Big Brother Canada 5 interview: Demetres Giannitsos talks competitions, Ika, and more
This afternoon, Demetres opened up to CarterMatt about his strategy, the massive target on his back, and the evolution of his relationship with Ika over the course of the season.
CarterMatt – Have you gotten a sense yet of how many people like you across Canada?
Demetres Giannitsos – I still haven’t been out in the outside world yet, but I’m hearing good things. It definitely softens the blow.
I don’t know if this is something you think about, but do you ever wonder about the parallel universe where you went home first and Mark stayed? The entire game would be different!
This game you can think about almost everything, and if one thing changes the whole game changes. There’s almost no point wasting time thinking about it.
How paranoid and afraid were you that you could be the first out?
Absolutely horrified! I think it was night 3 — I don’t remember which houseguest it was, but they came up to me and said ‘you don’t have any votes and you are going home.’ I did not sleep a wink that night. I think it was then day 4 when I got in a fight with Dillon, trying to make a rivalry and trying to give people some reason to keep me.
You survived that scare, and then you go on and win what was the first in about a billion different competitions you won this season. How important was that to your game, to be able to have that power and have people wanting to work with you?
The HoH that I won definitely opened up a window where people wanted to work with me, but I knew that the fact that I kept winning was putting a huge target on my back. It was necessary — I kept getting put up, so I had to win the comps that I had to win.
It’s the ultimate double-edged sword for a guy like you. You look like a guy who’s going to win a ton of competitions, so if you don’t do it people are going to be like ‘look at Demetres, he’s throwing stuff, he thinks he’s so smart.’
Exactly.
I think you insulated yourself well, and that brings us to the topic of Ika. When did you first start feeling close to her, both as an alliance partner and then a romantic one?
We ended up in the same bed on the first night, but we really didn’t talk. I ended up getting put on the block the second night, and we started talking game after that. Over the course of the week I realized that she was someone I could trust. It kind of just turned into something more — neither of us were looking for anything [romantic], but it kind of just happened. It really solidified the trust that we had with each other.
It’s something that I just spoke with Ika about, as well — do you think that your games were symbiotic in that your strengths and weaknesses really balanced each other out?
Our strengths definitely complimented each other. Combined, we had almost every aspect of the game covered. The only problem was that everybody in the house saw it and we were giant targets. But, I was winning the competitions, and Ika was working to get us out of some sticky situations.
Is it tough now thinking in retrospect that if you were going to get rid of Kevin, you would have had to do it at the double eviction with the Sindy vote?
Yeah, looking back, but you also can’t really bank on a guy winning so many Vetoes in a row. I chucked him on the block three times, and if he survived three times, good on him.
Ika also told me earlier that you would have beaten her in the end. Did you have a sense that, come the final five or so, that you could have beaten almost anyone?
Not really. I thought Kevin could beat me because he had a lot of friends on the jury. I think between me and Ika it would’ve been 5-4. It would’ve been close.
How much of the show did you see going in?
I’m not a superfan, but I had seen seasons 1-4.
What was it like trying to acclimate yourself to living that life in the house? Was it anything like what you expected?
You don’t even realize [how rough it is]. You watch it on TV and it looks like a joke — just some fun people hanging out with free food and fun comps. This was SO hard. People don’t realize how devastating slop is. It’s awful and worth crying over. The competitions are really hard — those endurance ones SUCK so bad! It makes you think about why you’re even there.
Then, there’s the mental part. There is no escaping the game. You’re constantly playing 70 days and there is no getting away from it. It’s so stressful.
Were you surprised when Karen took out Dillon over you, especially when she maybe had a chance against him in the end? Did you think of that more as a testament to the work that you and Ika did getting her on your side?
I was surprised. I knew that I had a good relationship with Karen, but you have to assume in this house that everyone has a close relationship as the next person. Karen was someone who definitely played more with her heart. I had a conversation with her in the pink room that literally brought me to tears. I hadn’t had anyone say something nice to me before that brought me to tears. I appreciated her — she was essentially my Secret Power of Veto (laughs).
Did you have a sense of how much Dre was trying to get you out? She would go into one room and be really nice to you, but then go into another and talk about targeting you.
At the start I actually did genuinely like her, but about two weeks before she got evicted I was starting to catch wind that she was really resentful of me and Ika’s relationship and she didn’t want me around. Hence, me putting her up in the triple eviction. I was like ‘there’s no way she’s not going home if I can put two people on the block.’
Are you and Ika glad to have something a little more private rather than a relationship where everyone can see every conversation?
Oh man, I’m SO glad to actually have private conversations. You do forget about the cameras in here, but we are excited to have some privacy.
Are you aware that you won more HoHs in a single season than anyone ever?
Yeah. It’s a good little consolation that someone was telling me this morning. It’s pretty cool.
Are you down to do this craziness again?
Man, I’m all about beating myself up. I would do this again in a heartbeat.
More Big Brother Canada news
Interested in a little more insight from the various houseguests, including our interviews with the final four? Then be sure to head over to the link here! (Photo: Global.)