Survivor Heroes vs Villains Interview with Boston Rob

Hello I am the movie encyclopedia and if no one else will see it, I will.

Robert "Boston Rob" Mariano has always been one of my favorite contestants. Some would say he has been one of the most powerful, not only physically but mentally as well to ever play the game. In his first season although he came in tenth place, he ultimately was one of the deciding factors on who would win the game by swaying Kathy to vote against her former tribe members whom Rob says betrayed her. In his second season he dominated physically and mentally and although he came in second he got the ultimate prize: his wife Amber. Since then Rob and Amber have appeared on The Amazing Race twice, coming in second and eighth respectively, two reality shows about there lives (one of them was about getting married) and Rob even appeared on a show devoted to finding paranormal entities called "Sci-Fi Investigates." Rob is also an avid poker player and devoted father.

Rob returned to Survivor this season on the villains tribe but ended up being a hero. His dedication to the team, hard work, mental and physical domination, kindness and sincerity and his willingness to never give up made him an early fan favorite with many suspecting him in the finale. But that was not so as his rival in the game Russell got him voted out.

Luckily I was able to sit down and chat with him last Friday and here is how it went down. I apologize in advance for it's tardiness but that won't happen again.

The Movie Encyclopedia: Hello Rob. Glad to finally meet the man behind the legend.

Rob: (laughs) Nice to meet you as well.

TME: We will get to Russell and tribal council in a second but overall how was your experience on Survivor? Any regrets? People to blame? And what did your wife think of all of this?

Rob: I'm fulfilled. Going into this season I realized I had a big target on my back. I don't think anybody can deny that. I knew I had to prove myself from day one and I did everything I could to make sure the team stayed strong and that things got done around camp. When it was all said and done it didn't mean anything to anybody. Really it ended up being all about alliances and underhanded tactics and when tribal council comes...if you don't have a strong alliance you are gone.

As for regrets I have none. I gave 100% all season long and really I just appreciate all the support from my family and friends as well as the fans. The fans are what really make the show and they mean a lot to me. Blame? Well I don't think I have anyone to blame but myself. I thought I had good alliances but that just didn't work out. It really goes back to Tyson not going with the game plan as well as Coach faltering last night. At that point I realized that they trusted the guy they knew nothing about instead of someone they knew to be a strong contender. Me personally I prefer to keep the one I know more about but I'm sitting here right now so you can guess what they thought.

TME: Speaking of Coach..."little person?"

Rob: Coach has always been preaching honesty and loyalty for the last two seasons and he had the opportunity to show America that he is a man of his word. I too am a man of honesty and loyalty and I won't compromise my integrity so I thought that Coach's word meant something. He proved to be the opposite of what he preaches and really I think that it shows he can't back up his words. Having said that I have no ill feelings towards Coach. I realize it's a game and he did what he had to do but if you are going to preach honesty and loyalty day in and day out and when those two things become the most important and you decide to not stay true to your word by taking the easy way out and then turn around and ask for forgiveness? I don't get it.

It's going to bite him in the butt eventually.

TME: So walk me through that lead up to tribal council. Did you feel like you knew you were going home BEFORE tribal council? At what point did you realize you were in fact going home?

Rob: I first began to suspect things when Tyson went home. After tribal council Russell, Danielle and Parvati were excited and soon started acting like they were running the show. It didn't make any sense to me why they were so cocky. My alliance still had the numbers in yet they act like they have already won the war. It was then I knew that my alliance lacked the "ally" part of alliance and I was pretty much on my own. And once we lost the challenge it was apparent I was going home even before tribal council started. I would have hoped Coach would keep his word because had he it would have been a tie. If it would have been a tie Coach and I could have probably convinced Jerri or someone to switch their vote. But I could see the look in Coach's eyes after we lost that he wasn't going to honor his word (for whatever reason) so when Jeff started reading the votes I knew I was out.

TME: Alright I've put it off long enough...Russell. This entire season it seemed like you and Russell were just clashing constantly. Why was that? And why didn't you two ever just bury the hatchet and team up? I mean if you would have seen him play last season don't you think you would have made a good team? And finally what was your overall impression with Russell from first impressions to lasting impressions?'

Rob: The reason why Russell and I clashed as much as we did is because we are simlilar in a lot of ways but different in almost as many ways. We are similar mentally when it comes to gameplay but we deal with people in totally different ways and he does things I would never do. His main focus was to create chaos and disarray so he could get everyone under his thumb. He would also sabotage the camp and try to beef ME up as being stronger and look better so that I would be more of a threat but in the end it ended up doing MORE harm for the team overall. I at one point thought of teaming with him despite his underhanded tactics but when I saw what he would do to get ahead and how he treated people I couldn't do it. He was a cancer and we needed to cut him out.

Honestly I should have known this from day one. He was on the show for a reason so he must have done something worth having him back. It doesn't take a brain surgeon or a rocket scientist to figure out you needed to keep this guy at arm's length. But for the first vote I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Sure his true colors were starting to show but I thought and my alliance thought that he would have been better to keep around more so than Randy. But I should have known better and look where I am.

I think really the only thing that was keeping him in the game past Randy was Tyson. Now that Tyson is gone, he was replaced by Coach. If Coach leaves then he has an even bigger target on his back then he does now and he will only have Parvati to cushion the blow.

He's a snake, a cheat, a devious underhanded SOB and I hate him almost as much as I do the Yankees. Having said that though...you have to give him some credit. He IS smart and he DID get me. I gotta give him props for that.

TME: Speaking of the Yankees...you are always wearing that Boston cap so you must be a Red Sox fan right? What are some of your favorite/least favorite Red Sox moments and how many caps do you have?

Rob: Well you pretty much have to be a Boston fan otherwise you get kicked out of the city (laughs). But my favorite moment was when they won it all in 2004 and came back to beat the Yankees in the ALCS. Least favorite? The '86 World Series when they lost to the Mets. We almost had it but it just couldn't happen. Needless to say that was a dark day for all Boston Red Sox fans. How many baseball caps do I own? (laughs) Too many to count. Last time I checked, and this is just a ballpark number, maybe 40-50 caps. It's a lot I know but some of them get pretty worn out and some just have a lot of sentimental value like the ones I wore during Survivor.

TME: I must ask: what is next for Boston Rob? Is a fourth season of Survivor possible? Maybe another reality show like Dancing with the Stars? Or you just going to spend time with the family?

Rob: Right now I'm just taking it one day at a time enjoying every minute with my wife and beautiful daughter. Although, as everyone should have learned by now, you got to expect the unexpected with me. If I was asked to do Survivor again, and if I'm still physically able to, I would be hard pressed to say no. As for OTHER reality shows? I don't think I'd be that good at any other reality show. I can't sing or dance worth a damn but I know that Amber is a great dancer. So you probably won't see me on Dancing with the Stars or American Idol anytime soon but you gotta keep your options open.

TME: So what did Amber think of all of this?
Rob: She would have loved to been on but she thought it was a lot of fun watching me and the way I played. She was very proud of me and she knew that I gave 100%. More than anything she was happy to have me home. And I'm happy TO be home.

TME: Thanks for talking and good luck in the future

Rob: Yeah man thanks for having me.