Big Brother and Survivor are both very popular yet vastly different reality shows. In the former, contestants are placed on a remote island where they must fend for themselves, making their own shelter, finding their own food, and creating their own fire. In the latter, contestants are placed in a massive house filled where they must live with one another.
In both shows, however, there are physical and mental competitions. Players make alliances with one another and form enemies, and they are cut off from the real world, competing to be the last person standing to win a major cash prize.
Already, we have seen a few former Big Brother players pop up on Survivor, like Hayden Moss and Caleb Reynolds. But we have yet to see a Survivor contestant appear on Big Brother. Who would we like to see?
“Boston” Rob Mariano
“Boston” Rob has played Survivor four times, winning once, and is currently competing on the latest season, Winners at War. He has shown tremendous skill in manipulating people and being a dictating leader. He has also shown to be great at competitions, including both physical ones and puzzles.
We’d love to see how this translates to a house with all of the luxuries of everyday life, including a stocked kitchen, comfortable bed, gym, and pool. Could he be just as cunning there? We could totally see him playing a similar game to one of the greats like Dan Gheesling, but he could also end up one of the players other houseguests become bitter about like Paul Abrahamian.
Sarah Lacina
As a police officer, Sarah played a great game both times and won her second time around. She is great at forging bonds with people and doing what has to be done while also managing to ensure people don’t feel betrayed by her. She could definitely hack it on Big Brother and could easily end up within a popular alliance.
She can win competitions, too, making her a fierce competitor. Eliminating the struggles of having to sleep on the ground, being deprived of food, and suffering from serious exhaustion, we predict Sarah could be a beast on that show.
Abi Maria Gomes
Abi caused a lot of drama in her season, rubbing people the wrong way, being labeled a bully, and flip-flopping among alliances due to her paranoia. It’s the perfect mentality to make for a wonderful Big Brother villain. We can’t decide if Abi would be in the popular alliance or bond with the people on the outs. Either way, we can see her doing whatever it takes to vote her enemies out.
She might end up playing like Isabella Wang from season 21, or she could be more like Kathryn Dunn from that same season. We can’t put a read on how she would be perceived, but, either way, she’d be thoroughly entertaining.
John Cochran
John was the sweet, nerdy Harvard grad who won the hearts of viewers. He played twice and won his second time around after learning to focus more on his social game and less on strategy all the time. This is a quality that is integral to winning Big Brother, as well.
We could see John rallying troops and working both sides on Big Brother to become the winner. There’s no doubt he could last in the house with 14 or 15 others, given how amazingly he managed with the much worse conditions of Survivor. Imagine him with a belly full of brain food and lots of sleep? He’d be unstoppable.
Sandra Diaz-Twine
The only person to ever win Survivor twice, Sandra would likely fall into the category of “floater” on Big Brother, mainly because she is unlikely to win any competitions—though we don’t know how well she’d do in quiz-type ones since they don’t play those on Survivor.
However, we could also see her calling a lot of the shots behind the scenes. That said, Sandra is pretty crass and outspoken, and likability is a bigger factor for winning on Big Brother than it is on Survivor. If she can get people to like her without realizing that she’s pulling the strings, she would be a great player on that show, too.
Parvati Shallow
Parvati is often considered to be one of the best to have ever played the game, winning once and currently playing again for the fourth time in Winners at War. Her M.O. originally was to be flirtatious with the boys and use her charm and good looks to make them think she was just a pretty face. When in reality, she had put together a powerful all-girls alliance that led her to a win.
While she’s now a wife and mother, we can still see her being able to charm the socks off of other houseguests in Big Brother and stun viewers with diary sessions that reveal her evil plans.
Aubrey Bracco
Arguably one of the smartest people ever to play Survivor, it’s a shame Aubrey was never able to pull out a win. Still, we can see her becoming a mastermind on Big Brother, leading an alliance while quietly pulling strings in the background.
Not to mention that her diary sessions were seriously entertaining and we imagine they’d be the same on BB. As a social media marketer, she also knows how to work a crowd and talk to the younger generation that usually makes up the cast on Big Brother.
Rick Devens
The self-professed man with the “dad bod,” Rick was a favorite to win the game when he played on Edge of Extinction. A morning news anchor, he has the gift of gab and a likable personality, which are two important qualities for a Big Brother contestant.
We could see him forming bonds with just about everyone in the house and getting along with every alliance, floating in the middle. Could this lead him to win? Who wouldn’t want to see him get advice and workout tips from the young, buff guys in the house?
Tony Vlachos
Tony would be particularly hilarious to watch on Big Brother thanks to his over-the-top paranoia. While he doesn’t seem as paranoid on Winners at War as he did when he first played the game, back then, he would often run around like a chicken with its head cut off, scrambling to find out what everyone was plotting.
In the Big Brother house, you don’t have the vast land to run away from everyone and gather your thoughts. At every turn, someone is there. As a police officer, Tony likes to investigate, and we can totally see him standing outside of doorways with a cup to his ear to listen in on conversations.
Johnny “Fairplay” Dalton
One of the most despicable characters in the show’s history, Johnny “Fairplay” controversially lied to his tribemates telling them his grandmother had died when she was very much alive. He concocted a whole story with his friend, who visited during the loved ones’ episode and pretended to deliver the bad news to him in person.
While there have been contestants on Big Brother who have done similar things, including the popular winner Dr. Will Kirby, it would be interesting to see Johnny play—especially if none of the other houseguests knew who he was and what he had done on Survivor.
