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"The things that had to line up cosmically for me to end up on Deal or No Deal are kind of crazy," David tells Parade in an exclusive interview. "I was hosting my own reality TV show at the start of last year called Rush, which was incredible, amazing experience for me. But we got canceled. We only got one season out of it. And another show that I host, a travel show, had sent me to the Caribbean for a couple of weeks. Poor me!"
Related: Everything to Know About Deal or No Deal Island Season 2
David won't be the only reality TV veteran competing in this relatively new format. Along with eleven newbies, he'll be joined by two former winners and outright legends of the genre in Parvati Shallow (Survivor, The Traitors) and Dr. Will Kirby (Big Brother). Despite the former players and island location, that's where the common DNA between Survivor and Deal or No Deal Island ends. Even just looking at ways contestants are eliminated, rather than being voted out at Tribal Council, every vote comes down a high-stakes edition of the case-based game show. But, despite being in relatively new territory, David was apparently still able to find plenty of connective tissue back to his previous success.
"And I think Deal or No Deal Island is a huge social game. [It has] a really big social component and a huge strategic component. And those were things that transferred really well for me from shows that I'd done previously. And that was the advantage I had, I think, going in from other shows. But then I was at a disadvantage because I'd done other shows, which was what was happening with Parv and Dr. Will. Because it's such a big target going in, and everyone was playing like they didn't know who Pav was. So it was like, 'Are they doing that to me? Are people recognizing me? They better be!'
Whether his competition recognizes him or not, David joins the very rarified air of making the crossover from Australian to American reality TV. The only person to do it before him was Nina Twine (ironically, an American herself), a two-time Australian Survivor contestant and daughter of Survivor legend Sandra Diaz-Twine who recently claimed victory in The Anonymous on USA. And, when asked for some fellow Survivor AU alumni to follow in his footsteps on DONDI, David stuck with what was most familiar to him.
David also mentions his close ally and Survivor AU fan-favorite Luke Toki. "He also is just someone that people want to be around. And that's a big part of being good at this game. You have to be someone that people want to be around. You want to do stuff for them that's maybe not great for your game."
Deal or No Deal Island premieres on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
Related: Boston Rob Mariano Reveals What Reality Show He'd Do Next After 'Deal or No Deal Island'
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