Survivor Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Survivor Wiki

James "J.T." Thomas, Jr. is the Sole Survivor of Survivor: Tocantins. He later competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains and Survivor: Game Changers.

Beloved by fans and fellow contestants alike in Tocantins, J.T. commanded very strong loyalties, even to the point that some players explicitly stated that helping J.T. win the game was as important as, or more important than, winning the game themselves. His force of personality helped him become the first castaway to play a "perfect game".

He returned to a leadership role in Heroes vs. Villains. He formed the Heroes Alliance early on, and found a Hidden Immunity Idol, but was perceived as untrustworthy. Shortly before the merge, he made one of the biggest blunders in Survivor history by giving his idol to the infamous villain Russell Hantz, believing he was in trouble. However, this gave Russell and Parvati Shallow the resources they needed to blindside J.T. with his own idol immediately after the merge.

In Game Changers, J.T. settled into a comfortable position in the original Nuku tribe. However, a tribe switch put him on the bottom of the totem pole, which was exacerbated when he leaked Nuku's plans to the rival tribe Mana at the Joint Tribal Council, leading to his ally Malcolm Freberg's unexpected blindside. Despite being a challenge asset and finding a Hidden Immunity Idol, J.T. was voted off when Sandra Diaz-Twine correctly surmised his betrayal and led the charge to blindside him, while he once again made a blunder by not bringing his idol to Tribal Council.

Profile[]

Retrieved from CBS.com

James "JT" Thomas Jr. (24)
Hometown: Samson, Ala.
Occupation: Cattle Rancher

A cattle manager raised in Samson, Alabama, JT operates a registered Angus Cattle Ranch. In addition to preparing the land and working the cattle, this southern charmer is responsible for all the paperwork and marketing associated with running the business.

This ambitious 24-year-old gets fired up when people insult his intelligence and says "I'm not a dumb hillbilly, so don't think it!" However, this may be just the strategy that JT chooses to use and isn't above playing the "dumb and innocent country boy role" in an effort to gain alliances with the women. JT attended Troy University and is the first in his family to earn a Bachelors Degree. His is in business administration.

A true family man, JT values his relationships and will work towards forming alliances that will take him very far in the game. This strong country boy is competitive and determined and will use manipulation in order to help him succeed and ultimately win Survivor.

JT is single and currently resides in Mobile, Ala. His birthdate is June 23.[1]

James "JT" Thomas Jr. (25)

Tribe: Heroes
Hometown: Samson, Ala.
Current Residence: Mobile, Ala.
Personal Claim To Fame: "Being the first in my family to go to college and earn a degree."
Inspiration in Life: "My family."
Previous Finishes: Tocantins: Winner
Favorite Past Moment: "Winning the Final Immunity Challenge."
Previous Survivor He Respects Most: "Myself- I am my own hero, because of what I accomplished and how it brought my family together."
Previous Survivor He Respects Least: Jonny Fairplay (Pearl Islands, Micronesia)

Why Did He Come Back? : "It's the ultimate challenge, I couldn't pass it up."[2]

Age: 31
Hometown: Mobile, AL
Previously played on:
Season 18: Tocantins, Winner
Season 20: Heroes vs. Villains, Finished 10th
How have you changed since the last time you played? I've definitely been humbled. I have become a little more patient and I don't think I'm quite as gullible.
What skills do you bring to Survivor that will make you a useful member of the group and what skills have you been learning since you last played? I think I bring many skills to the table. I will always play with all my heart, which has allowed me to overcome many obstacles in my life. I plan to build a very strong team and lead them to the merge. From there, I'll have to play with the hand I'm dealt to the best of my ability.
What are you most proud of from the last time? My ability to understand that I would have to make a big move to win the game and my guts to act on it.
What, if anything, do you most regret? I most regret the moment I climbed down from the pole in the Immunity Challenge that led to my dismissal. I knew it would be hard to win, so I let myself climb down. If I hadn't climbed down, I could have held onto the pole for a lot longer. I let myself take the easy way out, which is hardly ever the best decision. Hunger and conditions clouded my judgment without me recognizing it.

How will you play differently this time? I will be more careful about picking my allies. More importantly, I will play a more aggressive Idol-tracking game, and a more determined and fierce challenge game.[3]

Survivor[]

Tocantins[]

Assigned to the red Jalapao tribe, J.T. was popular and well-liked by all his tribemates and his physical prowess in challenges made him very valuable to fellow tribe member Stephen Fishbach. As of Day 2, they created a rock-solid alliance and with the help of Taj Johnson-George became the power-players, eliminating Sandy Burgin, Spencer Duhm, and Sydney Wheeler back to back in Jalapao's three straight Tribal Councils.

Despite his persona and the various ways he benefited the tribe, J.T. was on the losing end when it came to tribal numbers. When Jalapao merged with Timbira, Jalapao was down in numbers 4-6. It was Coach Wade who approached him and Stephen to create a new alliance, known as the Warrior Alliance. Due to the medical evacuation of Joe Dowdle and Timbira slowly self-destructing, J.T. was able to play up his social game and play hard when it came to individual challenges, earning the respect of those voted out.

In the final few rounds of the game, J.T. began winning consecutive individual Immunity Challenges sending strategies into a tailspin after he became a target. Despite all this, the original alliance he created with Stephen was honored when J.T. took him to the Final Two over Erinn Lobdell. In the end, he became the eighteenth Sole Survivor by a vote of 7-0, winning in the series' second unanimous jury vote and becoming the first Sole Survivor to play a "Perfect Game".

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Jalapao A River, Run Through It Reward/Immunity No Lost
2 Basket Brawl Reward/Immunity No Won
3 Blind Leading the Blind Reward No Won
A Crate Idea Immunity No Won
4 Shoulder the Load Reward No Won
Try-Any-Angle Immunity No Lost
5 Dizziness as Usual Reward No Won
Water Mortar Immunity No Lost
7 When Pigs Fly Reward No Lost
Sandstone Shootout Immunity No Lost
Tribes Merged, Day 19
8 Forza Get a Grip Immunity Lost
9 Rock Block Reward Won
Rope-a-Dope Immunity Lost
10 Swiss Cheese Please Reward Won
Tocantins Shuffle Immunity Yes1 Lost
11 Jala-Powed Reward Invited
Snag, Drag and Bag Immunity Lost
12 Survivor Auction
Propellerheads Immunity Lost
13 Blind to Reason Reward Won
Chimney Sweep Immunity Won
14 Tarantula Immunity Won
Simmotion Immunity Won
Sole Survivor, Day 39
Notes:
^1 J.T. elected to sit out of the challenge to eat pizza.

Episode J.T.'s
Votes
Voted Against
J.T.
1 Carolina -
2 Jalapao Tribe Immune
3 Jalapao Tribe Immune
4 Sandy -
5 Spencer -
7 Sydney -
8 No Tribal Council
9 Sierra -
10 Tyson -
11 Sierra -
12 Debbie -
13 Erinn Individual Immunity
14 Taj Individual Immunity
Erinn Individual Immunity
Jury Votes
for J.T.
Brendan, Coach, Debbie,
Erinn, Sierra, Taj, Tyson
Sole Survivor, Day 39

Heroes vs. Villains[]

J.T. was assigned to the Heroes tribe due to being beloved in Tocantins. It was here that the farmer employed a far different strategy than his original season, creating conflicting deals with James Clement and Tom Westman. In the opening days of the competition, he was relatively comfortable within the tribe and nobody had begun to notice his intentions. Most of the tribe began to see him as their leader and tried to remain on his good side.

Just as it seemed that their rivals had the upper hand, after losing two consecutive Immunity Challenges, where Sugar Kiper and Stephenie LaGrossa were voted off the Heroes bounced back and won immunity. However, their luck ran out when they lost the next three Immunity Challenges, where Cirie Fields, Tom Westman, and James Clement were voted off. The now five-some were a force to be reckoned with and decided together that, after finding the Hidden Immunity Idol clue after winning a Reward Challenge, they would find the Idol together and use it to enable them to become the final five. J.T. upon returning to camp went looking for it alone and was caught by Amanda Kimmel, forcing him to reveal his find to the rest of the tribe. Some time later on, the Heroes began noticing that the men from the Villains were being systematically voted out, alluding to an all-female alliance. J.T. led his Heroes to the belief that if they were to give the idol to Russell Hantz and use it, they'll merge with a Villain on their side and still keep their final five deal.

J.T. wrote a note, wrapped it with the Hidden Immunity Idol and during the Immunity Challenge he handed it to Russell. When the tribes eventually merged, Russell stayed with the Villains and J.T. was blindsided after two idols were played at the first post-merge Tribal Council. He was the second of the four previous winners to get voted out, and only previous winner to get voted out after the merge.

At Final Tribal Council, J.T. asked Russell whether he considered the jury votes while he was playing the game and told him getting to the end is only half of the game, and that the other half is getting the jury to vote for you, and he asked Parvati and Sandra Diaz-Twine to explain their own games. He gave his jury vote to Sandra who won 6-3-0 vote, and became the first two-time winner in Survivor history.

During the Live Reunion Show, Russell showed everyone the letter he got from J.T. when he gave Russell the idol; in response, J.T. tried to burn the letter in a fire set up in front of the castaways and the audience, but Russell managed to retrieve it, and he won the award for the "Dumbest Move in Survivor History" for giving up his idol to Russell.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Heroes Battle Dig Reward No Won
Lock, Load and Light Immunity No Lost
2 A Crate Idea Reward/Immunity No Lost
3 Sumo in Mud Reward/Immunity No Won
4 Slip, Slide & Score Reward No Lost
Roll With It Immunity No Lost
5 Schmergen Brawl Reward No Lost
Blind Cube Crisis Immunity No Lost
6 Rope-a-Dope1 Immunity No Lost
Reward Yes Lost
7 Basket Brawl Reward No Won
Caught in the Web Immunity No Won
8 Fauxconut Bowling Reward No Won
Mud Slide Immunity No Won
9 Chimney Sweep Reward No Lost
Strung Out Immunity No Won
Tribes Merged, Day 25
10 Yin Yang Get a Grip Immunity Lost
Voted Out, Day 27
Notes:
^1 The tribes competed in separate individual Immunity Challenges where the winners from both tribes competed against each other for tribal reward.

Episode J.T.'s
Votes
Voted Against
J.T.
1 Sugar -
2 Stephenie -
3 Heroes Tribe Immune
4 Cirie -
5 Tom -
6 James -
7 Heroes Tribe Immune
8 Heroes Tribe Immune
9 Heroes Tribe Immune
10 Jerri1 Danielle, Jerri, Parvati,
Russell, Sandra
Voted Out, Day 27
Voted for
Sole Survivor
Sandra

^1 In "Going Down in Flames", Jerri used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating J.T.'s vote against her.

Game Changers[]

J.T. started on Nuku which won the first two challenges. He was the only member on Nuku to remain on Nuku after the Tribe Switch. He was joined by Mana's Malcolm Freberg, Jeff Varner, Aubry Bracco, Michaela Bradshaw, and fellow Heroes vs. Villains castmate Sandra Diaz-Twine. J.T. stranded his new tribemates out on the ocean while on a snorkeling trip in order to look for a Hidden Immunity Idol, but failed to find it.

On Day 10, he tried to convince Malcolm to target Sandra. On Day 11, Tavua won immunity, but the losing tribes, Nuku and Mana, had to go to a Joint Tribal Council and vote out one member instead of two. J.T. wanted Tai Trang out for being sneaky, but Sandra wanted Sierra Dawn Thomas out. At Tribal Council, J.T. leaked to Mana member Brad Culpepper that Sierra was the target and they should vote for Sandra. However, this backfired when Tai played his Hidden Immunity Idol on Sierra and Mana's votes sent Malcolm out of the game.

After returning from Tribal Council, J.T. was confronted of leaking their plan to Brad, but he denied it. The next day he managed to find a Hidden Immunity Idol. After the Reward Challenge, J.T. and Michaela squabbled over the latter's consumption of the sugar they had previously won. In order to keep the two fighting, Sandra ate the rest of the sugar, causing J.T. to accuse Michaela of the act.

Nuku lost the Immunity Challenge. J.T. talked to Aubry, Jeff, and Sandra about voting out Michaela. Aubry sided with him while Sandra plotted with Michaela to blindside J.T., so Jeff was the swing vote. J.T. decided not to bring his idol to Tribal Council. However, this backfired as Jeff sided with Sandra and Michaela, blindsiding J.T.

Episode Tribe
Affiliation
Challenge Challenge Type Sit-Out? Result
1 Nuku The Marooning Reward No Won
Blue Lagoon Bustle Reward/Immunity No Won
Serpent Turf Reward/Immunity No Won
2 Austin's Elemental Obstacle Course Reward/Immunity No 1st
3 Ram-Ball On Reward No 1st
Ow-Pairs Immunity No Lost
4 Unchained Medley Reward No 2nd
Box Car Blues Immunity No Lost
Voted Out, Day 13

Episode J.T.'s
Votes
Voted Against
J.T.
1 Nuku Tribe Immune
Nuku Tribe Immune
2 Nuku Tribe Immune
3 Sierra1 -
4 Michaela Jeff, Michaela,
Sandra
Voted Out, Day 13

^1 In "The Tables Have Turned", Sierra used a Hidden Immunity Idol, negating J.T.'s vote against her.

Post-Survivor[]

  • In the summer of 2009, J.T., along with the other first eighteen Survivor winners, appeared on a TVGuide special "Survivor Millionaires: Where Are They Now?".[4]
  • At the Heroes vs. Villains Reunion Show, J.T. won the award for the "Dumbest Move in Survivor History" for giving up his Hidden Immunity Idol to Russell Hantz, the leader of the Villains tribe who was not in any danger like J.T. thought he was.
  • When asked about his winnings in a 2011 interview, J.T. replied: "I bought my sisters some new cars and some of my sisters' kids; I decided to help them out with their school tuition costs. I also gave my mother and father some money to help them out, and the majority of it, I invested. I wanted to help my family out and because I have a lot of nephews and nieces, I promised my family I'd pay for my nephews and nieces to go to college one day. I'm just trying to invest in their future and give back to my family."
  • On January 9, 2010, J.T. attended Survivor's 10-year anniversary party along with all of his Heroes vs. Villains castmates.
  • In February 2010, J.T. appeared on Late Show with David Letterman as Top Ten List Presenter #3 along with nine of his Heroes vs. Villains cast mates.[5]
  • J.T. married his longtime girlfriend, Cameron, on April 12, 2015, with Tocantins castmate Stephen Fishbach as their wedding officiant.[6] In turn, J.T. attended Stephen's own wedding June 9, 2018.[7]

Trivia[]

References[]

Preceded by
Gabon
S17 bob t
Bob Crowley
Sole Survivor Titleholder
Tocantins
S18 jt t
J.T. Thomas
Succeeded by
Samoa
S19 natalie t
Natalie White
Survivor: Tocantins Castaways
 Brendan
Timbira
S18 brendan t
 Candace
Timbira
S18 candace t
 Carolina
Jalapao
S18 carolina t
 Coach
Timbira
S18 coach t
 Debbie
Timbira
S18 debbie t
 Erinn
Timbira
S18 erinn t
 J.T.
Jalapao
S18 jt t
 Jerry
Timbira
S18 jerry t
 Joe
Jalapao
S18 joe t
 Sandy
Jalapao
S18 sandy t
 Sierra
Timbira
S18 sierra t
 Spencer
Jalapao
S18 spencer t
 Stephen
Jalapao
S18 stephen t
 Sydney
Jalapao
S18 sydney t
 Taj
Jalapao
S18 taj t
 Tyson
Timbira
S18 tyson t
Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Castaways
 Amanda
Heroes
S20 amanda t
 Candice
Heroes
S20 candice t
 Cirie
Heroes
S20 cirie t
 Coach
Villains
S20 coach t
 Colby
Heroes
S20 colby t
 Courtney
Villains
S20 courtney t
 Danielle
Villains
S20 danielle t
 J.T.
Heroes
S20 jt t
 James
Heroes
S20 james t
 Jerri
Villains
S20 jerri t
 Parvati
Villains
S20 parvati t
 Randy
Villains
S20 randy t
 Rob
Villains
S20 rob t
 Rupert
Heroes
S20 rupert t
 Russell
Villains
S20 russell t
 Sandra
Villains
S20 sandra t
 Stephenie
Heroes
S20 stephenie t
 Sugar
Heroes
S20 sugar t
 Tom
Heroes
S20 tom t
 Tyson
Villains
S20 tyson t
Survivor: Game Changers Castaways
 Andrea
Nuku
S34 andrea t
 Aubry
Mana
S34 aubry t
 Brad
Nuku
S34 brad t
 Caleb
Mana
S34 caleb t
 Ciera
Mana
S34 ciera t
 Cirie
Nuku
S34 cirie t
 Debbie
Nuku
S34 debbie t
 Hali
Mana
S34 hali t
 J.T.
Nuku
S34 jt t
 Jeff
Mana
S34 jeff t
 Malcolm
Mana
S34 malcolm t
 Michaela
Mana
S34 michaela t
 Ozzy
Nuku
S34 ozzy t
 Sandra
Mana
S34 sandra t
 Sarah
Nuku
S34 sarah t
 Sierra
Nuku
S34 sierra t
 Tai
Nuku
S34 tai t
 Tony
Mana
S34 tony t
 Troyzan
Mana
S34 troyzan t
 Zeke
Nuku
S34 zeke t
Advertisement