Survivor birthday: John Cochran (South Pacific, Caramoan) turns 31

Proving that there is no such thing as a prototypical Survivor player, John Cochran celebrates his 31st birthday today with a legacy against all odds.

Player: John Cochran
Occupation: Comedy writer
Hometown: Washington, DC
Seasons: Survivor South Pacific, Caramoan
Tribes: Savaii (Red Buff), Te Tuna (Yellow Buff) in South Pacific, Bikal (Purple Buff), Enil Edam (Green Buff) in Caramoan
Finished: 8/18 in South Pacific, Winner of Caramoan

When fans of Survivor think of the “superfan nerd” character type, to a person, more often than not, they think of John Cochran. Love him or hate him, he created a specific type of character casting can look at in each season, knowing they’ll have the perfect combination of confessional oration and an underdog, come-from-behind story that a sizable chunk of the audience at home can root for.

When we were first introduced to John Cochran, we were treated to a player who looked the most uncomfortable being outside in nature. His affable self-defeating nature helped garner some social graces with his Savaii tribe in Survivor South Pacific, as they could have easily voted him out early in the game. He was allowed to stay in long enough to blindside his own tribe at the merge, voting with the Upolo tribe. However, as soon as the numbers dwindled, Cochran was the last to go from his original tribe.

No, the best version of John Cochran we got to see was in Survivor Caramoan. Being a known commodity as one of the Favorites, he was able to reconnect with old alliance partner Dawn and throw out strong, sassy confessionals while elevating his play in all regards. Whether he was calling people so boring that being called vanilla “would be a disservice to vanilla,” circumventing tribal lines, dictating votes and winning three Individual Immunity Challenges, John Cochran proved anyone can become a talented Survivor player.

Cochran, known for his gift of gab, has since moved passed Survivor (even if he still shows up at the reunion most seasons). He has become a comedy writer for CBS, working on We’re The Millers, Kevin’s Last Stand and is developing and creating a show of his own. It just goes to show that it doesn’t matter how divided audiences are about you; talent is talent.

Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking All 34 Sole Survivors By Season

We at Surviving Tribal would like to wish John Cochran a happy 31st birthday!