Gheesling makes not-so-triumphant return to TV
Contestant voted off ‘Traitors’ ran his ‘Big Brother’ playbook
Dan Gheesling ran out of mist.
The former “Big Brother” winner returned to reality TV after a 10-year hiatus to participate on “The Traitors,” the Peacock reality series that is sort of like “The Avengers” of the reality TV universe.
It pulls in contestants from “Survivor,” “The Real Housewives” franchise, “Below Deck,” “The Bachelor” and more in a game of trust and deceit, in which a small group of players within the larger group looks to knock off players one-by-one in a quest for cash.
Gheesling, 40, was one of the Traitors, the devious group within the group, because of course he was. But on a recent episode, he was the first of the Traitors to be voted off the show, after getting his game blown up first by his fellow “Big Brother” family member Janelle Pierzina, then by former “Bachelor” Pete Weber, and finally by “Real Housewife” Phaedra Parks.
On “Big Brother” he was known for his ability to persuade anyone within his sphere to think the way he wanted them to — it was referred to as his “mist” — but this time, his mist missed.
This interview with Gheesling has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: You came out of retirement for “The Traitors.” Was this just the right time and the right show for you to return to reality TV?
A: Yeah, you know, I haven’t been on TV in 10 years. I’ll get asked about doing about a show a year, and I just didn’t really have the desire to come back because it
wasn’t anything new or exciting. And when “The Traitors” came around and reached out, like, I knew if they were reaching out to me, there’s going to be some heavy hitters there. And so that competition, knowing it was going to be a great cast, and then also the fact that the game was exciting and something new, I really wanted to be a part of it. And NBC and Peacock made it so easy to say yes. Because I’m married, I have three little kids, and there’s things I really care about. Like, hey, can I talk to my kids? Can I check in with my wife? They made it so easy, where it’s like it wasn’t a decision, you know? I looked at my wife. I’m like, “Do you care if I do this?” And she didn’t bat an eyelash, she said, “Go have fun.” They made it so easy to say yes, and I’m so glad I did it.
Q: Did anything else in those years of saying “no” ever come close to piquing
your interest?
A: No, nothing at all. It was all shows you’ve seen before, and I felt like this was new and exciting and I wanted to see how my skill set from “Big Brother” applied to this. I knew in this game I’m not gonna be dressing up like a lemon and getting squeezed. Like, this is an adult reality TV competition, you know?
Q: Is there any element of your not doing shows for 10 years that was a sort of legacy protection for yourself, in the sense that you went out on top?
A: Yeah, I think maybe if you ask me coming off of “Big Brother” the second time, maybe. But I got to a point where it’s like that was such a fun segment of my life, but it’s not who I am. I just happen to be really good at playing these games, but I never wanted that to be a reason to not try something like this when something’s exciting enough. It’s like, well,
if I don’t win this, does this taint my legacy? I don’t really care. To me, trying something new is way more important than that (idea of legacy), so it didn’t concern me.
Q: As soon as I heard you were on “The Traitors,” I go, “Ohh, Dan’s a Traitor. Like, there’s no chance that he’s not.” Were you ever worried that going on the show, that’s what everyone else in the cast would think?
A: So let me say it first.
I was definitely afraid I wasn’t going to be a Traitor, because every conversation I had, it’s like, they’re not guaranteeing I’m a Traitor. And I really, truly feel like they didn’t make a decision until we were there.
But my concern going into this was that people were gonna know who I was and that I wasn’t going to last a day. Then the second I got out of Jeeps, I saw Sandra (Diaz-Twine, from “Survivor), Parvati (Shallow, from “Survivor”) and Janelle (Pierzina, from “Big Brother”), and I’m like those three, for sure, know. And then I later found out Peppermint (from “RuPaul’s Drag Race”) knew. But other than that, it was no problem. I’ve been gone for so long, no one knows who I am, I’m just a random dude, right? So it was a nonissue until Janelle blew up my game at that round table. It was just like a nuclear bomb, she put it all on the table, and I couldn’t hide from that anymore.
Q: How did you feel about your game strategy going in and how did you mentally prepare?
A: This was a lot different preparation, just because I didn’t have as much time. But I watched the first U.S. season (of “The Traitors”), I watched the U.K. season, and I watched part of the Australian season. But one of the things I always do, because we had a few days in Scotland to relax, I read Dale Carnegie’s “How To Win Friends and Influence People,” and when I was done reading that, then I’m like, “OK, I’m in game mode,” because it’s all about how you connect with people. And I ran my “Big Brother” playbook on “The Traitors,” the only difference is they’re very different games. Like, “The Traitors” is like five minutes of a quarter of a game, and “Big Brother” is like a 16-game season.
Q: How did you feel about your decision to throw Phaedra under the bus?
A: I never saw a way to win this game with Phaedra, and that was clearly an oversight. Like, I just kept visualizing standing at the fire with Phaedra, and she’s looks at someone, winks, and I’m gone. You know, she was so well protected, so well-liked, no one was onto her. I knew at some point a Traitor had to go, I didn’t want it to be me, and I had 1,000% trust in Parvati, so I’m like, “We have to get rid of Phaedra.” I think in hindsight she really trusted me, I think she was hurt by the fact that I made that move, and I think there probably was a way to win with Phaedra, and she probably was not going to come after me at the end game either. At the time, I made the best decision I could with the information I had, and I’d do the same thing again.
Q: What happens now?
A: I tell ya, my inbox has been more active than ever, which is, you know, interesting. But also, you know, I just love my life. And I think this was kind of like an amazing cherry on top of my reality TV competition history. It was such an amazing experience, I don’t know how anything could top this. So I think this is probably it. You haven’t seen me in 10 years, and you’ll probably never see me again.