This week I met with the newly announced Big Brother 17 cast as each of the Houseguests sat down for a one on one interview where I had the chance to pick their soon-to-be-mush brains before they head inside the house.
After CBS’s early reveal of their Big Brother cast interviews, all of which are available now in the Live Feeds archive, we’ve now been given the green light to share our collection of videos as well.
Working from a combination of newly developed questions, some trusty ones from past years, and lots of great suggestions from readers I set out to discover a mix of the HGs’ background, their strategy, and what we could expect from them inside the Big Brother 17 house.
Watch our BB17 interview videos below and if you enjoy them please share with your friends!
Any early favorites for you in the mix here? Several of them surprised me between what I read in their bios and what I discovered in person. This really does seem like a strong cast and I love how so many of them are actual, real Big Brother fans.
Feel free to share these videos and/or embed them on your site or profiles. If you enjoyed our interviews, please considering going through our links & banners to get your Live Feeds ordered this season. That helps offset the high cost of the cross country trip to film these. Thanks!
Big Brother Network’s BB17 Cast Interview Videos:
Audrey Middleton (25) – Bio & details
Austin Matelson (30) – Bio & details
Becky Burgess (26) – Bio & details
Clay Honeycutt (23) – Bio & details
Da’Vonne Rogers (27) – Bio & details
Jace Agolli (23) – Bio & details
James Huling (31) – Bio & details
Jason Roy (25) – Bio & details
John McGuire (27) – Bio & details
Liz Nolan (23) – Bio & details
Meg Maley (25) – Bio & details
Shelli Poole (33) – Bio & details
Steve Moses (22) – Bio & details
Vanessa Rousso (32) – Bio & details
This Rousso girl sounds good on paper but from her video I think she is gonna be out soon, esspecially since one of the other houseguests is a poker dealer
This is a really good cast. They seem cutthroat and ready to play the game. I am excited for this season to start and I think it’s going to be a good season.
I’m ready for this season to start. I hope we have people who play the game, and not sit around and let one guy dictate every move. It makes a boring season.
I’m enjoying Audrey so far. I hope she does as she says and doesn’t end up changing my mind.
Audrey: She reminds me bit of Amanda in the sense that she’s smart, confidant but I don’t think know how to really let go of the steering wheel, I think she’s going to play to hard and it’ going to scare the guys, I could easily see her going out early because of that, or she takes control and gets early to mid jury, I just don’t see anyone wanting to bring her to the end and she seems too focussed on big moves.
Austin: potential to be a fan favorite, I’m torn on him gameplay wise, on one hand he has this ridiculous Howard Mentality of trying to appear as not a threat, he said it himself he’s 6’2 240 lbs, everyone is looking at him as a threat. He does however understand the importance of keeping other threats around which too many jock types don’t get, I still think he’ll end up in that Frank/James(BB6)/James(BB9) position of second or third into the jury with a couple veto wins under his belt.
Becky: she seems nice but boy did she make me yawn, which too be fair could be a good thing for her if everyone forgets she’s there she could make It far.
Clay: Clueless Recruit, he’s going to be way over his head and that’s not a bad thing, if people think he’s a clueless battering ram to use and discard later on then he could easily slide far and let guys like Austin take all the heat for being a more visible threat. Only way I see him winning is if he gets brought to the end by the games cut throat player and he benefits from a bitter jury, he reminds me a lot of a Shane (BB14) type.
Steve said: “Audrey: She reminds me bit of Amanda in the sense that she’s smart,”
.
It’s funny, I just said the same thing on twitter. At least I know I’m not crazy. I think she will take control and make herself a leader in a similar way that Amanda did and like her will go out close to the end.
I definitely think she’s smart and not there to look pretty and get 15 minutes of fame but just like Amanda she seems rather upfront and intimidating, traits that im sure help in real life but in the game the last thing you want to do is be everyone’s focus of attention, still she’d be a fantastic meat shield to take till the final 6/5 but you’d have to becarefull to leave someone else in the game that could beat her in a comp because she looks like she could dominate endurance comps.
Matt, I saw the statement after your interview that Audrey didn’t complete her press junket. I wonder if it’s because she didn’t want to lie about who she is. I believe it was after Tuesday, CBS Julie Chen, announced they have the first transgender to play this season. She was open about Audrey not keeping this a secret from houseguests, etc. Just a thought.
Not that I think it necessary for her to announce in her interviews, but it just made me wonder if she felt she wasn’t being authentic
Hey Matt: You have a great voice! My first impressions after listening to the interviews: Audrey appears genuine ~ I like that. Austin’s facial features remind me of Dan. Nice smile Becky but no one will see it while you’re hiding under your bed waiting for jury. Clay is handsome and naive. Da’Vonne definitely knows the BB game ~~ her strategy is impressive. Jace is full of himself and insecure. James is the new Donny including his accent ~ warms my heart.
Yes, he does have a great voice. Now when I read his posts I will hear his voice saying the words.
Cuddles, I agree that Davonne’s interview was impressive.Audrey can’t speak without moving her arms and hands, but she says she is smart and I tend to believe her.Becky is all pretty teeth and I feel very badly about thinking she might be the trans.(just from the pictures put up yesterday with the bios)She’s all girl and seems sweet, maybe too sweet.Liz is the one that has me baffled and got my worst 1st impression.
I only had time just now to view portions of the female interviews. If one of them is a transgender, I can’t see it. Audrey is the one who made a statement alluding she was more diverse than previous females. I would be surprised if she was trans. If there really is a trans, it may be one of the guys. Not that it matters a hill of beans to me. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of the rumor. Anyone else have any guesses.
Julie Chen said it was Audrey
When? Is it on you tube or was it during an interview?
Not that TMZ is great source of news but it was on their site. Plus in the interview with Jeff, there was some allusion to the fact Audrey has a special secret. Also it’s all over twitter.
It will surprise me if she is, because she spoke about getting her cycle at the same time with the other females. That wouldn’t be possible with my understanding of transgenders. But I’ll admit, there is much more that I don’t understand than that I do.understand .
Might just be something she says to throw of everybody.
.
Check it out:
tmz dot com/2015/06/16/big-brother-welcomes-first-transgender-house-guest
It’s her, and my understanding she’s going to be open about it in the house. Not a secret
Check out The Talk’s Youtube channel. Julie addressed it.
Yes Julie said it. It’s no secret
It was on The Talk. I don’t remember if she said her name, but I remember Audrey as being transgendered. I even said on here I would never know, if her name wasn’t mentioned
You know, I wasn’t shocked about there being a transgender on BB, but when I finally realized for sure that Audrey was the one is what blew my mind.
the transgender is supposedly audrey although i don’t 100% believe it, if it is true I’m sure we will know come season premiere when the producers force her to make a dr entry about becoming audrey.
Supposedly from what Julie said on the show, she is going to tell the house, and not secret
TMZ broke the story 2 days ago (Tuesday) and CBS made an official statement ~~ Audrey is transgendered.
Well, it isn’t unusual for me to be hanging on the end of the caboose. I had heard the rumors on here, but had no idea there had been an official statement about it.Thanks, again, Cuddles.
Any time K! So what’s it like ‘hanging on the end of the caboose’? Another saying I’ve never heard ~~ keep ’em coming K!
I get there, but it seems like I’m the last one to arrive or the last to get the word. That probably has a whole lot to do with not watching much TV, entertainment news shows, such as ET, and not being on twitter, or any form of public media. It is an issue that affects me mostly during BB season when I really count on people like you to help keep me informed and on course.
I’m not on twitter or FB. I do try to catch the beginning of TMZ to read on TV screen the topics of the day ~~ BB was right there at the top of the list so I watched. No other topics interested me, so I moved on to Ellen or Judge Judy. Hey that’s the story of my life ~ & sometimes I’M the last one to arrive!
Story of mine as well, especially Judge Judy, I love that lady :)
So Audrey is transgender? Great! I think they should start recruiting from RuPaul’s drag race.
That seems to be the thought. She used her hands a lot in the interview and I purposefully looked to see if her hands were large. They do appear large for a female, but not man large if that makes sense. If you watch her interview, after hearing that it’s out there that she is trans, the interview is more confusing, maybe purposefully. I mean, great day, she mentioned how”diabolical” a female group would be “If I could coordinate all of our cycles at the same week.” Prior to that she made an odd statement about other people thinking “You turned out way different from what I expected.” I don’t know????
It was odd! I saw that. At the time of the interviews, had it been announced?
I’m not sure. What I had heard at the time, was that there was a transgender HG and Audrey was mentioned, but it wasn’t with certainty. Of course, I’m far from the first that would know. LOL
After watching the interviews here are the odds I am placing on the contestants winning with the cast we have so far (I assume 2 will be added, but maybe not).
Meg 11-2
Steve 7-1
James 8-1
Da’Vonne 9-1
Vanessa 19-2
Shelli 10-1
Becky 12-1
Austin 15-1
Clay 17-1
Audrey 19-1
John 29-1
Jason 32-1
Liz 110-1
Jace 155-1
Obviously hard to judge at this point as there is not a clear favorite to win like Derrick last year and we haven’t seen their gameplay. Overall an interesting cast with some I can see doing well, some that i would be surprised to win, but could, and two players that clearly have no chance.
List seems ok. The one problem I have is Vanessa so high with a poker dealer in the house she will probably be exposed.
That was something that I debated on, but the only other person that would have a decent shot of recognizing her is Da’Vonne who said she does not want others to know she is involved in poker. So what I assume will happen is Da’Vonne will recognize her and either say nothing or bring it up to Vanessa to work with her.
Why did you percieve Jace to be the least likely to win? Several others seemed much less likely to me.
Jace was the one that really rubbed me the wrong way and seems full of himself, but I could certainly understand if you think someone else is less likely. This seasons cast although interesting seems full of unlikeable people with many that won’t play well.
Jace is far to arrogant to win, but I would not say he is the least likely. I do agree with your bottom four as the clear first four out, but I would have John, Liz, Jace, Jason in that order as least likely. Also, De’vonne as the favorite. All the rest are just cookie cutter contestants except for Audrey, but I don’t think she will do well. She is too agressive.
Wow, twitter is buzzing so much, I can’t keep up. Somebody dig up an arrest record for James Huling (it’s the same guy by his picture). It’s not clear if he was ever convicted, but the charge was for “contempt of family court” (whatever that is). I can believe BB missed that. They must have judge it wasn’t serious enough. But god, does it get lots of mileage on twitter.
Actually three have been arrested audrey for marijuana possesion, james for contempt of court which is basically stopping a judge from doing something, and jace twice for disorderly conduct. So none are serious. If then let Devin in with a burglary charge then these are nothing.
Devin also had a dui so you really have to do something bad for them to not let you on
I can see that. Wow.
I forgot all about Devin.
After seeing him play a criminal past is not that surprising. For these three though their arrests seem more like being unlucky in audrey’s case and letting your emotions get a little out of control for the other two because they seem pretty calm.
Does he have kids? Child support maybe.
James said he has one daughter and had recently adopted a little boy. He joined the show hoping to set up a trust fund for his girl.
I don’t really mind these small things if it’s not over-all serious like say, committed grand theft, have hurt somebody to the point of being given a TRO, or was deemed by a psych evaluation to be unfit or dangerous to be with other people at all.
I agree. Something so minor has no affect in the BB house.
My thoughts on all the HGs.
Audrey: Definitely a very smart player. I think that she has the ability to run the house. I’m not entirely sure if she’ll be the most well liked or personable in the house, but if she can gain control of a strong alliance, I don’t think that’ll much matter.
Chance to win? Strong.
Austin: Definitely struck me as a person that’s going to become a figurehead in the house and keep everyone together and amicable in a sense. He’s appears to be a huge physical threat and if he keeps that winning attitude he’ll definitely be someone to root for.
Chance to win? Strong.
Becky: Not too sure about her. I think that she has high plans for the house, but she doesn’t strike me as leader type she’s portraying herself to be. I feel that in the end her downfall will either be a showmance or getting stabbed in the back by one of her followers.
Chance to win? Moderate-Low.
Clay: A very Cody-type player indeed. He seems like a really humble, genuinely nice guy, who doesn’t know too much about what he’s doing. I think if he can be the trustworthy brawn of an alliance he can make it far.
The back of my mind is also telling me however that he could be another showmance candidate. Only time will tell.
Chance to win? Moderate.
Da’Vonne: Probably one of the most entertaining and dynamic contestants this season. I think that she will have the power to be at the center of a really great alliance this season, but her mouth and her “play the game hard” attitude might put her at the center of the attention. Win or lose though, I think she’ll be really fun to watch this season.
Chance to win? Moderate.
Jace: I’m gonna be honest, when I first saw this guy, I was expecting another S16 Hayden. However, this guy is not only smart but extremely confident and is someone who I think will not hesitate to be a leader and make big moves. The only weakness that stood out to me was his arrogance. If he avoids that pitfall, and some of the other players, he should be a shoo in for the 500K and fun to watch.
Chance to win? Strong.
James: He definitely has an interesting background, but outside of endurance competitions, I don’t see him as much of a player this season. He seems like a nice, down to earth guy however, and I’m hoping he surprises me, but for right now I see him as an out of the first few weeks or one of the first outs of an alliance.
Chance to Win? Low.
Jason: Definitely someone to watch out for. He seems like a meek, unsuspecting person that people wouldn’t watch out for until it was too late. Hate to compare him to Andy, but with the way he described his gameplay, I definitely saw some huge similarities. Hopefully we’ll get to see some backstabbing on his end this season.
Chance to win? Strong.
John: Eeeek… I can’t help but feel for the guy. Sometimes Big Brother just picks people they know are going to fail. He seems like a nice guy just looking to have some fun, but I don’t think he’s cut out for the Big Brother game. I’ll surprised and happy for him if he makes it past the first week.
Chance to win? Low.
Liz: She seems to be the season’s ditz, and I don’t think she’ll make it very far. Another showmance prediction here, which might be able to put her through mid-game. However, unless someone takes her to the finals (in order to… ya know… win the game) I don’t see her going far.
Chance to win? Low.
Meg: I see her as a very nice girl with a bubbly personality, and a good know how of the game. If she wants to win however, she’ll have to tone down the superfan behavior just a smidge. And by that I mean a lot. Definitely a fun, quirky person and a good choice by the people of Big Brother.
Chance to win? Moderate.
Shelli: Already stands out to me as this season’s “mom”, despite the fact that she’s not actually a mother. I see her being very well liked by the house and definitely someone that people would want to take to the end.
As for what she does to earn first instead of second, we’ll just have to see.
Chance to win? Moderate-Strong.
Steve: Ian! You’re back! Haha. All jokes aside, however, I’ll say the same thing I said for Ian at the beginning of season 14. Either this guy is going to get out in one of the first few weeks, or he’s making it all the way to the end. I do think that he’s facing an overall tougher group of people than in Season 14, but if he can lay low and win comps when he needs to, he might be someone to look out for.
Unrelated Side Note: Does anyone else ship him and Meg before the game even starts, or am I crazy?
Chance to win? Moderate.
Vanessa: Probably one of the most level-headed out of the bunch. Two problems I foresee for her. The first is obviously someone recognizing her identity and calling her out the first week. The second is that she gets targeted by the girls for being a “guy’s girl”. If neither of the the two happen I think she has a great chance of winning Big Brother 17.
List seems ok although I disagree on a few people. Da’Vonne is my pick to win. I think she knows the game better than everyone, is a superfan, but can control herself. She is also the only one who would possibly notice Vanessa although I am not even sure of that. I follow poker myself, although I don’t work in it, and I didn’t know who she was. Probably because a lot of her winnings are online. I think that the two of them will work together with Da’Vonne taking the title. Also, strongly disagree on Jason and Jace. I am with matt hoffman and a lot of the other commenters on here, they are both terrible. John, Liz, Jace, Jason are the first 4 to go in the order.
I find all of these early assessments humorous. How do you know from a bio or interview? I’m waiting to see how well (or bad) they play with others.
This was posted on reddit yesterday and makes sense due to the
number of houseguests and the larger number of LGBT cast members.
Hey
all, first let me start by saying that I am not one who normally comes
on these fan forum sites to talk Big Brother (or anything, really).
Someone I am fairly close with has a loved one who works for CBS and he
provided me with some pretty cool news for this season. I will not say
that this is 100% legit info, but I trust this person enough and I think
that it is true. Especially with how much detail I’ve been given.
The reason I decided to post this on this website is because I have a
friend who is a huge big brother fan and he is a regular poster here (so
he tells me). He told me to post my info on this site and so, here I
am…
So to start, I will say there will be 16 people in the house this year
but only 14 actual houseguests. The main twist this season is Battle of
the Sexes.
There will be 14 new houseguests and 2 returning players who will be the
“leaders” or “coaches” of their “team”. One female & one male will
return. Both are from recent seasons but I will not reveal their names
as my friend told me that I could ruin their chances? I don’t know how
this stuff works lol so I’ll just keep quiet about that
So basically each week the girls & guys will compete separately for
HOH. The winning male & female of each comp will compete against
each other 1 on 1 in the Battle of the Sexes comp. Whoever wins must
nominate 2 people of the opposite gender. The “team leaders” (returnees)
can not be nominated as they will not be considered houseguests.
Additionally, each week the 2 returning players will battle in a
separate competition and they will be competing for FOOD for their
gender. So if the female returnee wins, all the female houseguests will
get food and hot water while the males will be on slop and cold water.
No have-not room while this twist is in play. The losing genders will be
given sleeping bags and will be able to bunk wherever they want in the
house, but only in their sleeping bag – on the floor.
This twist will last throughout the entire pre-jury portion of the game.
Once this stage of the game is over, one final competition will take
place between the men and the women and the 1 winning male and 1 winning
female must choose to evict one of their team mates (same gender) or
team leader from the game. If the team leaders survive they become
houseguests themselves, if they are eliminated they become the first
members of the jury. Regular have-not comps and have-not room will come
back into play at this portion of the game.
Lastly there will be not 1 but 2 returning jury members this season. The
2 returnees will be eligible to return if they get eliminated as well.
This twist will come into effect when we are at the final 5. Unsure if
it will be by public vote or competition, or another method, but 2 of
the 6 jury members will return, making the final 5 go back to final 7.
One female & one male will return. If there is only 1 female or 1
male making up this jury of 6, then that person automatically returns to
the game.
Well, that’s all the info I’ve got for you guys. Do what you’d like
with it. Tomorrow we will be introduced to the 14 houseguests while the 2
returning team leaders will only be revealed on premiere night!
We’ve got a crazy summer ahead of us this year, I can feel it!
Wow, lots of very interesting info to process, especially the two returning players as coaches with the guy/girl team scenario. I wonder what affect that will have on the possibility of showmances developing? I’ll have to say it does sound crazy, I can feel it, too!
I see were its possible she is trans but she is very very convincing. I don’t think anyone will catch on.