When Mia Speight signed up for “Beast Games,” Amazon Prime Video’s reality competition show, she made few assumptions. The 44-year-old Park Heights native simply knew she could persevere under pressure.

“My expectation was to succeed because I think I have a really good mental toughness,” said Speight, aka contestant No. 952, earlier this week.

The Baltimore City College alum got much, much more than she bargained for: She won a 60-acre private island in Panama, just one of the many lucrative prizes handed out by the show’s co-creator and host, YouTube star Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson. Other awards included a Lamborghini and the grand prize, $5 million.

The show, which whittles 1,000 contestants down to the last person standing through games based on luck, skill and relationships, has been a major success for Amazon, which said more than 50 million people worldwide watched the series in its first 25 days of release.

The games themselves are simple — a nod to its obvious inspiration, “Squid Game” — from stacking children’s blocks and trivia to foot races and pulling a monster truck across a finish line.

The real tension comes from the many bribes offered by Donaldson: Would you accept $1 million if it eliminates your fellow team members? This might seem like an easy answer, but many contestants struggle with choosing greed over perceived fairness.

“Beast Games” has had its share of controversies, including scathing reviews from critics and a lawsuit filed on behalf of some participants over “dangerous” conditions.

Calling from her Baltimore-area home, Speight — a former personal trainer-turned-actor who puts her faith in God first — talked about her time on “Beast Games,” what she’s done with the island and more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why did “Beast Games” seem like a good fit for you?

I saw the casting saying, “Hey, are you a competitor? This and that. The prize is $5 million.” I was like, say less. [Laughs] So I applied. I just know I’m built differently.

The thing is I know how to blend in. I know how to do recognizance. … So I thought, I’ve been living life like this for a long time, and most people don’t really know my age. They think I’m younger than I am. So, I can kind of skirt by with all of my knowledge not being understood, and get to higher places and positions in any competition. I said, “Shoot, I can do it.” I’m knowledgeable, I’m athletic — so I thought why not?

The show forces players to confront issues like trust and greed. What did the game reveal to you about human nature?

Nothing new. I’ve lived life for 44 years. I mean I read the Bible a lot and I study people. I’m kind of an introverted extrovert, so sometimes I’m super talkative in settings and at other times I’m super quiet and I just observe. I did a lot of observing because a lot of people didn’t interact with me during certain parts of the game. I just watched them.

Even before the game began, I sat on the bus with the people that were in the game from New York to Toronto, so I observed their behavior and I made a decision in my mind like, if they’re willing to ignore everyone and can’t be bothered, we’ll see how they act when the cameras came up. And sure enough, now they were the mayor of this group. People are very fake when you put them in front of an audience of people. They do what they feel will get them more attention but not necessarily what’s true to who they really are.

A group of contestants has sued the show over safety issues and how they say they were treated. Did you have any concerns about your safety?

No … it was a whole thing we signed up for and in that, [the waiver] disclosed that things would be uncomfortable. It’s a competition for $5 million. I don’t know if they wanted to have like, rose petals thrown down, but that wasn’t the goal. I looked at it as a “Survivor”-like competition, where there would be stiff competition to weed the weak out.

The show is incredibly popular, but also polarizing. Critics seem to hate it while viewers love it. What do you think of that disconnect?

It is the disconnect of the world. Who’s a critic? What qualifies you to be a critic?

If someone’s welcome to watch it, guess what they’re welcome to do? Not watch. … Most critics don’t represent the general population of people. They just don’t.

A $1.8 million private island is an eye-popping prize, but it also seems incredibly impractical. What have you done with the island?

Well, I thought of it as a literal blessing but it was more figurative than something I would actually be able to do anything with. It’s uninhabited — there’s no running water on the island. The electricity was [run by] all generators. I felt as though it was in my best interest to receive the alternative monetary value for the island.

What’s next for you?

I would love to do a travel show where I’m opening up to the world the perspective of me — a person from Baltimore — traveling to places that people probably would never see or hear [about], and giving those people a voice to understand what that culture is like.

Moving forward, I’m looking to produce films with local filmmakers in the DMV and abroad to put out stories that are just cutting edge and different, giving a voice to some of the filmmakers that are not necessarily able to put out their projects because of lack of funding.

Anything else you want to add?

I think that we need to be individuals in life that give people more grace because we have to realize that when you say things on the internet, it does impact that person’s life. They’re not a cartoon character. They’re humans. … So I would say to people out there in social media, and in the world in general, be careful how you speak into someone’s life because you don’t know the negative or positive effects that they can have, and we all make mistakes.

Also, there’s positive things going on in Baltimore. There’s so much negativity out there. Don’t believe everything you hear, please! Positive people and positive things are coming out of Baltimore.