Seen as the Boston Rob Mariano of Australian Survivor, David Genat came to Deal or No Deal Island Season 2 to win. And not only did he do so, he walked away with the biggest cash prize in the history of network television! With strong relationships with nearly everyone in the game, his social prowess brought him to the end. Forming The Family with Parvati Shallow and Dickson Wong, David’s alliance couldn’t be penetrated, as much as his game rivals tried.
After defeating Courtney “CK” Kim and Alexis Lete in the final excursion, David went on to face the Banker, who was officially revealed to be Chrissy Teigen. Stressing out everyone at the Banker’s Temple, and watching from the comfort of their home, the Golden God made history with his incredible television moment. This life-changing moment has meant everything to him. He said, “I’ve been working my ass off for 25 years in entertainment, fashion, television, trying to make these things happen. Trying to make a television career for myself. A character for myself. The whole Golden God thing with Australian Survivor. And to get that opportunity to know I’ve won the show, and get to deliver, not just for the production and for the people who have made this show and put their heart and soul into this show, but also to validate, ‘Oh, I am actually really good at this,’ was so so good, just so validating.”
David Explains How ‘DONDI’

DAVID GENET: Michael, look at that backdrop!
COLLIDER: So fun, I wish I could be there.
DAVID: Well, I mean, hey, man, I got money now, so maybe we can take a trip.
COLLIDER: I’m here for it. Let’s go! Add another reality show victory to your resume. It’s the Golden God, David. Congratulations. How does it feel being a winner?
DAVID: Michael, well, it’s not the first time I won, so it’s not so much the win that is doing it for me. It’s just the sheer sum of money that I have won. Because it’s so overwhelming. It’s so epic. Every time you win, it’s great. And I came into NBC, and when I was casted for this, they were like, “You know, we think you’re the Boston Rob of Australian Survivor. What could you do for us?” And I was like, “I will do something you have never seen before on this show.” They were like, “Okay, dude.” And they gave me a shot, and I think I did that. Michael, what do you think?
COLLIDER: I think you did. Well, let’s start simple. If you could describe your experience in three words, what would they be?
DAVID: Spiritual, insanity, and luxury.
COLLIDER: Which game is harder, Survivor or DONDI?
DAVID: Oh, man. DONDI on a social and strategic level is way harder, but on a physical, just the no eating thing, it’s Survivor. I didn’t 50 days, bro. I lost like 16 kgs. I came out of DONDI looking like a million bucks. I think I actually put on a couple pounds of muscle. I was looking at some of my pictures in the finale thinking, “Man, I look really good there. What was that diet?” It’s just DONDI’s social and strategic game is so far beyond what you’ve got on Survivor because of that element with the briefcases. There’s so much, you can’t plan for anything, so the only thing you can rely on is your social game.
COLLIDER: Absolutely. Was there ever a moment that you truly felt vulnerable of being eliminated?
DAVID: Yeah, look, there was a couple of Temples. I was vulnerable for a couple of Temples, and you didn’t really see it in the edit, but the first one I was up for elimination with Luke [Olejniczak] playing, I felt very comfortable. Luke and I had a great relationship. I had done a lot of work with him so that he wouldn’t send me home. It kind of made it look like it was going to be me or Seychelle [Cordero], but it was never going to be me on that one. But I think there was one, two Temples down the road, where I was like, “Oh, if this blows the wrong way, this could be me.” But not really. I just felt very comfortable socially. And I know they talked about getting me out, but it’s one thing to talk about. It’s another thing to do it, you know?
COLLIDER: How did concealing your identity help you get to the end?
DAVID: Oh, man. There was a real anti-Survivor sentiment about Parvati. So from right off the bat, she was taking all the heat that I would have taken, and I could work with that behind the scenes a little bit. So people were confiding in me, having these things, because I’m pretending I don’t even know anything about Survivor, as you saw. But I was like, “What is Survivor? Who is Parvati?” They’d be like, “Oh, she’s rich. She won a million dollars,” and it became this real spiral thing. They did not want her winning money again. I was like, “Guys, that was 20 years ago. I don’t know, a million bucks doesn’t really go that far. I think everyone should have a chance to win this money,” but I could kind of see what they were thinking about her. They would tell me about it, and then I could avoid those same pitfalls. So it was a huge, huge advantage for me to keep a secret. But to keep a secret like that, I wiped out seven years of my life, bro. I was fully undercover, you know?
COLLIDER: Had the cast known about your Survivor past, how would you have adjusted your game?
DAVID: I just would have been like, look, everyone kind of had these little micro-secrets. You didn’t see a lot of them at a lot of them, but everyone was trying to keep a little something quiet. So Lete had been a WWE wrestler, and La Shell [Wooten] had a secret about her age. I think that was the theme coming into the show, is that everyone wanted to have this little kind of secret, or a thing they wanted to reveal. Even with CK, Will [Kirby] was trying to guess what she actually did. Will was hilarious. He’d be like, “If you really are a doctor, Courtney Kim.” He’d be doing these reveals on her real job. So everyone kind of had this little secret, and I was really just gonna play it off as like, “Well, that was my game! I was keeping this a secret. Of course, I wanted to do that.” I don’t know, man, I’m really good at cleaning up messes. That’s what makes me so good at competitive reality. I had some game plans and some things in place for each person on how I was going to break that news if it ever came out. There was a couple people that it was going to be harder to break that news to than others, because some people I had really deep relationships with that I knew would be hurt by that information, but it panned out.
David Discusses the Strength of His Social Game

COLLIDER: “When you’re here, you’re Family.” It was all about The Family this season. Why was forming the family your best path forward?
DAVID: Well, just purely because of how I look physically, I’m always going to be targeted, no matter whether I’m a Survivor player or what I am. I’m pretty good athletically. I can’t hide. So I need visible alliances, and I need people to know that people are playing with me. Because if I’m put off to the side, and they’re kind of like, “This guy. This guy is got to go.” I’m a big do, man. I’m, 6’3″, 230 pounds. I’m not hiding, playing under the radar ever. So I like to give people some constants, and the constants I’ll do is I’m gonna go 1,000% in challenges, and people are playing with me. We’ve got this big alliance, get on board or get out the way. And Parv was like the only shield I could have in the game, really. So the second we started kind of playing a bit visible together was perfect for me. And my whole thing was, you know, faking it. And they’d be like, “You know what she does, right? She’s the Black Widow, right? She’s going to cut your throat after a thing.” And I’d be like, “Really, oh, no, we’ll get her first. We’ll get her first, I promise.” And yeah, we just kind of pushed it through, trucked it through.
COLLIDER: You had a fun rivalry with Dr Will. What was it like being out there with him?
DAVID: It was great. It was really great. When we’re filming, it was horrible. I couldn’t stand him, but after that, I love Will. Like what Will can do for television and television moments. So I think one of the things that makes people good at reality is, you got to feel these TV moments as they’re happening. And Will is great at creating TV moments. So I would see those happening and be like, “Amazing. I’m not having to make it happen. Will’s making it happen. That’s good.” And you can jump at those opportunities. because that’s what’s hard, and I think that’s the advantage vets have. They’re like, “Okay, here’s 10 cases. Who wants the red one?” And like, your new players are going to be like, “Oh, boy, that’s not good.” When you’re a vet, you gotta be like, “I’ll have it. Like, for better or worse, I’ll take it. Oh, you want someone to volunteer for the challenge? I’ll do it.” And Will was able to do that and come in and cause a ruckus. But, yeah, actually playing with him in the game? Horrible. Fun to watch back, though. Fun to watch back.
COLLIDER: The big twist of the final excursion was a jury that had the opportunity to help you get to the final Bankers Challenge. You had excellent relationships with everyone in the game. Why was having a strong social game necessary for success?
DAVID: Look, strong social game in DONDI is the key, because there’s going to be times where someone wins a game and has a chance to put you out. Now, you need to give them a reason to want to keep you. And why would anyone want to keep you if you don’t have any kind of bond with them, or you’ve been arguing with them. You have to have a really strong social game. Far stronger than what you need in Survivor. Because on Survivor, you need a couple of close ones. I feel like in DONDI, you gotta make sure, when you’re going against someone, they’re gone, because if they stay in the game, and you’ve got agitators, it’s a problem. And just being able to really have good social skills and give people what they need in those moments. On that final challenge, people wanted validation. They wanted their game to be validated, to be a part of the finale. And that’s what I do well. It’s like validating people and making them a part of my win. So I just making sure I was really humble going through there, really good energy for them as I came out. I had good energy going to that. I was so happy for myself, and I was like, “I’m just gonna make them feel good.” I need those high cases, make them feel good. And I think I managed to do that.
COLLIDER: The reality is karma came back to bite CK, so she was kind of out of that challenge. Did you think it was going to be as close as it was between you and Lete?
DAVID: Look, I knew I was going to smash the physical part of it, especially when I saw monkey paws. I was like, “Oh, I’ve done this before. Great. So this is right up my alley.” But the case decisions really came down to relationships and being able to read people. La Shell didn’t tell me which case, right? But looking into her eyes, she’s like, “What case is for you, is meant for you.” I hovered my hand, and once she just gave me this tiny little smile. So I’ve got the ability to do those relationships. Now, I knew CK was going to be in for hell. That whole thing had really shifted against her at the end of the game. And it’s this wave that’s kind of, it’s an intangible wave that’s really hard for the audience to see. But social pressure really shifts. And the social pressure had really shifted against CK. She had really become the target in the game, the villain in the game, after Will had gone. And it was really easy to kind of stoke that fire and perpetuate that thing. And again, CK was pretty open about having money, right? So Will was doing the same thing. And people don’t like that in this game, you know? They were like, “Oh, Parvati’s rich.” Pav won a million bucks 20 years ago. This is the one thing I wasn’t ready for is, there was that thing of the poorest person deserves it, which I was like, “Oh no, I do not agree.” But you know, you had to play it. You had to play to that card, because there’s 10 people in there that really needed that money, really wanted that money.

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David Felt Validated By Winning ‘DONDI’

COLLIDER: What did it mean to you to be the last one standing, and up against this life-changing moment?
DAVID: I mean, everything, man. I think it’s going to be easy, probably, for people to go, “Oh, he’s just gotten lucky on this last case game.” But I’ve been working my ass off for 25 years in entertainment, fashion, television, trying to make these things happen. Trying to make a television career for myself. A character for myself. The whole Golden God thing with Australian Survivor. And to get that opportunity to know I’ve won the show, and get to deliver, not just for the production and for the people who have made this show and put their heart and soul into this show, but also to validate, “Oh, I am actually really good at this,” was so so good, just so validating. And it felt amazing. And then, on top of that, I knew I was going to walk away with some really good money.
COLLIDER: Chrissy Teigen seemed to have a lot of fun as the Banker. What was it like? Bantering with her?
DAVID: So fun. Chrissy is so nice. She’s like, so, so nice. And I felt like the banker, you know, is supposed to be staunch. You know, “You’re an idiot for making that move.” And Chrissy, a couple of times, would be like, “What do you think about that, David?” She’d be like, “Oh, that’s too mean. I shouldn’t say that.” I’m like, “Do it!” She’s just so nice, man. And she just played the role really, really perfectly. So she looked like such a baddie up on that chair.
COLLIDER: Talk to me about this battle. You left it to the last two cases. You were driven by numbers. Were you always going to leave it to the last two cases, or did the offers sway you?
DAVID: Oh, man. No, I wasn’t planning on going all the way to the last two cases, but I wasn’t walking away with anything less than that. I just had that mindset, I know it’s going to sound crazy, Michael, but I was having a real spiritual experience out there. I just really felt my father’s presence, my dad’s presence out there, and I knew where that money was, and I was going to get it. So even though it just felt Iike had confidence, and I was seeing stuff as it was happening was really bizarre, man. It was like an out-of-body experience. I don’t know how to explain it was like some kind of supernatural thing. I just felt confident the whole time. I knew where I was going, what cases I was picking. And even when I was picking the higher cases, I didn’t feel stressed, because I knew where the $12.2M was. So it was easy to move through that, and then obviously, as those numbers come up, I’m like, “Oh boy.”
COLLIDER: You stressed out the peanut gallery. Did you hear them as you were going through it? Or, or were they just background fodder?
DAVID: No, I definitely did. I was looking to my friends out there. La Shell had been a really good support base for me. Obviously, Parv had been such a good support base for me. And you need that up there because you really feel like it’s so intense that moment of being up there. Especially when you’re playing for real money. And La Shell, I called her the Oracle on the island, because she just knows stuff, man. She has that real presence about her. And she would be real calming, because there would be times where I’m like, “Oh boy, that’s a lot of money,” and you feel that stress coming on, and I kind of look and Parv would be smiling, and La Shell would have this really calming face, and I’d be like, “Okay, no, no, you got this. Believe in what’s going on. Believe in the moment and what’s happening.” And I just kind of pushed through it from there. I actually thought Will was going to be against me the whole time, so I devised this thing in my head where I was hoping Will would be like, “Yeah, take that deal, David. Take it!” And I’d be like, “No deal!” We would play off each other a little bit, but he became a believer after a while, and I was like, “You’re not supposed to be doing that. You’re supposed to be the villain. I’m the hero this time!”
COLLIDER: Well, it was so much fun watching you. I don’t know. Maybe there’s the DONDI to The Traitors pipeline for you next. I don’t know, but I can’t wait to see what happens for you. Congratulations.
DAVID: I’d be a great Faithful, Michael.
COLLIDER: You sure would. I think it would be an amazing watch.

Deal or No Deal Island

Release Date

January 13, 2024

Showrunner

Matt Kunitz

Directors

Joe Guidry

Franchise(s)

Deal or No Deal