Brandon Baker Dishes on His Decision to Play 'The Circle' as a Catfish (EXCLUSIVE)

In the hit reality competition series The Circle, players eagerly seek out catfish (or, should we say, fishing for catfish?) In the sixth season, Brandon Baker shakes things up by playing as a woman named Olivia.

This adds a whole new layer to the ruthless social media game as the contestants navigate different personas, carefully crafting messages and photos to deceive others.

For Brandon, maybe it was more than what he bargained for — but now he's in the thick of it, and luckily, most fans are rooting for him!

In an exclusive interview with Distractify, Brandon reflected on his experience playing the game as Olivia and whether he ever considered playing as his authentic self.

The thing about some catfish on The Circle is that although they play the game as a different gender or with distinct photos, they often keep some of the personality of their "character" true to who they are — and that's the case with Brandon!

He's playing the game as a young nurse named Olivia, but outside of The Circle, Brandon is a nurse himself. He lives and works in Columbus, Ohio, where he and Olivia — her real name is Claudia — once worked together.

Though he doesn't share too many details about his personal life on social media (get it together, Brandon, have you learned nothing from The Circle?), he often shares photos of friends and family, including a younger sister he seems to be close to.

But mostly, Brandon's official Instagram page is a testament to just how real he is on The Circle despite playing a person who is definitely not himself.

In the Season 6 premiere, Brandon explains that his friend and former co-worker allowed him to play the game as her. Outside of the reality show, Olivia (aka Claudia) and Brandon no longer work together, since she left the Columbus hospital for Cleveland. Nevertheless, she'll always be an honorary part of the #CircleFam for us!

When speaking with Distractify, Brandon delved into his decision to play The Circle as a catfish. He told us, "I've watched every season, every episode, and I was just like, 'This looks so cool, and this would be so much fun to do.'"

"I was like, 'If I ever did it, I would definitely want to be a catfish,' just because I thought it was such a hard challenge," Brandon continued. "So, when I was applying, … there was no other option. I was like, it has to be catfish, it has to, and yeah, I landed on Olivia (Claudia is her real name), and I was just like, 'This is perfect.' I couldn't have been happier with this choice."

As for whether he ever considered playing The Circle as himself, Brandon told Distractify, "Maybe for like a millisecond. But I was just like, 'You know, I get to be me every day. Why not take a chance and try to be someone else and just kind of see where it gets me.'"

During our conversation, Brandon shared some words of wisdom for all future The Circle players.

"I think my advice to future contestants would be to just relax. Take a minute, breathe. It's all going to be OK. I know it's stressful, but it's gonna be OK," he told Distractify. "And just be yourself. I feel like that is so important in this game."

Brandon added, "I know, as a catfish, you're not really being yourself — but you're still you, [you're just playing as] someone else. So think with your brain and your heart, and that's going to take you far. It really is going to take you far because people are gonna feel that."

The Circle is now streaming on Netflix.

Additional reporting by Allison DeGrushe