Enjoy my magic, don’t speculate: Cyril Takayama

He can behead himself, pull out stuff from billboards, hang in the air, and even pull out money from fountains. And, American-Japanese magician Cyril Takayama, likes to call himself a magician and not an illusionist.

“Some magicians like to categorise themselves as illusionists, mentalists, comedy magicians and a lot more. But, I like to do it all. So, I’m a magician and what I do is magic,” says the 38-year-old.

Takayama rose to fame through the internet, and acquired the title of a cyber magician. “I feel completely honoured as the title was given by my fans because I was the first magician to really go viral on the internet,” says the performer, who recently visited India to promote his show, Cyril’s Family Vacation, which airs on AXN, and also features his magician family — cousin Tiny, uncle Richard and grandma Magi.

Ask him what he enjoys doing more — TV shows, street or stage shows — and he says, “I prefer stage shows as I can take my audience into a magical journey. TV, however, is a different experience as you have to build a story in short 3-5 minute performances,” says Takayama, who is a fan of magicians David Copperfield, Houdini, and 70’s magician Doug Heny.

When it comes to magic, people usually try to bust a performer’s trick. So, how does he deal with that? “My acts are to entertain people. It’s like when you watch an amazing action scene with the hero hanging from a building, you don’t think how the scene would’ve been shot, instead, you enjoy it for what it is. That’s my magic. There’s definitely a trick to what I do, but don’t try doing that, just enjoy it,” he says, adding that though people have tried to speculate his tricks, he has never been caught.

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