Posted at 3:45 p.m. Friday, May 9

Chicago’s Evan Dollard—last season’s champ of NBC’s “American Gladiators”—is much happier being a gladiator than a competitor.

“I can go out there and just have fun,” Dollard told me last week during a phone chat. “I can compete as a gladiator and know that the only thing at stake is my pride.

“And I will say this too: It’s a lot more enjoyable to chase somebody on The Wall than to be chased. It’s so much more rad to be the pursuer.”

Dollard’s talking about his best event from last season, the climbing wall, which he says will be more difficult when Season 2 opens at 7 p.m. Monday with a two-hour premiere.

“The Wall itself is 10 feet higher [making it 50 feet tall] and much wider,” said Dollard, who is returning to the show as one of three new gladiators. His gladiator name is “Rocket.” “It just looks sick. It’s absolutely insane.”

Producers have made the entire show much bigger this season, according to NBC. Action will take place in an all-new, “state-of-the-art” Gladiator Arena built within the L.A. Sports Arena. They’ve added seven events as well, including Rocketball and Vertigo, which are revealed in the premiere.

Dollard—Rocket, I mean—takes part in Vertigo, which has competitors climbing a 30-foot, swaying pole, then racing from that pole to seven more poles until they reach the finish.

“It’s a fun event and it looks great on camera,” Rocket said.

Rocket got a little Chicago face time this season. Three of the male contenders hale from the Windy City—Randee Haynes, David Moore and Melvin Davis.

“It was fun having them in the arena, to have that Chicago love,” Rocket said. “For Chicago to represent one more time was an absolute thrill.”

Dollard also told me how he and producers picked his name, what it was like getting to know his gladiator “nemesis” Wolf and what he’s up to in his acting career. Go to the jump for the entire interview.

Read all about Dollard and his road to becoming a Gladiator.

How did you come up with Rocket for your name? Did you pick it?

It was a collaborative effort. We were bouncing around a bunch of different ideas. Obviously they had to do with quickness and explosiveness and that type of speed and agility.

I even suggested Riptide because of this kind of hidden danger—maybe not the most aggressive on the outside but beneath the surface he can tear you apart.

But Rocket made a lot of sense because it’s so much more explosive. That’s just my type of athleticism from Season 1 so it made sense for Season 2 to be the same way.

Did you do any extra training?

I took the initiative to bulk up on my own. I put on just under 15 pounds to be a gladiator. As a competitor I was weighing in just under 160 pounds. I’m right around 172 right now.

I wanted to bulk up a little bit, have that bigger look, fill out a little bit—so that I can strike intimidation into the contestants in Season 2.

Are you a mean gladiator?

[Laughs.] We had to find a balance. Again it was a collaborative effort between me and the producers because I wanted to get out there and be a little more edgy.

I’m not a competitor any more; I’m a gladiator. I didn’t want the competitors coming in and thinking of me in a certain way because I brought a lot of positive energy [as a contestant]. I brought this kid of all-America, happy-go-lucky persona and that worked as a competitor. But as a gladiator I wanted to be more intimidating than that.

But we had to find that balance between me being genuine to who I was and who America saw me as a competitor and not lose that because there is a likable quality there. But at the same time I wanted to make it a little more edgy.

So we’re somewhere in between.

And you think you’ve found that right mix?

Yeah … [Laughs] Yes. I think people will like it. What they’ll see is me—only there’s a little bit of edginess behind my eyes and I talk a little bit of trash. I think they’ll relate to it and like the differences, but also see the similarities [between Evan and Rocket]. I think we found a good balance.

How as it coming back on set as champion?

It was incredible actually. Monica [Carlson, Season 1 women’s champ] and I talked about this frequently. We didn’t know what to expect.

We were very comfortable as contenders. We knew what our responsibilities were. You go to different events. You take the gladiators head on or try to get around them to score the points and go into the eliminator with enough power, energy and adrenaline to finish that thing.

We were very comfortable in that place. We didn’t know how well we’d be embraced by the gladiators’ team. Last year the competitors kind of had their team and the gladiators their team and we weren’t on it. Suddenly we’re getting thrown into something completely different; we’re on the opposite of the coin.

It was, honestly, a lot easier transition than I expected. All the gladiators we knew just as caricatures, just as gimmicks, we actually got to know them as people. It’s been fantastic, it really has. Everyone’s been super cool and real, real chill.

Even Wolf?

Even Wolf! I would say especially Wolf. He, to me, kind of embodies “Gladiators.” He’s such an athlete but at the same time he’s got this incredibly dynamic character that he’s created.

He doesn’t hold back. He’ll take you out and talk about eating you up for dinner and spitting you out. But he was the one that helped me get into the gym and work a little bit harder than usual. We went in for a chest and tricep workout at 24 Hour Fitness and we just hit it hard and killed it. And he was there to spot me every step of the way.

He just kind of drilled me to work that much harder.

He helped me, additionally, with like—the producers and I were trying to find that balance for me as a gladiator to bring that edginess out of me. In Hollywood, Wolf was part of that as well because he just gets it. He brings it every time he steps into the Gladiator Arena.

So if there’s anyone I wanted to learn from it was him.

How is it different being a gladiator than competing?

There’s more freedom to enjoy myself as an athlete. As a competitor there’s so much on the line. If you don’t score points you don’t get that head start in the Eliminator. If you don’t win the Eliminator you don’t advance, you’re done. Your time in Gladiator Arena is over.

That’s a lot to have on your shoulders. The adrenaline is there but there’s so much at stake it’s sometimes hard to enjoy it. And obviously the prizes are on the line.

But now it’s different because I can go out there and just have fun. I can compete as a gladiator and know that the only thing at stake is my pride. [Laughs.]

And I will say this too: It’s a lot more enjoyable to chase somebody on the wall than to be chased. It’s so much more rad to be the pursuer.

So you will be doing The Wall?

They had to put me on. It’ll kind of be my thing for Season 2.

I saw video of you doing a new event with poles.

It’s Vertigo, which is kind of a high-adrenaline race 30 feet above the arena going from pole to pole. Essentially they’re poles that bend and sway similar to pole-vaulting poles. They’re 30 feet up and you have to race to the top and then race across them.

It’s a fun event and it looks great on camera.

We’ll see you in every episode, or do you know that?

No, probably not. It’ll be more than one but not every one.

Will you compete against the two Chicago cops?

I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that or not. [Laughs.] I can say that it was fun having them in the arena, to have that Chicago love. For Chicago to represent one more time was an absolute thrill.

When I talked to you after you won you said you weren’t quite sure if you’d be coming back as a gladiator. Obviously that changed.

It worked out. Obviously I was training hard in the off season. I got one call from one of the producers right around the time the semifinals aired [in February] and he asked me, simply, “Are you working out?” And I said yeah I am. He was like, “Good, just checking in.” And that was it.

So when they invited Monica and I to come back and train during boot camp I was able to prove myself on a number of different events. I had to prove my athleticism again and that I could bring the aggression to be a gladiator and not just a competitor.

Monica and I both were able to do that—to sell ourselves. Obviously they wanted to bring us back because they told American that they would. And they did and they have no regrets either.

It’s going to look great. There’s so much energy that both Monica and I can bring. Especially Monica, oh my gosh, she’s just an incredible athlete and an incredible person. And she looks great on camera.

Tell me about boot camp. I hear you guys were training about 5 hours a day.

Yeah, about that—five hours a day of training. They could only set up a certain number of the events from the arena—those being Hang Tough, a Wall and some Joust platforms and some of the Vertigo poles as well.

It’s just a matter of trying to get accustomed to working those. Generally, people don’t train on apparatuses like that. [Laughs.] And so it’s good to find those muscles you haven’t worked forever and to get familiar with that kind of athleticism again.

That way the competitors and the gladiators can bring more to the table. The competitors were training on the same boot camp apparatuses that the gladiators were.

That way when you get on set and things start going down it just makes it that much more explosive on camera.

Did you get hassled by the gladiators coming back as the champ? Was there an initiation?

They were all really cool. They were ready to get to know Monica and I. We were pretty well segregated for all of Season 1. We only knew them as these funky caricatures of people, not who they actually were.

They were as ready to get to know us as we were to get to know them. So there wasn’t a whole lot of hazing involved at all.

But that doesn’t mean that Wolf and I didn’t go out for a beer and then hit 24 Hour Fitness like an hour later to do a shoulder workout. That kind of stuff happened just for fun because that’s who he is and how relaxed and enjoyable the experience has been.

And you’re filming in Hollywood and hanging out in Hollywood. Have you been out there since the finale?

Monica and I flew to New York right after the Season 1 finale aired and I flew directly from New York to L.A. and I’ve been here pretty much ever since.

What are some of the other changes to “American Gladiators”?

Last time we were shooting at a studio in Culver City. This time they moved the arena to the L.A. Sports Arena and so there’s just so much more space they had to work with.

They were able to build it out much, much bigger and much better. Even the Wall itself is 10 feet higher and much wider. It’s built on this 10-foot a platform. There’s 10 feet of that and 50 feet of Wall. So the top of the Wall is like 60 feet above the arena.

It just looks sick. It’s absolutely insane. It’s so much more gnarly than the first time around. It’s just a blast to chase someone down on that thing.

Sounds like you’re having a good time.

Yeah. Honestly, Monica and I were comfortable as competitors and I didn’t know what to expect as a gladiator. But once I got on my first event and was able to start chasing after these guys and bring that new, more edgy competitive energy to the arena I just loved it. I just fell in love with it.

So you like being a gladiator more than a challenger.

I … um … yes, I do. I really do. Being a competitor was fun but being a gladiator is so much more gnarly.

What else is happening in your life?

At the moment I’m chilling in Manhattan Beach looking to order some lunch. [Laughs.]

I’m looking to make a permanent move out here. I’ll probably be back in Chicago the first two weeks of June. Then I’ll move.

I’ve got some help. A sports modeling agency has sent me out on some auditions. I filmed an infomercial. I’ve being some media for “Gladiators.”

I’m just trying to get my name out there because I’d love to be more involved in the industry as an actor.

Looking to my next step is to secure theatrical representation so I can start auditioning for television and film opportunities outside “Gladiators.” The sports modeling agent has been networking for me and trying to find that connection.

Give me your best sales pitch to get people to watch “American Gladiators” and Rocket this season.

Oh gosh, best sales pitch.

OK, here’s a reality. I’ve been busting my ass since I won as a competitor. I’ve put on 12 pounds of lean muscle mass. And because I have that size I can bring that intimidation but I’m just as quick. The agility, the speed, the energy is still there. I’m just a lot stronger this time around.

So any time you see me on the Wall it’s going to be bad. It’s going to light people up. They’re going to watch and be like, “Wow, what a tranisition this guy has made. He’s Rocket and he’s proving it right now.”

It’s going to be explosive. The arena’s much bigger; the Wall’s much crazier, much more gnarly. It’s just going to be sick. People are going to tune in and they’re going to love it.

They’re going to see a different side of me than they did as a competitor but there still going to be able to know and relate to that positive energy I brought the first time around. They’re going to love it.

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