David

David
Biographical Information
Appearances	Short film
Status	Alive
Profession	Hospital orderly
Role	Main Character Protagonist
Reason Tested	Not appreciating his work as an orderly
Portrayed by	Leigh Whannell

“	I'm a glorified janitor. I clean up after sick people.	”
	— David talks about his profession

David is a fictional character from the Saw franchise as well as the main protagonist of the original short film. He was portrayed by Saw writer and co-creator Leigh Whannell.

Biography

Abduction

David was a young man, who worked at a hospital as an orderly. However, he wasn't really happy with his work as he only saw himself as some sort of a "glorified janitor." His arrogant attitude ultimately got him targeted by a serial killer known as Jigsaw. One day, David was about to leave the hospital after the end of his shift. However, while he was waiting for the elevator, he was suddenly approached from behind by an unknown person, who knocked him out with a bludgeon and took him to an abandoned building. (Saw)

Test

David wakes up in the trap

When he woke up, he found himself to be strapped onto a chair and had a metallic device placed on his head. He immediately panicked and tried to free himself from the chair, but stopped when a TV turned on next to him. A mechanical ventriloquist puppet appeared on the screen and told him that the device on his head was hooked into his upper and lower jaw and would rip his head apart if he didn't manage to free himself within 60 seconds. It also revealed that the only key was in the stomach of his supposedly dead cellmate.

When the TV turned off, David panicked again. However, the timer of the trap just started to count down when he freed himself from the chair, which caused a metal pin to be pulled out of the trap, resulting in its activation. Seconds later, he saw the lifeless body of his cellmate. He initially hesitated to cut open the body. However, when he realized that the man wasn't dead but merely paralyzed, he grabbed a knife lying next to him and stabbed him multiple times until he died. With only a few seconds left, David searched his stomach for the key and eventually managed to get free, only moments before the trap was activated. Horrified by these events, David began to cry, when the mechanical puppet slowly approached on a tricycle. It congratulated him for his survival and told him that he now knew how to appreciate his life. (Saw)

Interrogation

David is interrogated

Following his test, David went to the police to make a testimony. However, due to the blood on his clothes and his labile state of mind, he was handcuffed by the officers. Afterwards, he was interrogated by a detective who asked him about what happened to him. Additionally, he wanted to know if David had any enemies at the hospital and knew who could have done this to him, which he denied. However, instead of trying to calm him down and being objective, the detective put David under pressure and even rebuked him when he learned from David's initial report that the man he had to cut open had still been alive at that point. Ultimately, this caused David to burst into tears, suffering a mental breakdown. (Saw)

Trivia

• The scene of David's test is almost identical to the scene of Amanda Young's test in the first Saw movie.
• Adam Stanheight, one of the main characters of Saw, was portrayed by Leigh Whannell, the same actor who played David.

Appearances and References

Films
Saw	Saw II	Saw III	Saw IV	Saw V	Saw VI	Saw 3D	Jigsaw	Spiral	Saw X
Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent	Absent