And now we move onto the curious case of David Wright, the television writer turned television personality.
David, when asked to select three words to describe himself in his bio, goes with: “OCD, nervous and paranoid.” Among his many pet peeves, David boils them all down to one essential ingredient: “people.” Not exactly the most confident signs ahead of a game that’s all about social strategy — and, to hear him tell it, it’s troubling for David as well.
“It’s a huge concern for me,” the Gen Xer admits during our call on Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X press day. “Honestly, I really don’t enjoy people.”
But David enjoys Survivor, so much so that he’s listened to podcasts about the show as part of his training, and has invested time and energy into solving puzzles previously featured on the show. As for the anxiety? He has a plan or two for that, too.
Click here to read David’s bio, and read on for our chat:
David: Hey, Josh!
Wigler: Hi! Who do I have?
David: You have David Wright.
Wigler: What’s going on, David?
David: Nothing much, man. This is really insane. Just to gush, I’m more used to hearing your voice while I’m running. Big fan of RHAP and your room, and the Evolution of Strategy, so…
Wigler: So you’re preparing for this in exactly the wrong way. You should not listen to a thing I have to say.
David: (Laughs.) Well, it’s a lot of information to absorb, but it’s helpful for me.
Wigler: How are you feeling right now?
David: I was telling someone the other day, that it feels like I’m waiting to wake up in a hospital bed and sit up, like I’m imagining it. This doesn’t feel like it’s happening. It’s been a huge dream of mine, so the fact that I’m here? It’s like, “What the f—.”
Wigler: Well, I hate to be that guy who tell you this is indeed a dream and it’s all over, but…
David: Ah, sh—. I knew you were just a figment.
Wigler: It’s the voices in your head. They’re real!
David: Seriously, that’s one of the questions on the psyche exam: “Do you sometimes think that the world isn’t real?” And I’m like, “Well, not until now.”
Wigler: Which leads me to three words you use to describe yourself: OCD, nervous, and paranoid.
David: I am a very anxious and nervous person. I just bought this book, called “Embracing the Fear.” I’ve only ready four pages of it, but I think I’ve got it. But that’s the thing I’m the most nervous about: my anxiety. That it’s going to wreck my game. You can’t wear that on your sleeve out there.
Wigler: What are you planning to do to combat that?
David: Well, I’m going to do my best to hide it. My strategy is to use the confessionals to really vent my anxiety and paranoia. One of the things I want to do… the more I know about what’s going on in the game, the better I’ll feel, so one of the things I want to do is make a fake immunity idol and hide it in the rice for somebody else to find. That’s one of my plans. Who knows what quote-unquote “fish” I’ll catch with it, but hopefully it’s someone I’m not aligned with, and I can watch them play it and go home.
Wigler: You just described someone who’s coming out here to scheme and plot…
David: But not scheming in the sense of Russell Hantz. That’s not me. I’m more of a John Cochran. It’s more a matter of controlling my anxiety and knowing more than anybody else about what’s going on. It’s impossible to measure that until you’re out of the game and you’re watching at home, but I at least want to feel like I know more than anybody else. So that’s one of the things.
Wigler: You’re a television writer. Does that benefit you in any kind of tangible way, coming into this game as someone who deals in storytelling for a living?
David: It’s funny. I debated about that in my head, whether I would even tell anyone in the game. I came to the conclusion that ultimately, it’s a good thing. Obviously, storytelling is great, and that will help at Tribal. But also, I’m most worried about those first few days. I’m a small guy.
Wigler: How small?
David: I’m like five-six and change.
Wigler: You and me both!
David: We’re kindred spirits. You’re a nerd and you don’t know anything about sports, right?
Wigler: I know that you share your name with a Met, and that’s basically it.
David: Exactly. (Laughs.) So I’m most worried about the beginning of the game. I think most people would think that a TV writing job is an interesting profession, so that might get me more attention early on, and I can form relationships early and avoid being voted first out. That’s obviously anyone’s fear going into this game. I will say that at the end, who wants to give a million dollars to a Hollywood TV writer, right? But I haven’t figured out a solution to that one yet. I’ll figure that out before Final Tribal.
Wigler: Even beyond that, I’m curious about the art of storytelling. Does that help you at all, in planning out strategy and crafting lies?
David: Absolutely. That’s the thing, too. When Joe went up to Peter [during season 32] and was like, “Are you trying to get me voted out?” And he’s like, “What was the question?” No, no, no. If you’re going to be going behind people’s backs, you have to have an answer ready, and it has to sound authentic. I do think it helps me. It helps me see the future, or imagine possible futures, and come up with solutions to any of the possible problems. Again, at Tribal, I think it’s helpful. I’ve seen every episode, but I was trying recently to bone up on Boston Rob, because he’s very artful in how he handles Tribal. Jeff recently said: “You either use me at Tribal, or you get used by me at Tribal.” I want to do the former.
Wigler: What’s your take on Probst so far?
David: I’ve met him twice. I met him for about 15 minutes with a couple of the producers at finals, and then the very next day I met him with CBS, for only 10 minutes. But he’s such a super cool guy. I have a man crush on Jeff Probst. The dimples are real. (Laughs.) I’m looking forward to it, but I do know those dimples sometimes go away at Tribal.
Wigler: You list “people” as one of your pet peeves. David, this is a concern for me. Is it a concern for you?
David: It’s a huge concern for me. Honestly, I really don’t enjoy people. I don’t like being touched. I’m not good at hugging.
Wigler: This is where we split ways. This is the fork in the road.
David: Oh, because you’re a hugger? (Laughs.) I wish I had that skill. Sleeping next to people outside… I’ve only been camping once, and it’s just not my thing at all. So I’m going to use the confessionals to vent all the time, all that energy and frustration. But it’s an issue for me, for sure.
Wigler: Are you worried about the game, physically?
David: You mean the challenges?
Wigler: And the survival aspect.
David: Yeah, I am. But I have to say… nobody’s told me where we’re going, but I’ve googled around and I think I have a pretty good handle on where we’re going, and it’s not Cambodia. I feel pretty good about the location if I’m right. As far as the physical challenges? I’m not the most physical, but I do run. I can run pretty fast. My biggest strength I can add to a tribe is that I can solve puzzles. I don’t know how much you know about me, but I’ve modeled Survivor puzzles on my computer and printed them out on a 3-D printer, including the flame puzzle Cochran won to get the final immunity in Caramoan. That one, I can solve in two minutes or less.
Wigler: So you’ve been practicing puzzles that have been on the show before?
David: Yeah — and I hope that’s not cheating…
Wigler: I don’t think that’s cheating. I think that’s smart.
David: Okay, thanks. I hesitated telling people about that. But I’ve worked on Cube Crisis and the tree puzzle. If you go on my Instagram, you’ll see a couple of them.
Wigler: Here’s the only drawback. Now that you’re talking about how you practiced your puzzle skills, if you go out there and you’re terrible at puzzles, you’re going to look like a jerk.
David: Ah, sh—! (Laughs.) Yeah, exactly. “Isn’t that guy supposed to be good at puzzles?” I really hope they repeat one of those. I don’t have them all committed to memory, but I have a big portion of them.
Wigler: Your hobbies include figuring out how to live forever. How are we doing on that?
David: You know what? So far, so good. Haven’t died yet!
Wigler: A million bucks could go a long way toward that effort.
David: Oh my gosh, it really would. I could get a personal trainer, a personal chef… (Laughs.) No, it’s stupid, but I do have this huge fear of death. I think about it every day. It’s awful. I think that’s why I’m drawn to Survivor. I think that’s why this show resonates with me so much. At the end of the day, it’s about cheating death.
Check back every day for another Survivor 33 pre-game interview.
PREVIOUSLY: Mari Takahashi
Josh Wigler is a writer, editor and podcaster who has been published by MTV News, New York Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Comic Book Resources and more. He is the co-author of The Evolution of Strategy: 30 Seasons of Survivor, an audiobook chronicling the reality TV show’s transformation, and one of the hosts of Post Show Recaps, a podcast about film and television. Follow Josh on Twitter @roundhoward.
Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X premieres on September 21.
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