It's true Rome wasn't built in a day. But Rome Cooney hopes to build a million-dollar game in 26. A year ago, the 30-year-old hadn't watched a single episode of Survivor , only to fall in love and blitz through the entire series in a three-month period. It's an example of Rome's passion and ferocity that he brings to his job as an eSports commentator, and that he hopes to carry as he picks up a beachside controller. He admits to me his Achilles heel in the game may be his overconfidence (as well as a literal Achilles injury). But that doesn't stop him from coming in with some big plans, including some secretive "never before seen" moves for the season.
Read on for my interview with Rome, and check in with Parade.com daily for interviews with this season's contestants and other tidbits. Survivor 47 premieres on September 18 with a two-hour premiere on CBS.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 47
Interview with Rome from Survivor 47
To start, give me your name, age, and occupation.
My name is Jerome Cooney, but I go by Rome. And what I do is I'm a professional eSports host and commentator. So pretty much what Jeff does for Survivor , I do for video games. So I travel across the world, across the country, and I get to commentate eSports. I get to host things, I get to do the intros for players and all that stuff. So, yeah, that's pretty much what I do.
How tough is it going to be for you not to jump into that mode during challenges?
It's going to be hard. It's so funny. They asked me this during casting. They were like, "Do you ever practice casting the challenges and stuff?" And I'm like, "Oh, all the time!" The second a challenge starts, I'll mute it so I don't hear Jeff at all, and I'll commentate it over. And I'll go through the challenge and all that stuff. And then I'll rewind it, and then I'll unmute it and hear how Jeff called it. And [I'll] hear the similarities, or what's different, or what I could improve on. Because, I mean, Jeff is the GOAT at this. So being able to learn from him is always awesome.
Well, let's talk about what has brought you from giving commentary to being the source of it. Talk to me about your history with Survivor , and why you wanted to become a player in a very different game than you're used to.
You would probably be surprised. I probably started watching Survivor the most recent out of anyone on my season. So I started watching Survivor in April of 2023, literally just a little over a year ago. Hear me out. So I have never watched reality TV up until this point. Housewives , Survivor , anything. I've never even really heard about Survivor , but I needed a new show to watch. There was a lot of downtime. And so my fiancé was like, "Hey, growing up, I used to watch this show called Survivor . You might like it." And so I was like, "Okay, I'll give it a try." And so we turned it on. We went to Season 1, and I was about five minutes in, and I was like, "Okay, this is kind of boring. I don't know if I could do this." And she was like, "Okay, jump to a future season. Jump to a newer one."
So I randomly just scroll down. I just randomly clicked 30. Season 30 ended up being the Mike Holloway win, with "Joey the Amazing" and all that stuff, the final auction. It was a pretty good season for a first season. So I was like, "Man, this show is amazing. Okay, I'm super invested. I need to go back and see where it where it started." And so I'm sitting here watching Borneo, and I'm like, "Where are the idols?" I was so confused. But I got to see the progression of the whole game. So I actually binged every single season from April to July.
Every single season?!
Every single season I binged from April to July of last year. The reason I was able to do that is because there's a lot of downtime when I'm not hosting. I might have one or two or three events a month. And aside from that, what am I doing? So, there were some seasons I watched throughout one day. I would wake up at 6:00 a.m., start watching Survivor . And then by midnight, I'd be done with the season, and I'd be like, "Awesome!" So I've crammed a whole lot into my mind the last year about Survivor and things that a lot of people probably have over the last 20 years. So it's a little spotty memory for them, but I'm gonna be able to remember it like the back of my hand.
So when during your massive blitz through the series did you decide you wanted to play?
Cook Islands Ozzy, that's all it took. Watching Ozzy dominate in challenges. Me knowing that I'm a pretty athletic guy, but I'm an under the radar athletic guy. Don't really look like I'm gonna be jumping out of the gym, but I got a 34-inch vertical. I'm super athletic. So I love the challenges. I love every aspect of the challenges. But also, the small thing that Ozzy didn't have was a social game as good as Yul did, and that was the reason that he ended up losing. I'm just like, "Man, if he was just a tad bit more social, this would have been one of the best wins ever." I absolutely loved the show, love Ozzy. And I was like, "Man, I gotta apply. I gotta do this." So the second after watching Season 14, while I was binging it, that was when I sent in my application. I hadn't watched any other season, 15, 16, 17, hadn't even watched Heroes vs. Villains, none of the greatest seasons. I had to apply. So I sent in my application in in May, I think it was like May 5 or 6 something like that. And then I got the call back in in October, and I've been going through the process ever since, and it's been incredible.
Well, I'm glad we got you down from a coconut tree to talk to me today. Because I'm sure you've already scoured the island Ozzy-style. To say you've crammed a lot of Survivor is an understatement. But can you give me one winner and one non-winner who you identify with the most?
It would probably be Ozzy for a non-winner. For a winner, though, it's got to be Todd Herzog. I feel like he had the best final Tribal out of any season ever. He went there with two other people who had just as good of a chance of winning as him. But he was able to cater to the jury, tell people exactly what they wanted to hear. When he told Jean-Robert, "You were starting to think along my line, so I had to get you out," that just stroked his ego to the moon. So that was perfect. And I'm like, "Man, this guy is a genius." And [in] giving James the two idols, he wasn't selfish during his gameplay at all. I mean, Todd was an incredible winner, so I definitely can relate to him the most. Non-winner, it's got to be Ozzy. Gotta be Ozzy. I also like Jesse. I can't be mad at Jesse.
I know the idea of Survivor is very new to you. But what's one life experience you feel has prepared you most for the game?
Physically, it's got to be fully tearing my Achilles. Six years ago, I fully tore my Achilles. I was playing basketball. It was a pickup game. It was 15 to 15. I'd already scored eight of our points. I'm the point guard; my team's looking at me to put the last bucket in. I'm over here doing this, and I do a right-to-left crossover. And boom! I just crossed myself out of my own Achilles, and it popped.
By the way, I love that you can't help but commentate on your own traumatic injury during a pickup basketball game. [ Laughs .]
[ Laughs .] It's natural, man. It's just in me; I can't help it. And, yeah, so I tore my Achilles. And it's pretty ironic, because Kobe Bryant is actually my favorite athlete of all time, and he tore his Achilles. So I had already studied an Achilles tear and things like that, and how to recover, and now I gotta go through it. So I relearned how to walk. I tore it in September, and I was back running, jumping at the basketball court in January. I got four months of recovery time from a full tear. And the doctors even said that was unheard of. But I kicked physical therapy's butt. I made sure if they said, "Do 30 sets," I did 60. If they said, "Do 40," I was doing 80. I was making sure that I was getting as healthy as quick as possible.
The other thing is the pain. The doctor told me, "As a man, this is the most pain you can go through in your life"--because we can't have kids. "So the fact that you went through that and did even cry like that, that's a testament to you as a person." And so now, any pain that I'll feeling out here, bro, I'm not going to be worrying about it. Whether it's hunger pains, whether it's pain from an endurance challenge and I'm like, "Oh, I'm about to give out." No, I still got more in the tank. There's still going to be a little bit there, because I understand the limits that you can go to.
What would you say is your biggest superpower? Is it pain management?
No, I think my biggest superpower is going to be my social game. I feel like I'm going to be super underrated. Even during pregame, I haven't come across as the smart guy. Everyone out here is reading books and doing sudokus and crossword puzzles. And I'm like, "Why are y'all doing this?! Man, I'm doing that in my tent where no one can see me." I don't want people to think that I'm the smart guy. All these people are reading books. No, I got audiobooks that I can just listen to in my head. So I'm sitting here listening to How to Make Friends and Influence People , and nobody else has any idea that I'm sitting here just processing how to be even better socially and things like that. So I think my biggest superpower coming into this is being an underrated strategist, honestly.
What about on the other side? What's your Achilles heel, for lack of a better term?
Overconfidence. I truly think I'm gonna win this game, and I don't see a way that I won't. I got a few things up my sleeves. And I feel like, if you don't come into the game with a few things up your sleeves ready to go, a few moves that you can crack out to try to save yourself, then you're already setting yourself up for failure. So I've got a few things, a few moves that have never been done, some pretty interesting things that I'm ready to put into place.
Can we take a peek up your sleeves? Want to tease any of those moves for us?
I haven't told anyone but my fiance and my sister. Those are the only two people I told. And one said, "Wait, you're allowed to do that?" And I was like, "There's no rule against it." And they said, Oh, that's actually, genius then." And guess what my fiance said? She said, "That might be one of the biggest moves in Survivor history if you can pull it off." So listen, all I'm saying is, I've studied the game; I've crammed in a ton. And Jeff says he's always looking for people that know how to exploit the game. And you take these little details of the game and use it to their advantage, and that's exactly what I'm going to do.
Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 47
Well, let's talk about some of these people you hope to pull of an unprecedented move on. Is there anyone you're getting a good vibe from in the preseason?
Yeah, there's a few that are giving me the real nice smiles and the head nods when you see them, because you can't do anything verbally. So you just gotta do that [ Nods head .] and keep it moving. So there's been a lot of people that have been giving me that, mainly because I'm typically always smiling anyway. So it's pretty easy to smile back at someone already smiling. [ Laughs .] So I do think it's pretty interesting. I don't know if some of the girls might have been giving away what tribe they're gonna be on, because there's a lot of toenails that are painted in red or blue. I'm just saying that I'm noticing who might be on my tribe already. So you're able to give those extra smiles and things like that.
What about on the other side? Any major red flags, or toes, from anybody?
There is this guy that reminds me of one of my friends growing up. He's got some big, curly hair. I have smiled at him, I think, five, seven, eight times. He has never smiled back, never given anything. So I'm like, "Alright, you can go, bro. If you're not even trying, see you later." [ Laughs .]
What's your approach to idols, advantages, and journeys?
I got some big plans. I think that when it comes to idols, I'm going to be able to get the edge over people. Because I feel like, with us recently watching 46 up until the Final Seven, I feel like, because there's a lack of hunting for idols postmerge and during the merge, that people aren't really going to be looking for idols during the season as heavily, just because of what they saw recently. And so I think that's going to open up the door for me to go out and look, be able to sneak off and things like that. Also, I barely need to sleep. I have no problem looking for an idol in pitch-black. I will have zero problem getting up on four hours of sleep. I'm a gamer, bro! I'm a long-time gamer. I'm used to sleeping on four hours and [being] good to go the whole day. So I'm gonna be up in the middle of the night. If there's even the crack of dawn, crack of sunlight, some cameraman's gonna need to get on up and follow me around. Because guess what? We're hitting in the jungle. Let's go find an idol.
Yeah, coconuts will be your gamer fuel.
[ Laughs .] Oh yeah. Exactly.
What’s your biggest takeaway from the past two seasons of Survivor that you plan to bring into your game?
My biggest takeaway is that people get too attached to people. I feel like people get too attached to people, and people get "big moveitis," and people also brag. I don't know why people are doing a move and then bragging about it. That is one of the most illogical things you could do, because that just tells everyone else left in the game, "Hey, you're a threat because of this reason. If you get to Final Tribal, they're gonna say that." Just keep it to yourself and save it for Final Tribal. There's literally no positive for bragging about your moves. Tim was a perfect example in 46. He just refused to give up one of his Sigas. Why? Bro, there are 17 people you have to beat! It's not just you and your tribe that's going to make it to the end, and it's going to be, "That's it!" No, you have to beat every single person. So I'm going to have the Sandra mentality: Anyone but me. I'm sorry, I didn't know any y'all a week ago. I'm not going to be mad about letting y'all go home and get some food. I'm chilling. [ Laughs .]
What is your hottest Survivor take?
So I understand that a lot of people, a lot of people, are not fans of Russell Hantz. Now, granted, I didn't see the social aspect of it when I watched and binged it. So I just got to see Russell without any outside thoughts or anything. And I'm like, "Okay, this guy's kind of mean to people behind the scenes." But I mean, hey, his gameplay was absolutely incredible. He ran both of the seasons he was on back-to-back. I mean, it was one of the most incredible gameplay I've ever seen. But his social game was awful. Literally the worst social game and the best gameplay in Survivor history combined in one person. [ Laughs .] It's pretty incredible.
So I think that Russell should have won his season. I feel like he should have won Samoa . And I know that that's a controversial take. But I also feel like Yul, in my opinion, he's the winner that I least respect. Not because of him as a person. I love him as a person; he's a great guy. It's because of the super idol. He found it immediately, and then essentially didn't have to do anything all game except play the social game. So once he got to the Final Tribal, all he had to do was use the social game that he had to be able to figure things out. And Ozzy just couldn't compete with that. Even though Ozzy was winning all these challenges, it didn't matter, because Yull, all he had to do was focus on the social game because of the super idol. So that's my controversial hot take, right there.
Finally, what celebrity or fictional character would you want to bring out for a loved ones visit?
Are they allowed to bring anything?
I mean, to reference something you said before, it's not in the rules!
Okay, then Guy Fieri. And I'm gonna have him make me some nice burgers, some fries. He's gonna chef up something. I gotta bring a famous chef. But a character…man, that's gonna be tough. I don't know. There's so many characters out there. I should have been ready for this, because you asked this last season too. So I should have been ready for this one. I'll go with Peter Griffin, man. I need to laugh. I want somebody that can be out there and make me laugh, someone I could vibe with, someone that I could chill with, and that's just going to be a good time.
I feel like having Guy Fieri and Peter Griffin together is a recipe for disaster. [ Laughs .]
[ In a Peter Griffin impression .] No, I don't think so, MIke. No, not a doubt.
[ Laughs .] You do impressions, too?!
[ Laughs .] I could do those sometimes. I got a cool Jeff one. I don't know if you want to hear that one.
No, you invited it. I gotta hear it now.
[ In a Jeff Probst impression .] Alright, let's get it on!
Wow! I love that little taste, that's worth playing for. It's amazing that, a year ago, you didn't know Jeff Probst from a hole in the wall. And now you're able to mimic his voice. I know it's been a hell of a year for you, from finding the show to falling in love with it to becoming a player. But it's clear your passion for the game transcends any sort of time frame.
I've never liked a TV show more. Straight up. I've never, ever liked anything on TV more than Survivor . And so the fact that, like you said, I found it a year ago, I've got so much passion for this, man. I'm all over Reddit. I'm always looking at things. I'm all on Twitter. I'm following everybody. I'm seeing what the vibes are. I'm listening to every single podcast. I mean, they said, "What are your hobbies you like to do?" I said, "Playing video games while listening to all the podcasts I've listened to." Whether it's you, "On Fire," "Rob Has a Podcast." Literally every single one, from the ones that are getting tens of thousands of views to the ones that are getting literally 50 views. I'm watching every single one to try and take in as much Survivor as possible, to get as adapted to this game as possible. I absolutely love it.
Next, check out our interview with Survivor 47 contestant Kishan Patel .
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