportunity to play the game and regretting it for the rest of my life,” he says. “I love challenging myself in that aspect. I really wanted to see what I could do and how far I can make it in the game.”

That doesn’t mean he wasn’t intimidated. “You feel like you've got a good strategy going into the game, but on that first drive up to the castle, I was like, ‘I’m screwed. I have all those outfits and suitcases that are just going to go to waste,’” he jokes.

Luckily, he was able to wear most of his looks, becoming one of the game’s most steady and dependable Faithfuls, until Dorinda Medley voiced suspicions about his interactions with Traitor Lisa Rinna. On the Feb. 12 episode, Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski targeted Colletti at the roundtable in an effort to save themselves from banishment, and it worked.

“As conversations went on, I realized these two totally knew they were going to be on the show together, and they had a pact,” he says. “I was frustrated at first, like, ‘What a cheat code to go into the game having somebody that you can trust 100%.’ But hats off to them. They’re champions. And if I'm going to go down to those two, it's a good way to go down.”

Below, Colletti breaks down his entire journey on The Traitors, reveals his biggest regrets, and gives updates on the Laguna Beach reunion and One Tree Hill reboot.

What was your game plan or strategy going into The Traitors?

Considering that I was stepping back into reality TV for the first time in a long time, I wanted to let the game come to me. I could be the loudest voice in the room during missions, but at roundtables, you're not seeing a lot of it. I wasn't sitting in the corner being a mute. I was strategizing with a lot of people — being a man of the people, if you will — getting to know everybody so I can make more well-informed decisions by the end of the game.

We saw that in the beginning, until Lisa put gold in your basket, which raised a lot of eyebrows. What did you make of it in that moment?

It's funny that in Dorinda's eyes, Lisa just casually walked over and put them in my box. That’s not what happened. I was strategizing. Once we realized there was only one stop to get gold, I wanted to get a little bit more. So, as Lisa's coming up — she's vulnerable in that moment, she knows a lot of people are on her — I asked, “Can I have your gold?” So Lisa was caught off guard. I knew exactly what I was doing. Dorinda, I don’t know. She needs to get her eyes checked.

At your last roundtable, Johnny and Tara had a lot of heat, but they were effective in pivoting the target to you. Why do you think they succeeded?

Natalie and her questionable gut. I love Natalie, I don't know if she’s introducing probiotics and prebiotics to that gut, but there’s something going on with her “gut feeling.” And considering what she did at the banquet, trying to call me out for serving her and a bunch of others food. We tried to build up some trust, but man, she was quick to bury me. At the end of the day, it's self-preservation. I knew she had a little bit of heat on her. But Johnny and Tara had great gameplay at the end.

Now you know the actual two Traitors left. Did you ever suspect Rob or Eric at any point?

I was onto Eric before that roundtable. Once Johnny and Tara swung towards me, I recognized in the moment, the Traitors are going to go with them because of numbers, and Johnny has a lot of heat, so he's probably going to be gone next. So as soon as that vote went to Eric, I was like, “Boom. Eric's a Traitor.” But I did not suspect Rob. He's pitching a perfect game up to this point.

Some fans were mad you were credited for One Tree Hill on the show, not Laguna Beach. How did you feel about that outcry?

Well, I wanted One Tree Beach to be my actual chyron. They didn't go for that. Then I said, “Let's do, Everyone’s Doing Great,” and they're like, “What?” I was like, “This is a show I've been working on lately.” And they're like, “How about One Tree Hill or Laguna Beach?” The most recent one, and I think the one that casts a bigger net, is One Tree Hill. I stand by the choice. Honestly, I should’ve done “actor.” I saw [Michael] Rapaport had that.

Speaking of One Tree Hill, do you have any updates on the reboot that's being worked on?

You know as much as me. I wish I had more information because I'm curious too. It’s exciting to know they've got something in development. You got Daneel [Ackles], Hilarie [Burton], and Sophia [Bush] leading the charge, and I think they can put something great together. But things take a long time to develop in this business, so fingers crossed they get it done.

How was the Traitors reunion? Did you get everything you needed off your chest?

I wish I had a little more time. I wanted to crawl across the table and offer up a probiotic to Natalie, but I resisted. I was happy to have a front row seat to a little Housewives action, right up to Andy [Cohen] being frustrated with where the conversations were going and getting tired. It got a little heated in there.

You also filmed another reunion recently, the Laguna Beach one. What do you hope comes out of it?

I hope that it's unlike any reunion people have seen before. It was already an odd experience for MTV to document our lives in high school back in 2004, before reality TV really started to gain the momentum it has today. Twenty years later, we’re all married, people have kids. I hope that it's nostalgic, and I think it'll be nice to have everyone come together and finally put a little bow on top of the whole thing.

Now, looking back on your Traitors journey, is there anything you would've done differently?

I think I started to use my confidence in the wrong direction at the end. If I was able to not be so confident about Johnny, maybe I would’ve opened it up to the possibility of somebody else. To me, one of the most pivotal moments in the game is the fact that Johnny and I could not come together and speak about what Candiace was trying to tell us.

Which of your One Tree Hill or Laguna Beach castmates do you think would be good at this game?

James Lafferty would be a great Traitor because he’s unassuming. He’s got the stoicism to take on the role, not unlike what you're seeing with Rob in this moment, and he’s able to make smart decisions. People feel like they can trust him. He’d be great in the missions.

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.