Kenny Santucci Interview

Kenny Santucci first appeared in MTV’s reality show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat. Since then, the self-proclaimed Mr. Beautiful has been a force to be reckoned with, becoming one of the most successful players in challenge history with three championships to date.

Santucci quickly transformed himself from a newbie to a veteran and is undeniably one of the most popular cast members on the reality show. On MTV's new show, The Challenge: Rivals, Santucci is teamed up with his worst enemy, Wes Bergmann. As a TV favorite, Santucci will compete for a grand prize of $300,000.

TheCelebrityCafe.com’s Shakala Alvaranga caught up with Santucci about his new show and how he’s handling being partnered with Bergmann. Santucci reveals what to expect in the upcoming episodes, saying that everything is about to drastically change very soon.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: For the most part, you are portrayed as a very blunt person on The Challenge: Rivals. Where do you think you got that image from?

Kenny Santucci: I guess it’s the image that I gave myself. I grew up in a pretty rough neighborhood. I’m a military child dad, so there was no bull---- the way I grew up. So I always just spoke my mind, said what I had to say. That was pretty much the way I was raised.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: You pulled a close one in the last episode of The Rivals, Wes basically saved you. How does that feel?

Kenny Santucci: I’m not thrilled about it. He definitely did save us, but at the same time, if you pay attention to the show, he got us disqualified the first time. The second time, I think it was a combination of the two of us. Third time, it was a combination of the two of us. And now this time it was me. So, we keep going back and forth. But as you see the rest of the season play out, you see it’s a back and forth of me screwing up and then him screwing up. We normally both compete very well individually, but together I don’t think we’re working that good.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: In the new Challenge: Rivals, you’re teamed up with someone you absolutely hate: Wes. Was it as bad as you thought it would be?

Kenny Santucci: Yeah, you probably won’t ever see it on the episodes, but the whole time he would come in and be like, ‘Just don’t talk bad about me in interviews, because all I do is talk about how much I like you.' And it’s like; I know he’s just a snake in the grass. He lies through his teeth. He’s the type of guy that would sell the shoes off his dead mother. I really don’t trust the guy at all, but I never really went in there and talked bad about him. Towards the end, he’s just always upset. He’s like a sad little kid. I feel bad, every morning, he has to get up and he has to face the day by being Wes Bergmann. I face the day being myself, and it just makes me feel a whole lot better about everything. So, I don’t really worry about what the hell he says in interviews. But, in the last episode he did save us, but we’ll see how the rest of the season plays out.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: What is the alliance you have this season?

Kenny Santucci: It’s the same alliance that I always roll with: Evan, Johnny and Paula. Jenn’s got our back. Laurel’s got my back. So we play it out the way we always do with the same people, we don’t try to pick up stragglers or anyone we wouldn’t normally have an alliance with. Unfortunately, the people that we are always against like Evelyn, Wes, and Nehemiah, they're all on our teams, so it just makes our job a little bit easier this time around. Everybody wants to get rid of CT. To tell you the truth, they don’t really show this on the show, but no one likes having him around the house. He’s like a weirdo; he sits up in the rafters and listens to peoples conversations. People don’t realize how bizarre this guy really is. Everybody says, ‘Oh, he’s crazy!’ but he’s more bizarre than anything else. He’ll get up at like 6 in the morning, drink an entire pot of coffee, and go back to bed. He’s always like a crackhead. He has two personalities. During the day, if we’re all sitting outside, he’ll come outside in like these ‘thugged’ out clothes. He’ll have his hat backwards with this long T-shirt on, rolling around the house trying to start fights with everyone. And then two minutes later, he’ll disappear. And he’ll come back downstairs with like his glasses on and a collared shirt and be like, ‘Hey man! How is everything going?’ It’s like, 'Who the f--- are you? You’re two different people in a matter of three minutes.' It’s unbelievable. It’s so weird.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: In the previous episodes, it seemed like CT’s a ladies man. Was it not like that?

Kenny Santucci: A lot of the girls see him as untouchable in a way. They see him as this bizarre person they really want to get to know. Nobody really understands him and all the girls are like, ‘Oh, I’m curious.’ They’re typical lonely women as well. None of these girls on the show have boyfriends, or anyone who could stand them for more than ten minutes. So, they’re all like, ‘Oh, I’d love to get to know him.’ As you’ve seen, Mandy and Laurel start fighting about who is going to sleep with CT and mainly because they’re both trying to figure out who he really is and try to get a storyline out of the whole deal. Everybody, like Jenn, Paula, Evelyn, they’re all like he’s a weirdo stay away from him. And these girls are just so curious, like puppies on their first day home sniffing around trying to figure out what the hell is really going on. And I think it ends up biting them both in the a-- at the end.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: How do you deal with all the drama in the house? How do you stay focused?

Kenny Santucci: I hope people can observe while watching the episodes that I try to stay out of all the bickering and the stupid stuff. I’m more of a game player. When it comes to the game, I’m involved. I want to know what’s going on and I need to know how it’s going to play out, and that’s what important to me. I treat it like a job. I go, I play the game, I do what I have to do, I compete, and that’s it. A lot of these other people are looking for a storyline; they want to be on television and everything else. And granted, as much as I do to – I make a spicule of myself from time to time. But it’s always like who is hooking up with who to get more air time. I hate debating with some of these people because if I’m going to argue with a guy then I might as well punch them in the face. And you obviously can’t do that, because you’re going to get sent home. People are always talking about that argument between Wes and CT, who looks dumber? Or who won that argument? I think they both look like complete idiots because they’re yelling in each other’s face. Wes is trying to round him up and does a pretty good job at it, but then ends up looking like a wimp. He’s like, ‘I just want to be left alone.' You round this guy up for no reason, and now you look like an idiot. And CT looks like an idiot because all he keeps talking about is biting his head off, but he doesn’t do anything about it. And then Wes throws his bed over the balcony, and I’m like, ‘Wow, you’re really going to let this guy get away with throwing your bed off the balcony?’ So I think they both look like idiots. You got to keep your cool in this game. 90 percent of this is just being able to keep your cool. Rarely will you see me, well, maybe over voting or something like that, but never over stupid stuff like trying to round somebody up.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: Now, you never really had the Real World experience. Do you regret that?

Kenny Santucci: Absolutely not. I am so glad that I didn’t have to go through that. I was supposed to be on Real World: Austin, and had I ever gone on the show, I probably would have never finished college because I was supposed to leave my last semester of my senior year. They kind of just chose Wes or Danny or one of those losers who was on that season over me. It’s better off. I’ve been doing the shows ever since, and it’s been a roller coaster. Had I would have left; I probably would’ve never finished my senior year. So, I graduated in May '05, and then in September of '05 I was doing my first show. So, it worked out perfect for me.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: If you win this season, what do you plan to do with the money?

Kenny Santucci: I’ve bought plenty of dumb stuff in my day. And I’m living in New York, which is pretty expensive from time to time. But I’d really like to re-do my mom’s kitchen. She keeps talking about getting her kitchen redone. So, I’m looking into that. But I think to do the kitchen the way that she wants it, it’s a little more than I’d actually win, even if I get first place.

TheCelebrityCafe.com: What can we expect in the upcoming episodes of The Challenge: Rivals?

Kenny Santucci: There’s a lot of things that happen and a lot of people you wouldn’t expect to leave. The show DRASTICALLY changes very soon. The tables will turn, that’s all I can say. I would stay tuned.