Cliff from Big Brother Season 21 hangs out!
Season 21 of Big Brother is almost a wrap! Every week someone was sent home, or to jury, we got a few minutes to chat them up with the questions you needed answers to! Cliff was on a lot of houseguests radar as the one to beat heading into the stretch, but after some ill advised decisions – including trusting Michie – he was sent to the jury house leaving his partner in crime Nicole alone to battle a showmance for the title of champion. We caught up with Cliff moments before he stepped into the jury house for a quick chat!
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Ara: Making it to Final Four is huge in Big Brother. Jury house next, then home to be reunited with your family. Before we get into game talk, what are some of the first few convos you wanna have with your loved ones, and what meal are you dying to eat first once you’re back in the real world?
Cliff: I want to talk to my family and make sure that I represented myself and them well. Hopefully they can tell me when I need to cover my eyes and be nervous and which episodes I will actually enjoy watching. As far as favorite meal, I’m looking forward to some good ol’ Texas BBQ.
Ara: You played an up front, full disclosure, honest game in the house and although highly commendable, it didn’t get you the win. The cool thing about you is that you went out on a high note telling your fellow houseguests you love them, you love this game, and you harbour no ill will. Where do you think your game truly got derailed?
Cliff: It had to be when I chose and convinced Nicole to keep Holly over Tommy. Tommy worried me because he was a strong mental competitor, gone after me previously, but keeping a showmance in the final 4 had to be my downfall.
Ara: You made a lot of deals in the house this season and you and Nicole, against her reservations at times, seemingly put all your eggs in Michie and Holly’s basket. When the prime opportunity to send Holly home presented itself, you sent Tommy to jury instead. Did you truly believe Michie was gonna take you and Nicole to final three over Holly even when you admitted to him you wouldn’t take him to final two?
Cliff: It sounds foolish now, but yes, I believed he would honor his word. We spent a lot of time talking about trust and integrity and he had not betrayed me to that point. When I looked him in the eyes and shook his hand, I truly believed he would hold up his agreement. Foolish me.
Ara: Early on in the game you pulled a power move and nominated Jack and Michie for eviction which would have broken up the future showmance and left both Holly and Jack without their third amigo. How do you believe the dynamic of the game could have changed if Michie had been sent packing?
Cliff: I haven’t thought about that question before. That was so many weeks ago I can’t even imagine how many variables would have changed. I felt like Jack was the linchpin for that entire group and had to go. If Jack had stayed, then yes, the Michie/Holly showmance would be gone but I fear Jack would have been an even bigger threat.
Ara: Rate the following three houseguests gameplay out of 10: Nick, Christie and Tommy and out of those three, who was the biggest threat to your game, and why?
Cliff: Nick – 7 – he had connections with everyone and was friendly with everyone. Christie – 6 – she was very good at strategy but I think she perhaps talked more than she should have and revealed more than she should have at times. Tommy – 9 – he had a very smart strategy and had told me he was laying low through the first half of the game. But I know he was an incredible threat for mental competitions and I did also fear his physical threat.
Ara: If she makes Final 2, what does Nicole have to do to win over the jury and win this game?
Cliff: I think that Nicole needs to emphasize her late string of victories in HOH and veto competitions. But she also needs to remind the jury she has been playing the game since day 1. She told a lot of truths that really blew up the alliance of 8 and made that into an alliance of 6. I think people forget she was playing hard at the beginning of the season.
Ara: What message do you have for the Cliffimaniacs who wanna be on a future season?
Cliff: Don’t ever think that you can’t fulfill your dreams. I was just a normal guy, who was a huge fan of the show. I tried out on a lark and got to see an incredible experience realized. But it’s important that you be yourself and you always stay true to yourself in this game and in life.
Ara: If it’s Holly and Nicole in the Final 2, what would Holly have to do for you to give her your vote for the win?
Cliff: Holly would have to work some incredible magic. I do respect Holly as both a person and as a game player though.
Ara: Speed Round!
– Sneakiest houseguest this season: Michie
– Biggest floater: Nick
– Absolute most fun to be around: Tommy
– The houseguest I learned the most from was: Christie because she comes from a much different place than I do. And yet, our shared love of Big Brother allowed us to have some great conversations.