Warning: This article contains spoilers for theThe Circleseason 6 finale.
Brandon Baker doesn’t understand how he wonThe Circleseason 6.
“I put QT at No.
Brandon Baker.Courtesy of Netflix
1, I put Kyle at No.
2, so it wasn’t because of me,” Brandon tellsEntertainment Weeklywith a laugh.
“I thought I gave [the win] away.
Brandon Baker.Courtesy of Netflix
Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real.”
“Do you know how hard it is to keep that a secret?!”
“And no one knows.
Brandon Baker.Courtesy of Netflix
My friends don’t even know.
I was very tight-lipped about it, but it was not without struggle.”
Courtesy of Netflix
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Congratulations on not only winningThe Circlebut also doing it as a catfish.
Brandon Baker.Courtesy of Netflix
Now that you know youcanwin, do you think you could have won playing as yourself?
BRANDON BAKER (A.K.A.
OLIVIA):Oh, that’s such a good question.
Honestly, I don’t know.
I don’t think I would’ve won as myself.
But you were essentially playing as yourself, just using different photos.
You’re probably right.
For me, it’s a self-confidence thing.
I’m a very confident person, but also I’m my own worst critic.
I was like, “Maybe this is the smarter thing.”
It was shocking how it all turned out.
Yeah, everyone was playing so hard, and obviously, I was doing my own thing.
You avoided making any real enemies that way, too.
People were suspicious of Olivia, but they weren’t like, “She’s a threat.”
But what I was doing in the game, I saw myself as a threat.
Me coming off as not a threat is making me a threat.
You just can’t see it ‘til it’s in your face.
I’m like diabetes.
I’m the silent killer.
Especially for your so-called “ride or die” Myles.
He never saw you coming.
Oh, my gosh.
If I take him out, I stand a chance."
I’ve already thought about this."
This is my last chance at the prize.
There was going to be one winner, and I wanted the winner to be me.
I felt like I played fair.
But it was so rough.
I knew it was my only option, but I didn’t feel good about it.
I just took away his chance of winning, and he’s been here from the start.
But I wanted to also show that I pulled my weight.
You took away his chance of winning by making yourself the winner.
No one can argue with that fact.
But oh, God, it still sucks.
What happened immediately after cameras stopped filming?
Did you and Myles have a heart-to-heart about his blocking?
We hung out all night, we got free beers from a wedding party.
It was so random.
If I were you, I would’ve done it too."
Now we talk every day.
He’s seriously the sweetest guy.
That group of four that hung out all night after the finale is not who I would have expected… Who would’ve thought, honestly?
I was nervous to meet Jordan.
I was like, “We’re not going to click.
He’s too standoffish.
This is never going to happen.”
I was like, “Wait, who are you?
At the end of the show, I wanted to fight you.
I only kept you here so you would vote me higher.
I don’t even like you.”
Now it’s so funny.
We’re all pretty close now.
Did you ever consider blocking anyone else or did you always know it would be Myles?
I considered Myles and Jordan.
I went back and forth on it for a minute.
I never considered QT because, if I don’t win, QT deserves to win.
That girl worked her butt off.
Even though Jordan played the game, I just felt like I owed it to Myles.
But making the decision sucked.
How did you feel about your chances of winning going into the finale?
I did not see an outcome that I won.
I thought QT is going to win, but if she doesn’t, then it’s Kyle.
Those were the only two outcomes I saw.
When it showed QT in third place, I was in shock.
And then, me and Kyle standing there, I was ready [for second place].
Because that’s the only thing I planned.
What does the real “Olivia” think of how you played as her?
Her name is Claudia, and she loves it so much.
We’ve had so much fun hanging out and talking about it.
If you ever got the chance to play again, would you play as yourself this time around?
I think it would be really fun to play as me.
That would be fun.
Unless it was an all-winner season and we all played ourselves.
Or all winners as different catfish.
Netflix, call me!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
