Culture | Dynamo: Magician Impossible

(Shirt: Pierre Balmain @ Closet Case, Trousers: Dior Homme, Boots: Chanel)

What’s the most ridiculous/priceless reaction you’ve ever gotten to one of your tricks?

I’ve had a girl faint on me before and Pharrell Williams who is one of the coolest people in the world ran off screaming like a girl!

Music and fashion has always gone hand in hand but you have a great interest in style… where does that come from?

I’ve always been interested in music and fashion and both play a big part in my magic from how I look to the music we use on the show.

(Jacket by Givenchy)

Who is your favourite designer?

I love Givenchy, I recently went to Paris to see their show and was lucky enough to have dinner with Riccardo Tisci which was immense

Much like comedy had a resurrection, magic is in the process of going through one but what made people turn off it in the first place? Was it the high camp of Vegas style magic or the po-faced inaccessibility of people like David Blaine, or something else entirely?

I think everything comes in cycles and for years magic was seen as something cheesy and I think TV shows didn’t help change that perception, but people like David Blaine and David Copperfield showed there was another way and I believe they helped pave the way for someone like me, who approaches magic very differently, to come through.

(Shirt: Neil Barret @ Closet Case, Jeans: Dior Homme, Shoes: Christian Louboutin)

You’ve been doing magic for a very long time… what keeps you excited about your craft?

I love what I do, I have worked so hard to get where I am today and I still get a buzz off seeing people’s reactions to my magic. I genuinely think I am one of the luckiest people in the world as every day my job is to make people smile.

Magician Impossible mixes street magic with performing for celebrities. Which do you prefer to entertain and why?

Both, to me it is all about the reaction you get from people, whether that be Samuel L Jackson who appears in my new series, or a kid in township in South Africa, it’s all about getting that response from people.

(Vest: Calvin Klein, Braces: Chanel, Trousers: Neil Barret @ Closet Case, Shoes: Christian Louboutin)

Has people wanting to know everything and being able to find most answers online ruined the wonder of magic? And how do you get an audience past that line of thinking?

People are afraid of what they don’t understand – it’s human nature, but it gives me the drive to make the magic better. There are two types of people, those that take the magic for what it is and those that feel they need to find an explanation, but as long as they are talking about the magic that’s all that matters.

What’s the next goal you’d like to achieve?

I’d really like to take my magic to the stage and do a tour, that’s the next goal.

Dynamo: Magician Impossible, Thursdays, 9pm on Watch Channel

Interview: Taylor Glasby

Photograhy: Elliott Morgan

Photography Assistant: Edward Cooke

Stylist: Aiden Connor

Hair: Magdalena Tucholska using Bumble & Bumble

Make up: Emma Broom using MAC

Dynamo has wowed audiences with his illusions, everything from street magic with a deck of cards to grand scale magic, such as walking across the Thames or through a plate glass window. He’s captured it all in his show, Dynamo: Magician Impossible, which took him into homes across the world and returns for its third and final series. Fiasco caught up with him to talk fashion, celebrity and, of course, magic.

Dynamo, aka Steven Frayne, is softly spoken and, to be kind of fluffy about it, a very sweet man. Little seems to faze him and the boy from Bradford, who battles daily with Crohn’s Disease and began learning magic from his grandfather, has become one of the UK’s best working magicians. Last year he was promoted within the prestigious Magic Circle to Associate of the Inner Magic Circle, while his TV series picked up several awards for Best Entertainment Program. With an eye on conquering ever further afield, Dynamo might soon be coming to a stage near you.

You’ve been coming up with bigger and better magic with each series and now you’re on the final Dynamo: Magician Impossible, what has been the greatest challenge about putting the illusions together?

I always want to come up with new ways to amaze the fans and I always have so many ideas, the greatest challenge is sometimes convincing my manager Dan and our insurers!

When you’re working on making the show, where does inspiration come from? Is there a fellow professional or family member you like to bounce ideas off or ask advice from?

I can get inspiration from anywhere, I love superhero films and they are great to get new ideas from, so this year has been great for me with Iron Man, Spiderman and Wolverine all out. I keep my iPad next to my bed and I sometimes wake up in the night with an idea that I write down immediately, but anything can spark off a thought that I will take away and develop.