Andrew Monaghan
Lucky me! In May I blogged about bumping into Liza Stinton, my favourite female cast
member from the first season of Slice’s reality show Big Brother Canada. This summer I also
had the pleasure of chatting up one of my favourite male cast members, Andrew Monaghan. By then he was back home in Nova Scotia, and
as I’m based in Ontario, where Big Brother Canada is produced, we spoke by
telephone. Big Brother 15 USA is
wrapping up this Wednesday, and since the Canadian producers of Big Brother are
casting for Season 2, the timing feels right to share my fun convo with Andrew
about his experience on the show.
J: This is a
thrill. I’m a huge fan of the BB Franchise. I’ve been watching the American Big
Brother since Season One, wishing, hoping, and praying we’d get our own version
of the show here in Canada.
A: For sure.
We all did.
J: Andrew,
you were probably in diapers when it first launched on CBS and Global TV.
A: I was the
oldest on the show, you know that right?
J: Yes, and
you were my favourite of the guys.
A: Oh, thank
you very much! I actually watched the finale of the first one, when they had Eddy,
the guy with one leg who won. I didn’t really like it but I heard they were
going to make some changes so I watched seasons 2, 3, 4 5, and was still
disenchanted with it. Then I moved to Germany, so I missed out on seasons 6
& All-Stars 7 which were supposed to be the best ones. My mom is German and
I went there on my own to learn German and to work in a bar.
J: Big
Brother is huge in Europe. It started in Holland.
A: The one
in Germany is massive. But it’s not the same as the North American shows. For
instance they don’t have HOH’s (the nominating power position of Head of
Household) or stuff like that. The German one is so different; they are always
totally naked, with people having sex… (laughs) oh, maybe it’s not that
different. But they are a lot less competition-driven and more like a
popularity contest.
J: In BB 1
USA, the public voted.
A: That’s
exactly how it is all over the world, except the United States and Canada.
Whoever gets the most votes from the nation is evicted. I think I would have
done a lot better if it was that way. Because there are no game-twists, it’s
just about who you are. And I’m very lucky; I believe I’m one of the ones who
really represented myself well. And I think I had quite a few fans, even though
I joke with self-deprecation all the time that I have no fans. I don’t have the
most for sure…
J: If it’s
quality over quantity, you’re doing great! (laughs)
A: Thanks, I
think if it was just based on who you are, I’d have done a lot better. Because
the show has a lot of twists, it’s a TV show. I mean who wants to see me
telling a few jokes to AJ (Anuj Burman) when you can see Emmett and Jillian kissing?
J: That got
real old, real quick for some of us.
A: Trust me
that got real old for me too. (laughs) If it was just based on popularity, I’d
have done a lot better, although I did pretty well.
J: You did
win something substantial.
A: I won a
$10,000.00 gift card & home shopping spree from the Brick. I won that in a
Veto Competition. It’s the one where
Emmett (Blois) got disqualified and Peter (Brown) showed his true colours as a sore loser.
J: Were you
very nervous in the beginning? It seemed to me that for the first week or so,
you were constantly telling jokes and being silly and whatnot, but once you
started to settle in there, and began having heart to heart conversations with
your castmates, it was very endearing.
A: In the
beginning you don’t know anyone there. So you are trying to read everybody… I
wasn’t 100% of myself on the show. Well, I was. But I toned it down a bit, because
I’m so sarcastic and I’ll call people out. I’m brutally honest. But when you’ve
got someone like Tom (Plant) there, and you want to say, Bro, I’ve met a million of
you, and all the stories you are telling me, I’ve lived it, and I don’t care to
hear it again. But you don’t say that, the first week, you just sit back and
listen. You don’t want to ruffle any
feathers.
J: This had
to be surreal. Have you done anything else like this before?
A: Me? I’ve
done nothing.
J: For someone who is a total novice to the whole
showbiz experience, I’m guessing it’s got to feel like Alice falling down the
rabbit hole. I understand that your brother is the one who is the Superfan,
who talked you into applying for the show.
A: Pete and
Tracy, my brother and sister-in-law, are big fans. They watch every episode of
Big Brother and they watch a lot of the live feeds. I was a big fan but I got
disenchanted with it and had also moved away. I also worked nights in a bar and
then switched to working in insurance. I switched careers because I didn’t want
to be 40 and working nights in a bar. It was just no life. I’m a trainer now. I can stand up and talk,
which I like.
So I was at
home watching BB 14 and saw the commercials for auditions for Big Brother
Canada. I know I have a rather large personality. I’m a jokester. Pete and
Tracy were like, “You are perfect for this, you have to go for it, and with
your personality you could do very well. You’re older, but act and look
younger.” (Andrew turned 39 in August.)
In the Big
Brother world, I was ‘the old guy’. So Pete was really encouraging me to go for
it and I thought - when am I ever going to have another opportunity for a big
show like this? What do I have to lose? Nothing. So I just went for it. And a
month later I was one of the lucky ones they chose!
J: Like I
said to Liza, no matter where you ended up in the pecking order of winners and
losers on the show, you have won, by making history, being on the very first
season of Canada’s Big Brother.
Bottom row, third from the left, Andrew Monahan
Bottom row, far right, in colour, Season One winner Jillian MacLaughlin
A: We all
said that. Next year might be a more amazing season, but we will always be the
first. We were the pioneers for Canada. No one can understand or relate to us
because we are the original ones. Doesn’t matter if Kat (Yee) was the first one voted
out, or if AJ was the first one in the Jury house, or if Emmett is the
biggest star, or if Gary (Levy) is the biggest star, or that Jillian (MacLaughlin) won.
J: Probably
this was on the live feeds, and not the show so much, but I wasn’t a big fan in
the beginning when you were being kind of a Happy Jack, with the non-stop
jokes. But for instance when you would sit quietly chatting with Talla (Rajaei) in the
backyard, brushing or stroking her hair, sometimes for hours on end, I thought
it was quite endearing. Although I know that by the end of the season, you were
ready to practically string her up by it, when she got on your nerves. (laugh) Anyhow, I remember thinking, what a
sweet guy!
A: Cool. She
had soft hair! (laughs) I got a huge fan base from After Dark or the Live
Feeds. On the show, you didn’t really see me much. There’s no funny Andrew,
which is what I really am like.
J: But you
weren’t running around being a little hump-machine like some of the others. You
managed to keep your dignity.
A: I hear
that a lot. Everybody has
haters, but I have very, very few haters. Now I was upset when Gary came back
into the game. He was the one that I nominated and everyone voted him out.
J: It wasn’t
his fault. The audience voted him back into the game.
A: I would
have been upset about whoever came back into the game, even AJ.
J: Plus you
were badly blindsided by your own alliance. I was upset by that and was ready
to punch my TV at that point. I was yelling at the screen, “No!!! These are your
chums, and they are evil, evil people!” (laugh)
A: Joycie I
made a mistake. I made a mistake. I’m playing a game and who am I supposed to
play with? Peter and Alec (Beall) ? It was clear they were in an alliance with each
other. They had their other alliances as well. So I had decided to hitch my
wagon to my horses from the East. I often get people coming up to me, saying
they liked me on the show, but WHY did I trust Jillian? I will be talking about
this for the rest of my life.
J: The East
Coast Alliance with Emmett and Jillian. The trouble is that she stabbed so many
people in the back before you… Jillian was just picking off people, one by one.
If you are the first one she does this too, okay. But by the third one, you’ve
got to see it coming?!
A: It’s very
simple for someone on the outside to see what’s going on in the house, but
inside, you need to trust somebody. What was I supposed to do that late in the
game? I thought I had a final two with her because she said she couldn’t beat
Emmett, she wanted to go with me to the end. But she didn’t want to… let’s just
say, bust things up with Emmett.
J: Because
they were in a Showmance. In your
opinion who was the bigger star, Emmett, or Jillian who ultimately won?
A: Emmett!
Who was nominated the first night with Tom? Who was in the Quatro Alliance? Who
was in the Showmance with Jillian? Emmett. Who was always getting disqualified?
(Laughs) Emmett was always on the show. For the first 3 or 4 weeks you don’t
really see me, ‘til about week 3 when I have a dinner task. I started to make
my appearances later on when there were less people.
To be honest
with you, Joycie, if I could change anything, I would NOT have set up a final
two with Jillian, but with Emmett. Saying it’s you and me, buddy, ‘til the end.
J: Yep, I
think you might have had better luck that way. It seemed like ALL of the guys
in the Showmances were prepared to cut their ladies loose. Anyhow, now that all
the machinations are obviously behind you, and the show is now over, I gather
the East Coast Alliance are still chums now.
A: Yeah.
It’s a game. I was on a TV show, playing a competition I was trying to win.
Once it was over, that was it.
J: Some
folks from the show are trying to spin this into a career.
A: Are you
asking me if I’d like a career in Television?
Sure! I always thought I had a personality that was destined for more,
but I’ve also got a laziness that trumps that. I’ve got a job so that I can
live. I do not live to work.
When I
worked in a bar, people would always say , "You are so funny, you should become
an entertainer." But I didn’t really think about it, or take acting lessons or
anything. But after this experience, I do think I have a personality for
television. I think I play myself quite well.” (laughs) I enjoy standing in
front of the camera, and I’d love to do something where I’m dealing with
people.
J: Where you
work, are there some folks who are star-struck around you?
A: The
training process is about 3 – 5 weeks and they all start with a meet and greet.
We’ve had a couple since I’ve been back, and there have been some instances
where it’s like, “Hey, how ya doin’, I’m Andrew!” And they say… (sounding
awestruck) “I know!” (chuckles) I actually had someone say “I’m star struck
right now!” And I’m like, “Thank you, that’s great, but now let’s gets back to
learning about insurance, and we can talk about Big Brother later, after
class.”
Actually I
don’t mind this. The only time it starts to get frustrating, is when I go
downtown to the bars, and people come up to you… that’s fine, I want people to come up to me.
But on certain occasions, like say you’re talking to somebody, or you’ve met
somebody, and you are really enjoying the conversation, and all of a sudden,
you feel this hovering right next to you. You feel their eyes just on you, and
you turn to them and say, “WHAT?!” And they want to get their picture taken
with you. Of course I want that. It’s just that sometimes it gets a little bit
overwhelming.
J: Do you
feel like you’ve sold your soul a little bit?
A: Yeah.
It’s just non-stop.
J: What were
some of the highlights and some of the lowlights for you on the show?
A: I had a
checklist: During the whole process you ask yourself, where am I and where do I
want to be, do they match up? When the show starts, you want to be one of the
people who are on the show. So, check. Then it’s like, well I don’t want to be
the first one gone. Hey, check. Okay, now I just want to make it to the Jury.
Check. I want to win. Uncheck!
So for me,
when I was watching the first night of Big Brother 15 (USA) and they were
waiting in the wings, I was nervous for them. I could understand cuz I was in
their shoes. When you meet everybody, you are like… Omigod, I have to live with
these yahoos?! People say it was FUN. Well fun might be a stretch. There were
great times, other times it was miserable. But for me the best times were when
you won stuff. For me, the highlights were winning the competitions that I won.
Andrew in the BB Canada Kitchen prepping the punitive slop meal. Slop is
a cereal concoction, with all the vitamins and nutrients added, that apparently tastes like dirt.
a cereal concoction, with all the vitamins and nutrients added, that apparently tastes like dirt.
J: What went
through your mind when your twin brother walked through the door? That, for me,
was the most amazing moment!
A: Oh yeah,
Joycie, that’s the thing I get the most comments about.
J: Do you
wish you would have reacted any differently. It was a competition and everyone
had to freeze in whatever position you were in, and you had tears rolling down
your cheeks when you saw your brother appear.
A: Not at
all. I showed who I am. I am very much my own person and I don’t care anymore
what people think. Well not as much as I used to. So when I was standing there
it was a very difficult task. To remain frozen as they brought in a sumo
wrestler, and the Toronto Argonauts Cheerleaders, and you have to just stand
still… it isn’t easy. When I looked out of the corner of my eye and I see that
it’s Pete, and I’m thinking they are upping the ante here… I’m overwhelmed but
I’m thinking don’t move. I think that’s why they brought Pete in, they know
that I’m a major competitor and it doesn’t hurt that I have a twin brother who
looks pretty darned good. (laughs) If I do say so myself. But then he showed me
the video of my nieces, then I lost it and had tears rolling down my cheeks.
I’m thinking, "I’m happy to see ya, thank you for coming, but get the hell out
of here!" (laughs). I was thrilled for him to be there, because he’s such a huge
fan. Then I’m thinking: "Okay, get out." I’m also thinking that everyone else’s
family is going to come in. Little did I know that I was the only one selected.
That was pretty heavy.
J: Now I’m
going to be nosy: Has your romantic life improved, since you’ve been on the
show?
A: I have this bit of a complex now, Joycie. Where if someone says,
“Omigod, I love you sooo much." I’m thinking do you love me because I’m Andrew,
or do you love me because I’m Andrew from Big Brother, or do you love me
because you saw me on TV? To be honest with you, I’ve had many people come up
to me for pictures and autographs, but then they move on. When young girls, 22,
25 come up to me, most of the time they are asking where’s Emmett? Or a good
section of my female fans are 40+. And also there are the twitter fans, who say
they want to marry me. (laughs)
J: You are
still in the first blush of fame. You have this notoriety. Maybe you could spin
this into a gig on The Bachelor show.
A: I’m not
young and rich, so that’s not going to happen.
J: Who are
you still friends with now that the show is over?
A: Jillian,
Emmett and I all live in Nova Scotia. Emmett lives about 5 minutes from my
house. His family farm is about 40 minutes from here, and Jillian lives about
an hour and a half from here.
J: I had the
pleasure of meeting A.J. your best buddy on the show. Are you guys still chums?
A: We tweet
and such, but he lives in Toronto, and I’m in Halifax, although he’s welcome to
come here, and I know I’m welcome there. But I’ve been off work for three
months. And my next vacation is already planned. I’m going home to Newfoundland.
But for now, I have to work.
J: Are you
still in touch with Talla?
A: Everyone
wants us to get married already. (laughs) I’m like "are you nuts?" But we do tweet,
and she wants to come up and visit.
J: What did
you think about how Jillian’s win played out? Topaz (Brady) insists she accidentally voted
incorrectly.
A: I’m just
happy I was not in Topaz’ shoes. I’m glad I cast the last
vote, and that was the one that won it for Jillian.
J: What’s this about you, Jillian, and a pedicure?
A: On week 4
the have-nots had to give us all pedicures. I was lucky enough to have had
Jillian give me a pedicure. Now everyone thinks that I am in love with Jillian.
She’s one of my favourites, and she’s also my friend. But she’s with Emmett and
that’s cool. When I told her that I’m going to get a pedicure every month,
because I really need it, she said we’d go together. It would be a chance for us to once a month
get together and have a chat, just the two of us, going for a pedicure,
manicure, then for some drinks and dinner afterwards. When we made the final
two deal on the show, we agreed that whoever wins would be paying for the first
one. So once she obviously voted to get me out, and then she won, we agreed she’s
responsible for paying for the first one.
Jillian paying up, photo courtesy of Andrew's Big Brother Facebook page
J: What
advice do you have for any future contestants on the of Big Brother show?
A: Be aware
of who you are and how you are being portrayed both on the show and on the live
feeds. It may come back to bite you. Me, I was lucky. People respect that I played an honest game.
