Frankie Cena

**Frankie Cena** was a contestant on Season 3.

## Background

*Retrieved from CBC.ca*

Well-rounded is the best way to describe Frankie . A public speaking and debate coach, Frankie has the gift for gab, and the mind to back it up. He has competed in countless math competitions throughout his education, graduated from UBC’s Commerce program and applied for Mensa, placing in the top 95 th percentile. Not content with just educational and career accomplishments, Frankie has pursued all of his interests with the same level of commitment and enthusiasm. In 2012 he won the Mr. World Canada competition. Singing since childhood, he has performed internationally. Frankie has boundless energy and a drive to succeed that has seen him through every challenge in life so far. Now he is banking on this being the ticket to the title of Canada’s Smartest Person.

## Episode 303

As Frankie entered the stage with his competitors, a clip of him and the other five contestants, Rebecca Bromwich, Ryan Coelho, Gwyneth Foster, Maria Samson, and Vanessa Vakharia, introducing themselves was shown. In this clip, Frankie stated that no one would be getting in his way of winning the show. In the first challenge, the Speed Round, Frankie received an overall percentage score of 54%. As a result, Frankie finished in 3rd place and was awarded 2 overall points.

With the first challenge and the resulting double elimination out of the way, a more elaborate clip presenting Vanessa, Frankie, Ryan, and Maria in that order was shown. In this clip, Frankie stated that he has a desire to leave his mark on the world and that his experiences as a model, singer, and presenter allowed him to have the majority of the six intelligences covered. In the second challenge, Broken Register, Frankie and Maria both got 4 correct answers, but the former answered faster on average than the latter did. As a result, Frankie finished in 1st place and was awarded 5 overall points.

In the third challenge, Colour Blender, Frankie and Ryan both got 2 correct answers, but the former answered faster on average than the latter did. As a result, Frankie finished in 3rd place and was awarded 2 overall points.

In the fourth challenge, Screen Test, Frankie was the first contestant to pitch his film and he had to pitch a horror film with a handsome prince protagonist and with a revelation that it was all a dream at the end of it. He said, "Ivan, the opening title's *Fade Away* and there is our main character, the handsome prince, played by none other than Frankie Cena. This prince is a little bit angry. Rapunzel didn't let down her long hair. Snow White didn't give him the apple. Cinderella never lost her slipper. So this prince got angry. This prince wanted vengeance because he was never going to find his true love. So this prince goes on a rampage. He looks for all of the famous princesses of the land and he decides that he is going to control and dominate and torture them, all on the backdrop of a fairy tale. But of course, ladies and gentleman, when the final screen comes up, you realize it was only just a dream." Guest judge Ivan Reitman commented that the ending would be one of the worst possible endings for such a film should it ever exist, but that that was not Frankie's fault and that he did a good job. Ivan ranked Frankie in 1st place for his pitch and Frankie was awarded 10 overall points as a result. After the first four challenges, Frankie had received a total of 19 overall points. As a result, he finished in 1st place and was congratulated by Jessi, along with Maria, for qualifying for the Gauntlet.

In the fifth and final challenge, the Gauntlet, Maria maintained a slight lead over Frankie over the first three sections, but the two were neck and neck throughout most of the musical section. However, Frankie hit a road block and struggled to get past the final gate, which allowed for Maria to overtake him and eventually complete the linguistic section. Ultimately, Frankie stopped at the musical section as Maria hit the buzzer, which signalled her victory and her spot in the season finale. After the challenge ended and Maria was declared the third finalist of the season, Frankie and Maria celebrated onstage with Jessi.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/smartestperson/blog/canadas-smartest-person-reveals-30-new-competitors-for-season-3
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://www.cbc.ca/smartestperson/participants/frankie-cena