An Interview with Wayne Nichols from ‘The Anonymous’

THE ANONYMOUS -- "The Price of Safety" Episode 106 -- Pictured: Wayne Nichols -- (Photo by: Rico Torres/USA Network)

This week’s episode of The Anonymous on USA Network saw another surprise elimination take place. Since Jack was quick to send home one of the newcomers, in Wayne. Whom we all thought might last a little longer given his natural attachment to the guile required for this competition. But alas, it wasn’t meant to me and to properly bid Wayne farewell, we sat down with him to discuss his experiences on the show.

John Betancourt: I would love to start with… all of you have an amazing journey as to how you came onto the show. Yours is obviously one of the more amazing ones, because you were a surprise contestant. How did that come to be?
 
Wayne Nichols: Well, you know, I wasn't aware of that component until we arrived on location, and, you know, they let me know then that it was looking more likely that I would be a surprise house guest. So, you know, I was obviously hoping at that point that I would have entered the house initially with the other house guests. But, you know, I was certainly thrilled to still be on the show and have an opportunity. I think the biggest challenge for me was just, you know, how does my approach differ now that I'm coming in a little bit later in the game, so I had to kind of decide, right, like, how aggressive… or do I play it cool? Initially, that was the balancing act that I really tried to find, you know, when I entered the home.
 
John Betancourt: I do want to talk a bit about your strategy today, because your strategy was very, very bold. I would definitely say one of the most impactful things about your time on the show is how well you shook it up. All of my friends that watched it last week, were texting me about how exciting and intense that Face-Off was, and I'm curious what brought to life that strategy of trying to get everybody off their feet.
 
Wayne Nichols: Listen, my back was in the corner. I wish I could tell you, you know, I've got this master plan, and I'm, you know, curling my mustache here. The reality was, I knew I was in trouble. There was a vibe that I just felt in that house after I caught a vote, and I was obviously up for elimination. I knew, and I didn't want to leave that house with any regret. So, I didn't actually have a plan of what I was going to do in the Face-Off, and I'm so glad that in the Face-Off wasn't chosen to go first. I was so glad that I was actually able to go a little bit later so I could see how the process worked. After I did that, I'm like, “You know what? I'm going to go ahead and throw a truth grenade,” my truth grenade, right, as I call it, and see if I can shake things up. And I was, I was really happy, by far.
 
I'm glad that you mentioned how exciting it was to see that. I did not know the other players reactions or see the other players their facial reactions. It actually made my day to see Lilly and to see Jack, and to see everybody saying, “Oh my goodness,” right, and Victoria, it made me feel like a million dollars because, you know, I had to do something. I had to take a shot, and whether or not it's a failure or a success, on my part, it was something that there's no regret, like, I leave there and say, “All right, at least I tried everything I could to maybe shake the game up or get people to second guess their alliances.”
 
John Betancourt: Now you said something very interesting during your exit. That you didn't think you were going to win it all when you came in. I'm very curious as to why you didn't think that.  You're the first contestant I've talked to that didn't think that they were going to go all the way, that's not an insult mind you, but it's very pragmatic
 
Wayne Nichols: So yeah, I appreciate you saying that I'm a realist. I have a life goal of… and I always say, “small goals, big victories.” And I've been saying small goals, big victories for every aspect of my life, personally, professionally, in business, right? I like the idea of setting a small goal and not choosing too big of a goal, where you set yourself up for failure. So, for example, you know, if my goal is to lose… 20 pounds, right? We'll start with the first 5, right? Let's get to the first five, right? And I feel like when you have those small goals, they become big victories. Of course, I wanted to go to the very end, but I think I would have been setting myself up for failure if I said, “All right, it's a failure if I don't make it and go all the way.” So, I just wanted to be like you said, a little bit more pragmatic, and I wanted to be more realistic. It didn't mean I wasn't shooting for the stars. I just, you know, I had a more realistic approach.
 
John Betancourt: Now, since you and Bismah, and Victoria came into the competition a little later, how tough was it coming into it was already an intense dynamic?
 
Wayne Nichols: Now, as the new guy, very tough, more so when I saw the caliber of players that were in the house, obviously I had not met the three previous players. I'll throw out Xavier's name. When I saw Xavier that first night, immediately I was caught off guard, right? How could a player of his caliber having won the show that he's previously been on, how could he still be in this game after not one, not two, but three eliminations? Seeing him kind of caught me off guard. And, you know, I had to constantly assess, do I hit the ground running, or do I try to play it cool and just build potential alliances? It was really a balancing act. I don't know how I did, because I'm sitting here, but at the same time, it was still thrilling to have that challenge and to say, “All right, you know what? Let's go out make some lemonade, you know?” So that's what I tried to do.
 
John: Out of curiosity, since you had that more pragmatic understanding was it tough then to say goodbye or was it a little bit easier when you kind of have those expectations set a little bit.
 
Wayne Nichols: Great question, I told myself, no matter what happens, how far I get, let's, you know, not be dramatic, you know. Let's make sure everybody knows it's just a game. I had a fantastic time. I, you know, made it very clear, no hard feelings, of course, you know, I… you know what? I'll say, a roller coaster is the perfect analogy. Everybody talks about the ups and downs of a roller coaster, but everyone also says, “I wish it was a little bit longer.” And that's exactly what I wish my roller coaster ride was. Just a little bit longer, but it still was a roller coaster ride.
 
John Betancourt: With that in mind, since you’ve had a little time to reflect, what would you had done differently if you had a chance to do this again?
 
Wayne Nichols: Great question, and I have thought about it. The only thing, the only single thing I would have done differently, I would have voted for myself during that last chat session. I think that would have potentially given me a better chance of securing The Anonymous because, again, you watch it back, Dillian obviously had a very strong and correct gut instinct as to who Light Bulb was. I would be willing to bet, if I had voted for myself, it would have made some people second guess as to whether or not Light Bulb was really me.
 
John Betancourt: Obviously, this is a very cool experience to begin with, something that you know. So, if you get to do what are you going to miss the most about being on this show?
 
Wayne Nichols: I am going to miss, believe it or not, the production value. I'm a huge fan of reality shows. I'm a huge fan as to what goes into making them. Listen, it was the most fantastic experience, not just in front of the camera, but to see what goes on behind. Yeah, I'm just gonna miss that, because I took, took that in as a… sort of like a fan of how these shows are made and produced and everything. So, yeah, I don't think I will ever see anything with that level of production value ever again. So I really will miss that, but I will say, in this day and age, it's really nice that, you know, I'll be able to keep in touch, obviously, with fellow cast members. And I'm also excited about that too.
 
John Betancourt: Yeah, I've heard that a couple of times, and I think that's really cool, that all of you still stay in touch like that, because it speaks to the uniqueness of the show. And speaking of that, what did it mean to you to be part of a series that really is so original and so new.
 
Wayne Nichols: You're spot on. The original and the new. You know, just, let's talk about the concept, right? Like, you know, The Anonymous. You don't even know who held the power. You don't even know who is holding the power. And so, you think about other shows where players can say, “Oh, this person's holding the power this week. Let me go ahead and see if I can, you know, make some inroads with them. Or let me see if I can align myself with them.” You don't know who has that power, and that's really the magic part of the game, right? You never know if the person you're talking to is the person who saved you, and if that person did save you, they can't tell you, “Hey, by the way, Wayne, I could have voted you off when I was The Anonymous and I did or I didn't,” right? That part's really exciting, and that's a concept we've never seen. And again, I'm a huge fan of reality shows. That's what will make The Anonymous stand out, especially in this inaugural season.
 
John: I think we all learn a little something about ourselves and anything we knew that we try. And I'm curious, what you took away from this experience?
 
Wayne: Oh, you know, what I took away… going with my gut instinct, you know, the times that I felt that I was in trouble, guess what? I was in trouble, the time that I was, you know, forming a genuine connection. Those connections were genuine. There's always gameplay in the background. But yeah, I think for me, I'm just, I'm very happy with the game that I could play, with what I was given to play with. And yeah, I think going with my gut, sticking with my gut, is something that I’m glad I didn’t just go ‘eh’ with. I knew I was in trouble during the Face-Off, I was like, “Yeah, I need to make a move here, because I'm going to regret it if I don't.” So, I went with my gut on that one, too.
 
John: Last question that I have for you, we're almost proud of what you accomplished on this show.
 
Wayne Nichols: Ooh, I am really the most proud of nobody second guessing that I was a custodian or a janitor. I'm really glad that no one was like, “this is kind of weird,” right? I don't know what they'll show when my elimination episode airs, but I can tell you, having lived that moment… people appeared to be genuinely shocked when I told them what my former profession was. That was exciting for me, because I kind of, I really struggled with, do I tell people what I do? What's the profession that I tell them? And I chose the most, you know, boring profession. And I, I think what's most exciting is when I tell… I think it was Marcel. I tell Marcel that I'm a custodian or a janitor, and he just goes, “Oh, that's nice.” (Laughs) You can tell, like he did not want to ask me any more questions. So, it's a total, like, a compliment that he wasn't like, “so what do you really do?” And you know, it was, yeah, great that he was like, “Okay, move on to the next subject, because this guy is a custodian,” right? I don't know. I just loved that part of it. That was a great moment.
 
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.