I was an only child. We were so poor, my parents and I had the same room.

I discovered that magic tricks got me more attention from the girls in my class when I was nine - so a magician was born!

The real secret of magic lies in the performance.

I used to fly around the stage without strings or camera tricks. That took seven years to create.

Magic has been something I've been really good at since I was really young. The ability has always come easy to me, I'm not sure why.

Everyone understands cards and relates to it. They have them in their homes and in their hands, so it makes them very accessible.

I got to watch Frank Capra, in his eighties, in action. You read all the stories about Frank Capra fighting with the head of Columbia, Harry Cohn, "It's my way or the highway." I got to watch that. He lambasted me, "You cannot do this. You will fail." Finally, after another hour of conversation, I convinced him to help me write the speech.