In the past five seasons of Big Brother, there have been two cast members that were clearly cast for the purpose of including a "geek" houseguest: Season 14's Ian Terry and Season 17's Steve Moses. Both were incredibly smart players, but also shy and socially awkward. They also both left their seasons of Big Brother as winners, and on Big Brother 19, Cameron Heard could continue the nerd legacy.
Heard, a 24-year-old microbiologist, is incredibly aware of Big Brother and how he fits into it. In his pre-show interview with BB14's Jeff Schroeder, Heard mentioned that he listens to Big Brother podcasts, frequents the r/bigbrother subreddit, and is an active member of the Big Brother fan community. He's also aware that Terry and Moses comparisons will be made about him, but assures others that his time in a fraternity has gifted him with a much better social game than either of the other "geeks" had in the house.
It seems that Heard has been waiting for a long time to get inside the Big Brother house for a long time, but will he be able to stay there? He may have to lay low the early weeks if he wants a chance at making it to the end.
Bearing a striking resemblance to two of the last five winners of Big Brother could mean that Heard could be targeted from the jump. He'd be smart to try and distance himself from the role of "Big Brother nerd", but it looks like he may not be able to re-categorize himself as anything else. His accomplishments, aside from a career as a microbiologist, include being adept at many different types of Rubik's Cube and being #32 in the world's ranking of best Halo Wars players.
His interest in puzzles and strategic video games could benefit him in mental challenges and social gameplay, but Heard is still strongly lacking when it comes to physical ability. In his CBS pre-show interview, Cameron explained, "Every time I’ve wrestled, I ended up going to the hospital — twice."
What Heard lacks in athletic ability, he makes up for in strategic thinking. In his CBS interview, he described his strategy as a bike wheel. "I'm going to be the hub of the wheel and everyone is going to revolve around me like spokes on a wheel. If I think I'm on the bottom, I will talk the HOH into reasons to keep me and how it will benefit both of our games. If they don't think rationally ... then I'll have to put fear into their eyes by saying someone else is going after them."
The contestant's actual plan isn't clear from the metaphor he uses, but it sounds like it's been rattling around his head for a while. Cameron seems more than capable on following the examples of Terry and Moses from past seasons, but his biggest obstacle may end up being himself.
