Big Brother Canada 10 interview: Winner Kevin Jacobs dissects his game
Even though Kevin never won HoH all season, he also did not need to. He controlled a number of votes, had people doing his dirty work, and managed to lie without ever making anyone feel bad in the process. He reveled in being evil in a way we rarely see, and it seemed like he legitimately had fun every single step of the way.
This morning, we spoke to Kevin about his win, his strategy, and also how surprised he was even at the end to get the votes and the title of champion.
Matt & Jess TV – I’ll be honest with you: When I watched your videos pre-game I wasn’t sure you would be able to pull this off, saying that you wanted to be a villain and this overall mastermind. It’s also really hard to commit to something for months and not have anyone find out.
So … how were you able to pull this off?
Kevin Jacobs – I thought I would be either out in the first couple of weeks or there on finale night. I know coming in the perception of [nerdy guys] that can be very hard to combat. Week one, when everyone was asking ‘what are you good at?’, I said I was good at nothing, I am boring, I’m not someone who is interesting … Whereas with Melina, she was this amazing person! She was saying she was amazing at endurance competitions.
I just had to stick to my story and act like I am terrible for a bit, and then throughout the season let out the truth. Yes, I’m scheming. Yes, I’m a fan of the show. It took my like seven weeks to get to that point, because it’s also what lies can you tell for seventy days and what lies can you tell for twenty or thirty. You have to find that balance.
We didn’t have feeds the first week, so how close were you to being evicted? I would have been terrified going through all of this to go on the show and being taken out first.
I didn’t eat or sleep the first week; I was just too excited and I didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be. I wasn’t that sharp.
Jay tried to flip the vote. I think Jay was close to Steph and Jacey-Lynne at the time. I think Tynesha and Summer held a lot of power in the early game, and it was up to them and it was entirely their choice. Nobody really wanted to rock the vote; Hermon really wanted me to stay and you don’t want to piss off the week 1 HoH.
I don’t think it was that close, but there was a serious attempt to flip. And then, they used that as a way to target Jay the next week. I was sitting there on eviction night, wondering ‘is everyone lying to me? Am I going?’. It was scary.
At the very start of the game you make this alliance with Haleena, and that’s a big risk since you don’t know you can trust her. What made you confident you could?
We have very different cultural backgrounds, but we had similar values where we kind of do our own thing. We have immigrant parents, and we were both worried about how we would represent ourselves. Plus, she was a bit of a klutz! She tripped on her way into the house, she broke the champagne glass — I found that really endearing and it was super easy to talk to her.
I think she first dropped the term ‘ride or die’ to me and I said ‘okay.’ Janelle made a video online saying that ‘if you’re on BBCAN10, you better find your ride-or-die.’ I was like ‘okay,’ if Janelle says it, I’m doing it. Haleena proposed it, so let’s take this risk.
It’s funny — Janelle played with Dr. Will, and you’re the first player since Dr. Will to win without winning a single HoH. I’m sure you threw some, but I’m also sure you tried to win others here and there.
I didn’t throw a ton of HoHs. I didn’t study very hard; I really didn’t care to. I was more focused on the social and strategic side of things. By the time it was at the final 8, I didn’t care who won HoH. I was still trying, but in a lot of ways, it was good that I didn’t. That way, you have only one person to campaign to [in the HoH]. They have to put two people on the block; I would rather put my focus into just one person as opposed to nominating two, or in this season three since the Veto was almost always used.
Power can be a bad thing. You win HoH this season, you get HoH-itis, you do a terrible job, and you go home next week. Or, you’re Gino, you have two amazing HoHs, you’re the biggest target in the game, and you go home shortly after! It’s not good either way (laughs).
One of your biggest strengths was that you were able to identify people who were going to be problems for you, and then get them out before they become problems for you. Hermon is a great example of that. How were you able to pull off moves, while also keeping straight that you’re telling different people different things?
You have to know who is saying what to who. I made certain assumptions. Every word I say to Jacey-Lynne is going to Gino; every word I say to Gino is going to Jacey-Lynne. Every word I say to Betty is going to Josh. I know Josh isn’t telling Betty everything. You have to think about those things.
With Hermon, I knew during Marty’s second HoH that I wanted him out. But Marty started that HoH on his revenge tour and there was no talking to him. Haleena comes in after I win the Veto, she’s going hard at Marty to put up Hermon, and afterwards I talk to Marty and he isn’t feeling so good that she went so hard [with her pitch]. I had to go low, ask him some open-ended questions, and then he comes up with this idea. What if I tell Gino I’m putting up Hermon? He’ll either say ‘no’ and it’ll show that he’s working with him, or he’ll say ‘yes’ and we can just put up Hermon and get him out. I was like ‘Marty, yes! That’s a great idea.’ When you let someone realize it themselves, it’s a lot stronger than if you’re pushing them.
I want to talk about the reaction at the very end because you still seemed like you were in denial that you won. Did you not think you were going to win? The moment, I heard your speech, I thought it was a wrap!
I thought I had to win the final HoH and evict Josh. I thought that was my only way to win. Best case scenario, I thought I’d lose 6-3 with my only votes being Haleena, Summer, and Jacey-Lynne. I was astounded! I underestimated how smart the jury was. I thought that Josh’s three HoH and the Veto would cause them to not think about the rest of the game.
In the end, having Hermon as the first jury member helped. He sort of knew what I was doing and the first jury member sets the tone. I have a lot of thanks to give to him for what happened.
One of my favorite moments was watching you put on the suit for your campaign, like you were your own version of Saul Goodman! In general, I love how you never forgot that this was a TV show and while playing, you did also find ways to entertain. After watching the show for so many years, did this live up to some of your hopes?
It was better. It was a complete dream. I knew I’d go early or make a deep run, so I just decided that I’d try to enjoy every day to the fullest since I don’t know how long this is going to last. To be there and live out the dream was better than I could have ever imagined.
Related – Check out more coverage now on the Big Brother Canada finale
What did you think about Kevin winning Big Brother Canada 10?
Be sure to share right now in the comments! Once you do just that, be sure to keep coming back for some other updates. (Photo: Global.)