‘Big Brother’ star Keanu Soto explains why the jury picked Ashley over Vince

Keanu Soto did not win season 27 of Big Brother. But he won the next best thing. That’s because Keanu won the annual fan vote and was named America’s Favorite Houseguest, an honor that came with a $50,000 prize.

Entertainment Weekly sat down with Keanu shortly after the finale to discuss winning the fan vote, and also talk about the other important vote that happened during Sunday’s live finale — the jury’s vote for a winner. Why did Keanu and his fellow jurors award Ashley Hollis a 6-1 victory over Vince Panaro? And what would have happened had Morgan Pope been sitting in one of those final two chairs? We also asked the dungeon master what reality competition shows he’d like to do next… with or without Rachel.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: First off, I believe you have a prompt…

KEANU SOTO: Oh my gosh. Yeah, dude, that’s not one of my finer moments, but it’s nice to know that it was received relatively well.

Congratulations on winning America’s Favorite Houseguest.

Thank you. I really appreciate it

How surprised are you that you won?

I was pleasantly surprised. I had an inkling that I was received relatively well when Julie told me her son was rooting for me during my exit interview. But yes, I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that it was 65%. That was very nice. I felt very validated in the type of game that I played. So that was really nice.

Who did you think was going to win it? Did you think it would be Rachel?

Yeah, everyone thought Rachel was kind of a lock to win it, just because she had a fan base coming in here. So we were thinking that, but I figured because I was so well connected with her that maybe I steal a couple fans as well. [Laughs] So maybe that helped me in my favor.

Whom would you have voted for if you had a vote and could not use it on yourself?

Wow, that’s a good question. I would’ve probably voted for Will. I don’t know what kind of edit he got, but being in the house with him, he always had a good story to tell, and his heart is absolutely amazing. So I would’ve voted for him.

What are you going to do with the $50,000?

I’m going to do the same thing I was going to do with the $750,000 had I got it — just invest. I wish I had a fancier answer than that. I definitely want to take a little vacation and treat myself there. But I definitely plan on being responsible with it.

Let’s talk about your vote for the winner. Why Ashley over Vince?

I had said at the jury roundtable: If she was able to win the last HOH and take Morgan out, that would’ve to me personally been a bigger move than even Vince taking me out. So I would’ve had to vote for her, mostly because she played a very clean game. When I spoke to all of the houseguests individually on week 1, I said the person that deserves to win this game is the person that plays honestly with integrity. And I feel like she did that. You know, obviously it’s Big Brother, so we all lied a little bit. Vinny lied a lot, so I couldn’t really reward that.

You all asked Vince about playing an emotionally manipulative game and if he was really sincere with the things he said and did. What did you make of his answers?

My and Vinny’s relationship is very sibling-esque. Even though he is a little bit older than me, I feel like I’m his older brother, he’s my younger. And so when he gives his answer, I feel inclined to believe him. But we’ll see when I go back and watch the season if he was being truthful with those tears.

Is there anything Vince could have said tonight to win your vote?

Vince owned up to his game, which ultimately was what I needed from him in order to vote for him. But as I said during the jury roundtable, if Ashley is able to win on the very last day and make the biggest move of the season on the very last day, that would be very impressive. And that is what impressed me the most. And that coupled with the kind of game she played, I felt the need to vote for her.

Did you get a chance to talk to Vince after he came out of the house, and how did that go? Because he does not always take defeat well.

Well, he didn’t cry this time, so that kind of bothered me. It made me feel like maybe he was lying to me the whole time. [Laughs] But me and Vinny were boys. At the end of the day, we’re playing a game and I felt like myself more than most people had the ability to separate personal from game. And it is no different now. It will be hard to watch if I go back and watch and know that a lot of those times were fake. It will be hard to watch, admittedly. But I would never hold it against him because we’re playing a game. He’s a huge fan of the game. I knew a couple of his favorite players and I figured he might play a game like that. I just didn’t want to believe it.

What happens if it’s Ashley and Morgan sitting at the end together?

I’m gonna be honest. If it was Morgan versus Ashley, I would’ve had to vote for Morgan. Her competition prowess coupled with a similar social game where she played very honest — had she been in those final two, she did have my vote.

What did you and Rachel argue about today?

Well, we didn’t get a chance because Julie asked her the question, and not me, but I’m sure when I see her later I’m be like, “Dang, you weren’t going to take me to the final two. That’s messed up!”  

When are we going to get you two on The Amazing Race together? I feel like that needs to happen.

I would love to do that, you know, but that’s really more on her.

Would you play Big Brother again if they asked you?

Oh, absolutely. I did say coming into this house I wanted to be the first two-time winner. You know, I had to be a one-time winner first. And that wasn’t really even like a cocky, arrogant statement, because at that point I hadn’t played any amount of Big Brother. It’s just something that I wanted because it’s something that nobody’s done. And that’s what I love to shoot for. So yeah, I hope I do get another opportunity. I would love that very much.

Any other reality competition shows you’d like to do?

I’m not too familiar with The Challenge, but people in the house seem to think that I will be a lock for being on that. I’m familiar with older iterations of it back when I was in high school, and it seems like definitely up my alley. So I look forward to that. And anything else CBS wants to throw my way.

I had a conversation with Rachel really early on where I was like, “Why are you here? Because you’ve already won.” And she was just like, “Well, you know, when you have the opportunity, you better take it.” And that actually meant a lot to me. And I took that to heart. So any opportunities I get after this, I plan on taking most if not all.

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