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David Wright is a contestant from Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X and Survivor: Edge of Extinction.

Though he was initially ostracized by his tribe for his anxious and paranoid conduct in the early days of Millennials vs. Gen X, David soon simmered and managed to pull off the blindside of the de facto leader of the Takali tribe, Paul Wachter, as well as find two Hidden Immunity Idols, one of which he used to blindside Lucy Huang. After the merge, his game quickly gained momentum. Despite losing ally Jessica Lewis to a memorable rock draw tiebreaker in a power struggle against his nemesis Zeke Smith's alliance, David's alliance quickly regained numbers and proceeded to systematically take out the opposing alliance. Ultimately, he was seen as too big of a threat to win, and David was blindsided by his closest ally Ken McNickle the night before the Final Tribal Council.

Returning as a tribe captain in Edge of Extinction, David started on the dysfunctional Manu tribe, where he formed a bond with Rick Devens and wanted Kelley Wentworth out early on, but failed to take out the latter due to his tribe's reluctance, notably with Chris Underwood leaking their plans. Despite losing Rick at the tribe switch, he survived until the merge where Rick returned. David was finally voted out at the final ten when Kelley and Wardog DaSilva's alliance decided to target him.

Profile[]

Retrived from CBS.com

Name: David Wright
Age: 42
Current residence: Sherman Oaks, CA
Occupation: Television writer
Tribe designation: Takali (Gen-X)
Three words to describe you: OCD, nervous, and paranoid.
Hobbies: 3D printing puzzles.
Pet peeves: Sudden, loud noises; people who don't use a turn signal; people who believe in ghosts and psychics; people who are late for dinner; people who incorrectly use the word "nonplussed;" people.
What does it mean to be a Gen-Xer? Gen-Xers believe in hard work, earning their rewards, and eating breakfast. Why does no one eat breakfast anymore?!
Personal claim to fame: Playing chess against Magnus Carlsen, the No. 1 ranked player in the world.
Inspiration in life: Mr. Spock [from Star Trek]. He's highly intelligent, logical, and has trouble fitting in.
If you could have three things on the island, what would they be and why? Beads, string, and polished stones to make fake Immunity Idols for other people to find.
Survivor contestant you're most like: I relate most to the guys who don't fit in such as John Cochran (South Pacific, Caramoan)—he's my intellectual equal with slightly larger muscles. I also relate to Joe Anglim's (Worlds Apart, Cambodia) puzzle-solving skills, but, unfortunately, not his full head of hair, or way with the ladies.
Reason for being on Survivor: I want to use Survivor as a tool to battle my insecurities and overcome my fears and anxiety.

Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? My weaknesses and flaws are my strengths. Because of my small size and lack of physical stature, people won't perceive me as a threat. I also have the most important Survivor trait one can have: paranoia. My eyes and ears will be at full attention, searching for any hint of a vote going bad for me. Chess has taught me to always look ahead, so I'm prepared to seize an opportunity when one presents itself. I won't let emotions and feelings stand in the way of reaching Final 3.[2]

Age: 44
Hometown: Philadelphia
Current residence: Sherman Oaks, California
Occupation: Television Writer
Previous season: Millennials vs. Gen X
Hobbies: Chess, 3D printing/making puzzles, and figuring out how to live forever.
Pet peeves: Sudden loud noises, people who don't use the turn signal, people who don't clean the lint trap after using the dryer, people who don't keep their dog on a leash and then act surprised when it jumps on me, people who believe in ghosts and psychics, and people who incorrectly use the word nonplussed. People.
Three words to describe you: OCD, nervous, and paranoid.
What's your personal claim to fame? Lasting 38 days of a 39-day Survivor game.
Who or what is your inspiration in life? Mr. Spock—he's intelligent, logical, and has trouble fitting in.
If you could have three things on the island, what would they be and why?
Paintbrush.
Paint.
Canvas to make fake advantages, clues, and fake Idols.
Which Survivor contestant are you the most like? I relate most to David Wright. That bald nerd just needs a hug.
What's your reason for being on Survivor? The first time I played I got a lot of unexpected growth as a person. This is my second chance and this time I'm going to earn the title of Sole Survivor!

Why do you think you'll "survive" Survivor? I am going to win Survivor by applying all of the skills and knowledge gained from my first time playing the game in which I lasted 38 days. I'm going to play even harder to outwit, outplay, and outlast![3]

Survivor[]

Millennials vs. Gen X[]

Starting off on the Takali tribe, David immediately came out as paranoid and small. His paranoia got to him early on and David made an attempt to find a Hidden Immunity Idol early on, but was unsuccessful and raised his tribemates' suspicion, causing him to be on the bottom of his tribe. He only succeeded in making some level of bond with Ken. After Takali lost the first Immunity Challenge on Day 4, David was certain that he was going home. He plead his case to the majority Takali Alliance, who decided to keep him and instead voted out Rachel Ako. The following day, David made another attempt to find the idol, and this time, was successful. The next day, David officially formed an alliance with Ken McNickle who he bonded with initially, and cemented their trust by showing Ken his idol.

On Day 8, a twist was introduced that had four people from each tribe come to a summit to represent their tribe. David went for Takali, along with CeCe Taylor, Chris Hammons, and Paul Wachter. During that summit, David noticed Paul's desire to always be the center of attention. He viewed Paul as the biggest obstacle to breaching the alliance in power, and even admitted it would not have been the worst-case scenario for his game if Paul was evacuated due to the heart attack Paul suffered at camp. On Day 10, David's alliance of himself, CeCe, and Ken planned to blindside Paul alongside Jessica Lewis, Lucy Huang, and Sunday Burquest following Paul inadvertedly straining his trust with Jessica. At that Tribal Council, a confident Paul was blindsided. After this move, the majority alliance planned to blindside Jessica, and Lucy attempted to take control of the vote, telling David and Ken what they would do. This move led David's alliance planning to blindside Lucy. At the Reward Challenge, David shocked everyone with his excellent performance and scoring the winning point for Takali. However, Takali lost the succeeding Immunity Challenge. For the first time David was not an immediate target, with Cece, Jessica, and Lucy all higher on people's radars due to either challenge performances or recent actions. David and Ken were forcefully approached by Lucy to vote out Jessica, so they warned Jessica to no avail since she believed her alliance would vote out Cece. At Tribal Council, David played his idol for Jessica, sending Lucy home.

With the knowledge that David's idol had been rehidden, the Takali tribe scrambled across camp to try and find it and David ended up finding it once again. Later that day, a Tribe Switch occurred, and David, CeCe, and Chris moved to the Vanua tribe, joining Michelle Schubert and Zeke Smith. After losing the next Immunity Challenge in which both David and Cece really struggled (much to Zeke's frustration as part of the minority with his game on the line), the Gen-Xers planned to vote out Michelle. Chris however bonded with Zeke over their ties with University of Oklahoma football (Chris as a player and Zeke as a fan) and knew he had to take out one of David's numbers. David was faced with a tough decision as to whether he should go with the majority against Cece or play yet another idol and save her. Ultimately David kept his idol and let Cece be voted out.

Over the next few days, David grew closer to Zeke, and even showed Zeke his idol to gain his trust. At the Reward Challenge on Day 16, David nearly cost his tribe the challenge. Despite this, they ended up finishing first. They would later follow a winning streak, winning the next three challenges. When the tribes merged into the Vinaka tribe on Day 21, a super-majority alliance was formed with David's alliance with Jessica and Ken, the majority Takali Alliance remnants of Chris, Sunday, and Bret LaBelle, and Zeke's minority millennial alliance with Adam Klein and Hannah Shapiro, going against the Triforce alliance of Michelle, Jay Starrett, Taylor Stocker, and Will Wahl. The three alliances banded together, eliminating Michelle and Taylor in the next two Tribal Councils.

At the Reward Challenge on Day 26, David mentioned that he thought no one would want him on his team because he of his poor swimming abilities. Despite this, everyone encouraged him to draw for a team, though David's team ended up losing the challenge. However, David won the next Immunity Challenge, to everyone's surprise. Despite David's success both in this challenge and the ensuing vote, this would be where David's threat status begins to emerge.

Despite successfully voting out Michelle and Taylor, the super-majority still had cracks in it, with Chris still targeting Jessica. David's alliance responded by teaming up with the minority to vote out Chris. After Chris' blindside, David told Bret and Sunday that even though he voted out Chris, it did not mean that he wanted them to go next. He later mentioned to them that he thought that Zeke was playing the best game, and that he should go next. Bret exposed this to Zeke, and the two aligned with Jay, Sunday, and Will to attempt to vote out David. However, in order to avoid a possible idol play by David, they decided to target Hannah. Zeke's former allies Adam and Hannah, however, teamed up with David, Jessica, and Ken, leaving the two alliances against each other. At the next Tribal Council, Bret and Zeke insulted and made fun of David's anxiety, which David described as a personal attack. Sunday's misdirection prompted Adam to tell David to play his idol for Ken, which ended up misfiring. After a tie between Hannah and Zeke forced a rock draw tiebreaker, David ended up losing Jessica, one of his closest allies.

Despite his alliance being outnumbered, Will approached David, saying that he was ready to blindside Zeke. David's alliance settled, and at the next Tribal Council, Will went with them and voted out Zeke (though Adam played his idol on Hannah just to be safe). After this move, more people were becoming paranoid of David, and Will attempted to get everyone to vote him out. However, Bret and Sunday joined David's alliance in voting out Will at the following Tribal Council, frustrated with the 18 year old's rash decision to flip on Zeke. The next day, both Adam and Jay plotted to eliminate David. However, Hannah managed to convince Adam to remain loyal, and the alliance instead voted out Sunday who Hannah was worried would take one of their spots at Final Tribal Council due to Sunday's status as a goat in Hannah's eyes.

On Night 35, David stayed up making a fake Hidden Immunity Idol and hid it, with Jay finding it the next morning. On Day 36, David claimed his second individual immunity, and a steak dinner reward. Jay used his Reward Steal advantage to steal the reward, but still picked David to join him, as well as Adam. At the reward, the three discussed the topic of who to vote out, and if the three should stick together for the Final Three. At Tribal Council, Jay played David's fake idol, while everyone else came together to send Jay out of the game.

With Jay gone, Adam began to separate from David's alliance and grew closer to Bret. The two attempted to get Hannah to flip on David. Despite this, Hannah stayed on David's side and voted out Bret, with Bret warning the others that they only had one shot left to take out David or that he would win. On Day 38, Adam and Hannah were both ready to blindside David, but while it seemed like David and Ken were settled on voting out Adam, Hannah convinced Ken to flip, and David was blindsided by his entire alliance.

At the Final Tribal Council, David asked the finalists what their motivation was for playing Survivor. In the end, David voted for Adam, who won in a unanimous 10-0-0 vote.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Takali Got to Choose Reward/Immunity No Lost
2 The Ocean Reward/Immunity No Won
3 Going Coconuts Reward/Immunity No Lost
4 Water Slaughter Reward No Won
Angry Chair Immunity No Lost
Switched Tribes, Day 13
5 Vanua Holy Diver Immunity No Lost
6 Blind Faith Reward No 1st
It's in the Bag Immunity No 2nd
7 Matt Finish Reward No 1st
Bail Out Immunity No 2nd
Tribes Merged, Day 21
8 Vinaka Fools in the Rain Immunity Lost
9 All Mixed Up Reward Won
Bo Diddley Immunity No Lost
10 Ferryman Reward No Lost
With a 10-ft. Pole Immunity Won
Slither Me Timbers Reward Yes Shared1
Rusty Gates Immunity Lost
11 Rope A Dope Reward Lost
Push Me, Pull You Immunity Lost
12 Wizard's Staff Immunity Lost
Pinball Wizard Immunity Lost
13 Tower of Power Reward/Immunity Won2
Draw the Line Immunity Lost
Operation Balance Build Immunity Lost
Voted Out, Day 38
Notes:
^1 David drew the odd-colored rock when the teams were being formed, and as a result automatically joined the winning team on reward without competing.
^2 Jay used his Reward Steal to steal David's reward before sharing the reward with him.

Episode David's
Votes
Voted Against
David
1 Rachel CeCe
2 Takali Tribe Immune
3 Paul -
4 Lucy -
5 CeCe -
6 Vanua Tribe Immune
7 Vanua Tribe Immune
8 Michelle -
9 Taylor -
10 Chris Individual Immunity
Zeke;
Zeke1
-
11 Zeke -
12 Will Jay, Will
Sunday Bret, Jay
13 Jay Individual Immunity
Bret Adam, Bret
Adam Adam, Hannah, Ken
Voted Out, Day 38
Voted for
Sole Survivor
Adam

^1 In "Million Dollar Gamble", the vote ended with a 5-5 tie between Hannah and Zeke, forcing a revote. David did not change his vote on the revote.

Edge of Extinction[]

David was one of four returnees to compete in Survivor: Edge of Extinction. David and fellow returnee Kelley Wentworth joined the Manu tribe. Unlike his first season, David quickly found himself in a majority alliance against outsiders Reem Daly, Keith Sowell, and Wendy Diaz. After losing the first Immunity Challenge, David wanted to vote Reem out, to which most of the tribe agreed. Reem tried pleading her case to David and Rick Devens, and she continued to plead her case at Tribal Council, but she was voted out first.

David began to form a bond with Rick, and they were both open for blindsiding Kelley. They also talked to Wendy, who said she'd be willing to vote off Kelley when they're ready. After losing the second Immunity Challenge on Day 6, Manu targeted Keith due to his weakness. Despite still wanting Kelley out, David joined the majority in voting Keith out that night.

After losing the third Immunity Challenge in a row, David, Rick and Wendy were all in agreement to voting off Kelley. David also convinced Chris Underwood to vote for Kelley, but not to tell Wardog DaSilva or Lauren O'Connell about the plan as they were closest to Kelley. However, Chris leaked the plan to Wardog who then spread a new plan to vote off Chris. Despite David still wanting Kelley gone most, he joined Wardog, Kelley, Rick and Lauren in blindsiding Chris.

On Day 9, a Tribe Switch occurred, and all the original Manu members left except Wendy were switched over to the new Lesu tribe. After losing the following Immunity Challenge, David decided he and Rick would vote for Lauren instead of Kelley in fear that Kelley had a Hidden Immunity Idol. With Kelley and Lauren against David and Rick, this left Wardog as the swing vote. Wardog decided to stick with Kelley, and David lost his closest ally Rick that night.

David was now left on the bottom of the Lesu tribe. Fortunately, Lesu managed to win their first Immunity Challenge on Day 13, saving David for another day. However, Lesu would have to return to Tribal Council on Day 16 alongside the new Manu tribe. The vote ended in a tie between Lauren and Wendy, but the group decided to unanimously vote off Wendy at the revote.

The three tribes merged the following day, but to their surprise, the six previously voted out players returned to compete in a reentry duel. Jeff Probst revealed that they'd been living on the Edge of Extinction waiting for their chance to return to the game. Ultimately, Rick won the duel and joined the new merged tribe. Rick gave David half of a Hidden Immunity Idol that he had been gifted as a reward for coming back, and the two continued their plan against the former Lesu members. However, amidst their conflict the Kama Six took the opportunity to blindside former Kama Joe Anglim due to his threat status.

Kelley confronted David and told him that Lesu needed to regroup and pull in Aurora McCreary to dethrone the Kama Six. However, Rick was not happy with the idea, as he was still hurt by Wardog for blindsiding him. Meanwhile, Wardog was taking the opportunity to convince members of the Kama Six to go against Ron Clark and Eric Hafemann since they were calling all the shots. At Tribal Council, David joined the majority in blindsiding Eric.

Despite voting differently, David and Rick wanted to rekindle their friendship and decide who'd get custody of the idol they'd previously split between each other. At Tribal Council, the two feared they were on the bottom, and Rick gave his idol half to David for David to play. However, the move proved to be in vain as Julia Carter had received the majority of votes, thus sending her to the Edge of Extinction.

Unfortunately, David and Rick were now at the bottom as Wardog's alliance had decided to target them. Unable to win immunity, David was voted out on Day 25 and sent to the Edge of Extinction. The next morning, David found an advantage for the next Immunity Challenge that he'd have to give to someone still in the game. He gave it to his ally Rick, who went on to win the Immunity Challenge.

On Day 35, David and the other castaways on the Edge of Extinction were given one last chance to reenter the game. David ultimately lost the reentry duel to Chris and was permanently eliminated from the game.

At Final Tribal Council, David voted for Chris, who went on to become the Sole Survivor in a 9-4-0 vote.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Manu Social Network Reward/Immunity No Lost
2 Serpent Turf Reward/Immunity No Lost
3 Losing Face Reward No Won
Beyond the Wheel Immunity No Lost
Switched Tribes, Day 9
4 Lesu Yank Your Hank Immunity No Lost
5 True Grit Reward No Lost
A Bit Dinghy Immunity No 2nd
Rod Screw-It Reward No Lost
In Through the Out Door Immunity No Lost
Tribes Merged, Day 17
6 Vata Audio Slave Immunity Lost
7 Planks a Lot Reward Lost
Keep on Your Toes Immunity Lost
8 Bo Diddley Immunity Lost
9 Squatty Probst Immunity No Lost
Voted Out, Day 25
13 Vata Don't Call It a Comeback Re-entry Lost
Eliminated, Day 35

Episode David's
Votes
Voted Against
David
1 Reem -
2 Keith -
3 Chris -
4 Lauren -
5 Lesu Tribe Immune
Wendy;
Wendy1
-
6 Kelley Kelley, Lauren, Wardog
7 Eric -
8 Julia Aurora2
9 Wardog Aurora, Gavin, Julie, Kelley,
Lauren, Ron, Victoria, Wardog
Voted Out, Day 25
9 On Edge of Extinction
10
11
12
13
Eliminated, Day 35
Voted for
Sole Survivor
Chris

^1 In "It's Like the Worst Cocktail Party Ever", the vote ended with a 4-4 tie between Lauren and Wendy, forcing a revote. David did not change his vote on the revote.
^2 In "I'm the Puppet Master", Rick used a Hidden Immunity Idol on David, negating 1 vote against him.

Post-Survivor[]

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Trivia[]

References[]

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X Castaways
 Adam
Vanua
S33 adam t
 Bret
Takali
S33 bret t
 CeCe
Takali
S33 cece t
 Chris
Takali
S33 chris t
 David
Takali
S33 david t
 Figgy
Vanua
S33 figgy t
 Hannah
Vanua
S33 hannah t
 Jay
Vanua
S33 jay t
 Jessica
Takali
S33 jessica t
 Ken
Takali
S33 ken t
 Lucy
Takali
S33 lucy t
 Mari
Vanua
S33 mari t
 Michaela
Vanua
S33 michaela t
 Michelle
Vanua
S33 michelle t
 Paul
Takali
S33 paul t
 Rachel
Takali
S33 rachel t
 Sunday
Takali
S33 sunday t
 Taylor
Vanua
S33 taylor t
 Will
Vanua
S33 will t
 Zeke
Vanua
S33 zeke t
Survivor: Edge of Extinction Castaways
 Aubry
Kama
S38 aubry t
 Aurora
Kama
S38 aurora t
 Chris
Manu
S38 chris t
 David
Manu
S38 david t
 Eric
Kama
S38 eric t
 Gavin
Kama
S38 gavin t
 Joe
Kama
S38 joe t
 Julia
Kama
S38 julia t
 Julie
Kama
S38 julie t
 Keith
Manu
S38 keith t
 Kelley
Manu
S38 kelley t
 Lauren
Manu
S38 lauren t
 Reem
Manu
S38 reem t
 Rick
Manu
S38 rick t
 Ron
Kama
S38 ron t
 Victoria
Kama
S38 victoria t
 Wardog
Manu
S38 wardog t
 Wendy
Manu
S38 wendy t
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