Jonathan Penner

Jonathan Lindsay Penner is a contestant from, , and.

A charismatic but angry contestant, Penner became the primary antagonist during his time on Cook Islands, being described as a cancer within his tribe. Later, he appeared to be more competitive and fun-loving before his adventure was cut short, although at some points he would snap back at Jeff Probst's commentaries during crucial challenge moments. Probst states that Jonathan is one of his favorite contestants.

Cook Islands
A native of New York, Jonathan Penner is a writer/producer for film and television. He and his wife, Stacy, have developed numerous projects including "The Last Supper," "The Lone Ranger," "Let the Devil Wear Black" and the 1994 Oscar-nominated for Best Short Film, Live Action, "Down On The Waterfront" (which he co-produced, co-wrote and starred in with Jason Alexander, Ed Asner and Mike Starr). He also worked as an actor and had a series regular role on "Grapevine," on CBS, "The Naked Truth" and "Rude Awakening." He also made guest-starring appearances in various series including CSI: and "The Nanny," both on CBS, as well as "Seinfeld" and "Arrested Development." Additionally, he is a producer/writer/director.

Penner attended the prestigious Phillips Andover prep school in Andover, Massachusetts, and went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

Penner enjoys reading, traveling, cooking, theater, moves and track/field.

Penner currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife of 16 years, director Stacy Title, and their two children, Cooper and Ava. They have one bunny, Angel Cake, and two lizards, Mozilla and Luna. His birth date is March 5, 1962.

Philippines
Name (Age): Jonathan Penner (50)

Previous Seasons: “Survivor: Cook Islands” and “Survivor: Micronesia”

Previous Finishes: “Survivor: Cook Island” – 14th out, 6th jury member. “Survivor: Micronesia” – medical evacuation due to knee infection.

Tribe Designation: Kalabaw, Dangrayne

Current Residence: Los Angeles, Calif.

Occupation: Writer

Personal Claim to Fame: My Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short Film for “Down on the Waterfront” which I co-wrote and co-produced with my wife, and also co-starred with Jason Alexander and Edward Asner.

Inspiration in Life: My kids. My daughter is hilarious and actually looks up to me, and my son is smarter and more athletic than I am already. Wanting to make them proud is why I always do my best.

Pet Peeves: Stupidity, meanness and slow drivers in the passing lanes.

3 Words to Describe You: Happy, prickly and funny.

If You Could Have 3 Things on The Island What Would They Be and Why?: A good book to read, a blank book to write in and if I can count her as a thing, my wife. If not, I’ll bring a pen.

Reason for Being on SURVIVOR: The money. I have nothing more to prove or accomplish but winning. Why You Think You’ll “Survive” SURVIVOR: Experience is the biggie, but I also bring humor and I’m a team player.

Why You Think You Will Be the Sole SURVIVOR: Third time is a charm! If I can get past the first three or four votes I’m going all the way. Seriously!

Survivor: Philippines
Jonathan was a member of the Kalabaw tribe, consisting of himself, Katie Hanson, Sarah Dawson, Jeff Kent, Carter Williams, and Dana Lambert. Jonathan became targeted by Jeff and the other castaways on his tribe, as they did not want a returning player to win the game. However, Jonathan managed to stay safe when Kalabaw won the first Immunity Challenge. On Day 4, Jonathan managed to find Kalabaw's Hidden Immunity Idol from the top of the rice box. Things began to look up for Jonathan, as he formed a three-person alliance with Carter and Jeff, quickly turning Kalabaw into a men vs. women scenario. However, votes never had to happen, as Kalabaw continued their winning streak. On Day 11, Matsing was dissolved, and Kalabaw gained Denise Stapley, who joined the alliance of Dawson, Dana, and Katie. However, that same day, Kalabaw lost their first original member after Dana became ill and quit. Kalabaw lost the next two Immunity Challenges, and Jonathan helped to vote out Dawson and Katie.

When the two tribes merged on Day 17, Jeff and Carter quickly flipped over to the Tandang tribe members to target Jonathan. Jonathan attempted to talk Tandang members R.C. Saint-Amour and Michael Skupin into flipping, however Michael decided to vote Jonathan when Jeff approached him. At Tribal Council, Jonathan played his Hidden Immunity Idol out of nervousness that his allies had turned on him. R.C. received the next highest number of votes with 4, due to a split vote plan organized by Malcolm Freberg. After Tribal, Jonathan was furious his allies had betrayed him and considered himself alone on the island. Jonathan managed to pull out a come-from-behind victory at the Immunity Challenge, throwing plans to vote him out into a tailspin. At Tribal Council, the votes were split between Jeff and Pete Yurkowski, with Jeff leaving 5-4-1 (Jonathan threw a vote to Abi-Maria Gomes in an effort to spook her; had Jonathan voted with Carter, Denise, Jeff, and Malcom, the votes would have tied).

After Jeff's boot, the non-Tandang members realized that they needed to get rid of the 3-person alliance of Abi-Maria, Pete, and Artis Silvester. However, they managed to get Skupin to flip over and boot Artis in a 5-4 vote (Jonathan received votes from the other Tandang members). At the next Tribal, Lisa Whelchel joined the non-Tandangs, plus Skupin, and helped split votes between Abi-Maria and Pete. Abi-Maria played her Idol, sending Pete home in a 3-2-0 vote.

Lisa and Michael approached Jonathan with a Final 4 deal, feeling skeptic about working with Denise and Malcolm. Jonathan turned down their offer as he thought it was too early to make deals like that. At the Immunity Challenge, Abi-Maria shocked everyone when she won a crucial Immunity Challenge after receiving an advantage at the Auction. At Tribal Council, Jonathan campaigned for Denise and Malcolm to leave, saying that if they get to the end, they would end. However, Jonathan faced the consequences of rejecting the Final 4 Deal as Lisa and Michael joined Denise and Malcolm in voting out Jonathan in a 4-3 vote (only Abi-Maria and Carter voted with him).

At the Final Tribal Council, Jonathan addressed Michael, Lisa, and Denise, berating them all and even exposing Lisa's past as a teen star to the jury and other finalists, although he kept her secret while playing. In the end, Jonathan voted for Denise to win.

Post-Survivor
Jonathan Penner has written about his life-long love of horror film and what it means in the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Trivia

 * Jonathan is the second player to accept the Mutiny offer (right after Candice Woodcock did so on Survivor: Cook Islands).
 * Jonathan was the oldest member of the original Rarotonga tribe.
 * Jonathan holds the "record" for most cumulative votes against him over multiple seasons with 29.
 * Until Survivor: Redemption Island, Jonathan held the record for having the most votes against throughout a single season played with 15. Jonathan had previously broken the record which was held by Rory Freeman of Survivor: Vanuatu, with 14. Phillip Sheppard broke this record with 17. Later, on Survivor: South Pacific, Ozzy Lusth matched Phillip with 17 votes.
 * Jonathan mentioned his and Phillip's "achievements" during the Survivor: Philippines Final Tribal Council.
 * If votes negated are included, Jonathan holds the record for most cumulative votes against with 29.
 * On Survivor: Micronesia, Jonathan was the only original Malakal member to not receive any votes against them (because he was evacuated).
 * However, Amanda Kimmel played the Hidden Immunity Idol in I'm Gonna Fix Her!, negating the 4 votes against her.
 * Jonathan is the only contestant to compete against 1, 2 and 3 tribes during his tenure, and also the only contestant to compete in several seasons with more than two initial tribes.
 * Jonathan had in established acting career, including appearing as Detective Fellows in a 2004 episode of Arrested Development, prior to competing on Survivor.
 * Jonathan and James Clement are the only contestants to play three times and never reach the Final Four.
 * Both were evacuated once and voted off twice.
 * Both placed 7th in two of the three seasons they played.
 * They are two of four players to finish at the same position twice (along with Sandra Diaz-Twine and Candice Woodcock).
 * Jonathan is the only contestant to have won his first Individual Challenge on his third appearance on the show.
 * Jonathan is the second contestant in series history (after Ozzy Lusth) to return a third time without competing in either Survivor: All-Stars or Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.
 * He is the only returning player in Survivor: Phillipines to play 3 times.
 * Jonathan has the same birthday as Paschal English.
 * Like Shane Powers, Jonathan was cut from Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.
 * In both Cook Islands and Philippines, Jonathan did not receive votes at only one pre-merge and only one post-merge Tribal Council where he was eligible.