There’s a “Survivor” in Our Midst

Boston College Law School student Charlie Davis has been a longtime fan of the TV show Survivor. The cross-country runner’s aspiration to be more than a watcher developed right away, turned into determination and, finally, into reality when he was cast in the latest series, Survivor 46, premiering February 28, on CBS.

“I applied every year starting in 2020,” Davis said. “When I found out I got selected for season 46, I was so shocked and elated. It was such an amazing feeling. The casting process took about six months with lots of interviews, IQ tests, psych evals, etc. Tens of thousands of people apply!” 

Davis, alongside 17 other castaways, started what he calls “the adventure of a lifetime” in Fiji last summer filming, and competing for the Sole Survivor title, in the award-winning reality series, now in its 24th year.

Divided into tribes, the players face a number of challenges requiring various levels of physical stamina, mental ingenuity, gutsiness, and emotional resilience. As the competition heats up, the castaways vote each other off the island, ultimately leaving a jury of defeated castaways to choose the Sole Survivor deserving of the $1 million prize.

“My passion for Survivor really took off at BC Law,” Davis said. “I have made so many friends through a shared love of the show. We have all gotten together for weekly watch parties on Wednesdays since my first year, and it is so surreal that this spring we’ll be watching me on screen!” 

A third-year law student and staff writer for Boston College Law Review, Davis received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University where he was a two-time cross country team captain.

That sport is one of the strengths Davis emphasized on the Survivor’s video shot of him before the series filming began. “Running is a really, really hard sport,” he said. “So, I’m hoping I can use that experience putting myself in pain and discomfort because that’s ultimately the name of the game—you just keep lasting.”

Davis will graduate law school in May and start his working life. So, when else, he asked himself last June, “am I going to get to survive on an island? In Fiji? That’s why it’s the perfect time to be out here taking this crazy risk.”