Rome is just one of 18 castaways trying to survive on Survivor 47.
Jerome "Rome" Cooney joins the Survivor 47 cast, heralding Phoenix, Arizona, and hoping to outwit, outlast, and outplay his fellow competitors to win the grand prize of $1 million.
This season of the beloved reality TV series has plenty of colorful personalities, including Rome. He is joined by the likes of K-pop enthusiast and A.I. developer Andy Rueda, flight school owner Sue Smey, and former NFL player Sam Phalen among many others.
5 Things To Know About Survivor 47's Rome
Rome Cooney Is an E-Sports Caster and Commentator
Coming into Survivor 47 fans may know Jerome "Rome" Cooney for his work in the e-sports (competitive video games) scene.
Cooney works as an e-sports caster and commentator known for his work at large-scale events for titles like Rocket League, Call of Duty, Fortnite, and League of Legends.
According to his official bio, The 31-year-old (born October 11, 1993, in Corvallis, Oregon) got his start in the e-sports scene at 13, competing in and traveling across the U.S. for high-level Call of Duty LAN events:
"Jerome 'Rome' Cooney is one of the fastest rising casters and hosts within the esports scene. Entering into his competitive esports career at just 13 years old, competing and travelling to LAN events in 'Call of Duty,' Rome has always known that being involved in esports is exactly where he wanted to be in later life. In 2021 he began work casting 'Rogue Company' and quickly branched out into the 'Rocket League', 'Call of Duty,' 'Fortnite' and 'League of Legends' scenes."
During his casting career, Cooney has had the chance to travel the world, with some career highlights including working on "the PAX East, Rocket League's World Championship, G4TV Invitationals, Splitgate Pro Series, and the $2,000,000 Gamers8 Fortnite LAN in Saudi Arabia:"
"With his ability to work on a variety of games and products, combined with his passion for the mic, Rome has pushed himself into a prime place on many high-level productions. Events such as the PAX East, 'Rocket League's' World Championship, G4TV Invitationals, 'Splitgate' Pro Series, and the $2,000,000 Gamers8 'Fortnite' LAN in Saudi Arabia are just a few of the events Rome has worked in a short space of time."
Rome Binged Every Season of Survivor in Three Months
Rome Cooney is coming into Survivor 47 prepared.
According to the Survivor contestant, he binged every season of the hit series before coming onto the island, watching all of them in just three months.
Speaking to Parade before his appearance on Survivor 47, Cooney remarked that he has only been a fan for just over a year, positing that he only "started watching Survivor in April of 2023:"
"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."
Cooney admitted that it was actually his fiancé who got him into the show:
"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.'"
While he was not sure if the show was for him at first, finding one of the newer seasons, he realized "Man, this show is amazing:"
"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."
He said that because of the downtime when he was not hosting various e-sports events, he was able to binge every single season, sometimes "wak[ing] up at 6:00 a.m." and watching to midnight:
"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."
Rome Has an IQ of 135 (Supposedly)
Fellow contestants of Survivor 47 should not discount Rome Cooney, especially mentally.
The Survivor star told fans in his "Get To Know Me" video that he has an IQ of 135, which signals high levels of intellect.
In the brief teaser, Cooney said, "I took an IQ test, and it was like 135." While he is unsure how accurate those results were, it has not stopped him from believing that he is "one of the biggest threats... to win [the] game:"
"I would like to think that I am smart. I took an IQ test, and it was like 135. I do not know how accurate it is, but hey, I will take it. I have got a lot of things up my sleeve that a lot of these players are not going to be able to see just from looking at. So, I am going to be a very very scary player. I truly believe, I am by far, one of the biggest threats out here to win this game."
Rome Has Some Secret Moves Planned for Survivor 47
Everyone comes into Survivor with a plan, and Rome Cooney is no exception.
Cooney has teased that he has "some pretty interesting things" up his sleeves (via Parade):
"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. 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.'"
He revealed that what he has planned may be "one of the biggest moves in Survivor history," and he is ready to "take these little details of the game and use it to [his] advantage:"
"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."
Rome Is on Cameo
After coming to prominence in the e-sports scene (as well as with appearances on things like Survivor), Rome Cooney has started making Cameo videos for fans looking to connect with the online creator.
These personalized videos come at a cost but offer a way for audiences to connect with Rooney unlike they ever have before.
How To Follow Rome on Social Media
Those looking to follow Rome Rooney online can do so on Instagram (@RomeTheHost).
New episodes of Survivor 47 debut Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and can be streamed on Paramount+ as well.
