Boston Rob Mariano Reveals If He’d Ever Join ‘Dancing with the Stars’ (Exclusive)
Boston Rob Mariano Reveals If He’d Ever Join ‘Dancing with the Stars’ (Exclusive)
For over 20 years, Boston Rob Mariano has been collecting reality TV series like Infinity Stones. Of course, the 49-year-old’s chief bread and butter is Survivor (a show where, ironically, he had very little bread or butter). But the legendary strategist has parlayed that success into appearances on a number of other shows like The Amazing Race, Deal or No Deal Island, and, most recently, The Traitors.
And his participation in the latter has had Boston Rob finding a new avenue decades into his storied on-screen career. Following his time in Scotland, he’s appeared in a number of ads for major brands. His most recent spot: The newly revealed “Mystery Pourer” in Dunkin’s newest collaboration with Kahlúa, the “Kahlúa Dunkin’ Caramel Swirl Cream Liqueur.” Rob got to share the set with Salma Hayek, though their first meeting was unconventional, to say the least.
“Before we started filming, when I got to set that day, by mistake, I went into her trailer,” he recalls to Parade in an exclusive interview. “And when I went in, there were like three or four dogs. There were like five hairdressers, different makeup people. And she kind of just looks over at me, like, ‘Honey, I think you’re in the wrong place.’ Like, ‘Yeah, I am. I’m sorry!’ And I went back to my trailer, which was just me and my agent.”
In addition to pooch-filled meet-cutes with the rich and famous, Boston Rob’s new reality resurgence also brought him into the orbit of Dylan Efron. The Traitors winner is hoping to capitalize on his own unscripted success as part of the cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 34. And Rob has been showing immense support of his newfound friend, both from afar and in person. The latter was showcased this past week, when he traveled out to L.A. to support Dylan during his emotional “Dedication Night” performance which featured his younger sister Olivia.
“He’s absolutely crushing it,” Boston Rob says proudly of the Efron brother. “From where he started to where he is now. He got first place, with all nines across the board. And Olivia was amazing. I brought the whole family out. My kids came out with Amber. And we just all together got to experience that. It was really special.”
“Dedication Night” marked the second time that Rob was in the DWTS ballroom, having also attended the premiere to cheer Dylan on from the sidelines. So, of course, getting a closer look as to how the sausage gets made, as well as getting the chance to connect with some of the pros, it begs the question. Would Boston Rob ever trade in his Red Sox hat for a pair of dancing shoes and become a cast member himself?
According to him, if the pros had their way, absolutely!
“I feel like I get recruited by all the dancers as I walk down the hallway,” he reveals. “Here’s the thing, Mike. I’m a really bad dancer. I just am. And I’m also super competitive. Anything I do I want to win. So the amount of effort that I would have to put in to be good, even a little bit good, is a lot more than anyone else. And I just don’t know that I got it in me.”
Despite his reluctance, the man who wrote a literal rulebook on Survivor strategy knows one thing. If you’re given a deal, it’s very tough to say no.
“I’ve also learned after 25 years that you never know,” he admits. “I wouldn’t expect to go back to Survivor and play five times and be on as a mentor, and The Amazing Race and everything else. So they’re definitely trying to push me in that direction. We’ll see who wins.”
Which, naturally, brings up another question. If Boston Rob is already networking with the pros, if he did indeed throw himself into the hunt for the Mirror Ball Trophy, who would he want alongside him? But one of the most successful players in Survivor history knew not to show his cards too early.
“Are you crazy?!” he responds. “I just told you, I’m being courted! “Daniella [Karagach] is like, ‘You have to be with me.’ And then Emma [Slater] in the hallway is like, ‘Listen, if we do it, we’re together.'”
The ultimate partner Boston Rob follows, though, is the person he met and fell in love with on the island: Amber Mariano. And so, while he is getting pressured, he ultimately trusts on the person who knows him the most.
“Amber knows how bad of a dancer I am,” he says. “So I asked her, ‘Am I gonna really embarrass her?’ And she was like, ‘Well…we’ll see. Maybe you get some lessons before you go out there.'”
Sounds like, when it comes to a future possible turn on Dancing with the Stars, the man who started it all in Survivor: Marquesas is not saying “No-no” to the idea.
