Network 10
Once known as Survivor Australia’s self‑proclaimed ‘Golden God’, David Genat is now running the show. The former villain and winner returns for Australian Survivor: Redemption, taking the torch from Jonathan LaPaglia this time as host – a dream role he tells WHO he was “born to play”.
Ahead of Australian Survivor for 2026, he spoke with us about surviving rigorous shoot days, why this season is packed with “diabolical” drama, and the one piece of advice he’d give any future contestant.
Read below for the full transcript…
WHO: It’s your first time hosting. What does it mean to you to now be such a big part of Survivor’s legacy?
David: I mean, it’s a dream come true. It’s really interesting, because Survivor completely changed my life as a contestant – it changed the direction of my life financially, because I won so much money, and it really changed so many things for me. To be able to now take the helm of the show, be the face of the show, is just unbelievable. It’s a dream come true. I have to pinch myself. I think there’d be multiple times we’d be driving to set, and because you hear those iconic lines – like, I’ve watched so much Survivor, I’ve seen so much Survivor, played so much Survivor – so then to be able to stand up there and be like, “Survivors, ready?,” is completely surreal.
WHO: Filming must be intense. Are the hours long? What’s that like?
David: Yeah, it’s pretty arduous. But I love it, so it’s one of those things where when you enjoy what you’re doing it’s really fun, but the hours are insane. The days we were doing tribal councils, we were starting at 6am and finishing at 11pm. They’re long, long, long days. But that’s how committed the crew are.
WHO: Did hosting come naturally to you?
David: It took a lot of preparation. I studied acting. I studied theatre in New York for about four or five years. So my career trajectory was to go from modelling to commercials to acting. I was going to be a dramatic actor, you know? I wanted to do some theatre, I wanted to do some television. And then when I was asked to play Survivor and become a reality TV contestant again, I was a little bit like, “Oh, okay,” but I took that on almost as a role myself. That’s where that whole Golden God character came from. I wanted to perform for people on the show, and I know it’s reality TV, but I wanted to be a villain, I wanted to do diabolical stuff, and I wanted to be that character for television. So that yearning to want to act and perform was still there, and through my shows I just learned how to kind of perfect it, I guess. And then nobody knows more about Survivor than me, I’m being honest. I’ve played it enough. I’ve watched it enough. It feels like the role I was born to play, 100%.
WHO: And like always, there is of course going to be a little bit of drama. So how would you rate the drama for this season?
David: Well, just a little bit of drama. (laughs) No, there is so much drama this season. It’s amazing, because the players were… there was so much at stake. They were really taking the redemption theme to heart. People wanted their redemption — whatever that meant to them in their own personal journey. But people were taking the game really personally, and I love that. The stakes are so high – there’s half a million dollars on the line – and nobody wanted to let anybody else decide their fate in the game. Everyone was playing really hard. And of course, that makes for explosive drama, especially at tribal councils. The guys were going at each other, and it was just so fun to have a front‑row seat. I mean, there is some diabolical stuff this season.
WHO: What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone wanting to come on the show?
David: When you first walk out on Survivor, it’s so intimidating, especially for people who have never made television before. You’re staring at a bank of like 100 people who work on the show, and you have this deer-in-the-headlights moment. Sometimes people don’t – they shy away from that moment. And you’ve got to remember that in the bounds of this social game, where people are telling you what to do and trying to manipulate you, you can’t shrink away from the moment. You don’t want to be at home watching the show and not get seen because you didn’t do anything, you didn’t say anything interesting, you weren’t a part of the game. Put yourself in the game.
(Australian Survivor: Redemption Premieres Monday, 23 February At 7.30pm On 10)
