Big Brother Takes On The Bold And The Beautiful
When he graduated from college in May, Drew Daniel only sort of had an idea where to go next. “I wasn’t sure where I was going in life,” the Urbana native confessed. “I was thinking law school.” But overnight Tuesday, the winner of CBS’ “Big Brother” went from thinking about prosecuting crime to practically perpetuating one — with a role on a true guilty pleasure. The Miami grad will appear on a soap opera.After taking first in the fifth installment of the reality series Tuesday night, Daniel on Wednesday announced he’ll soon turn up on the CBS soap “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
“It’s been an awesome day,” the 22-year-old declared from L.A., where the network had him doing an entire day of interviews following his $500,000 victory on “Big Brother.” And to think, his 82-day participation in a reality show began as a way to make some summer cash. “I think some things will change,” explained the former Graham High wrestler. “Hopefully, things will open up for me here in L.A.”
So far so good. C’mon, he’s been a bona fide public figure for, what, all of 24 hours, and already he’s been recruited for soap duty? OK, so the part is small — he’ll play a newsman covering some kind of fashion show in a future episode — but other, more prominent, reality show alums are still stuck doing commercials.Who knows where this will lead. “My brother has my cell phone. Right after the show, he had about 30 text messages,” Daniel said. “I’m definitely going to make some wise decisions. Just like on the show.”
With his model-next-door looks, Daniel honestly outfoxed 13 others in the communal “Big Brother” house. In “Big Brother,” 14 strangers live together in a house outfitted with cameras and mics. Each week, one is evicted. The runner-up Tuesday night received $50,000 — chump change compared to Daniel’s plunder. Then again, it’s all before taxes.“I know a good chunk I’ll never see,” he said. “I’m thinking about taking a vacation to the beach. And no cameras on me.”
He plans on returning to Urbana to “decompress and detox,” but most likely won’t stay much longer. After all, the clock is set at 15 minutes. And that thing is starting to tick.“It seems best for me to come back out here,” he said. “While I’m hot.” |