Survivor's James Clement Gets Bucket List Wish with Young and the Restless Cameo

Two-time Survivor fan favorite winner James Clement, who didn't make it far on this year's Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, is a big fan of The Young and the Restless. In the episode, airing Friday on CBS, the 32-year-old gravedigger will play a cop alongside series stars Greg Rikaart, Peter Bergman, Eric Braeden and Joshua Morrow.  After watching the series for more than two decades (and even scheduling his college classes around the show), James says he's an even bigger fan after his cameo. "Just the fact that I was there makes me relate to it and love the show more," he says. "I had a great time. I can take that off my bucket list now."

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TVGuide.com: How did the cameo come about?
James Clement: I guess prayers. I talked about it so much, it was like fine, we'll put you on. [Laughs] It was actually my mom's idea because she knew I loved the show and she was kind of surprised I still watched the show. ... Pretty much anybody who would listen at a certain point in time heard me say I would love to be on the show. I just wanted to get on the show and experience it. I'm glad I got that experience.

TVGuide.com: Did you do anything special to prepare for your role?
Clement: Not really. I wasn't paying attention to what was really going on. I was in disbelief until I got there. When I got there, I was like a little kid, I was so happy. [A CBS rep] came up to me and said, "You weren't this excited when you won $100,000." I was like, "No, I wasn't!" I couldn't stop smiling.

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TVGuide.com: Did you get photos of the set or any other memorabilia?
Clement: I actually snuck around with my camera phone and took pictures of an office that wasn't set up and other stuff that I recognized that wasn't set up at the time. I just went around the whole studio taking photos of random stuff.

TVGuide.com: Were you surprised by how many people on the show were Survivor fans?
Clement: That was the coolest thing. They knew who I was and they were asking me questions. They actually asked me more questions than I asked them. I hung out with Joshua for a while and he was kind of grilling me. ... And Eric's brother wants to be on the show, so that was cool.

TVGuide.com: What was the most frequent question you received?
Clement: The first question everybody asked me was, "So they really don't give you anything?" I was like, no. They will sit there and watch you die and enjoy it. That's part of the show. That's usually the first question that everybody asks.

TVGuide.com: Do you see any more appearances or any other acting in your future?
Clement: I would absolutely love to experience it as many times as they allow me, especially that. I could be in the background forever. I really had a good experience and I loved it. I would definitely go back.