A biography for Michael Carbonarohasn’t been written yet.
“I was certain when I was about 10 years old that I was going to be a special effects artist or a make-up man. I loved that stuff and pursued it for quite some time, actually.”
“People are really willing to believe in impossible things, which is really beautiful.”
“Magic is really performing special effects live.”
“I went to NYU completely with the idea I wanted to be the next David Copperfield.”
“I'll order anything that has the word 'fig' or 'crusted' in the menu description.”
“I love acting on television and look forward to more roles, for sure. And I also love and need to perform live shows.”
“There's magic all around us: Our smartphones are magical, 3-D printers are magical. So I feel that as a magician, if I can pull off something that seems real and convincing enough that I can explain why it's happening and have people believe it, it really is fascinating. And funny.”
“I say 'incantation' a lot, when what I really mean 'incarnation.' It's a programmed mistake.”
“David Blaine, I think, was the first TV magician to really turn the camera around and make it about the spectator's experience. That's really what magic is all about.”
“I first started doing hidden-camera segments on 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno.' He was the coolest guy in the world to work for because he understands the creative process, and he had total trust. And he just let me make up whatever I wanted; I experimented and tried and played. We had a lot of fun over there.”
“I don't want to be 'the magician'; I want to be an innocent bystander along with the magical moment.”
“I am a hopeless mamma's boy.”
“Magic is like special effects live, and I love to perform, so it sounded like doing magic tricks were a good way to entertain people.”
“Growing up, I loved magic, I loved acting, I loved comedy. I really didn't know what direction I was going. I was trying a whole bunch of stuff.”
“When you're learning how to do magic, the first rule is 'never reveal a secret.' In a way, by telling someone I'm a magician, it kind of gives away the best secret of all... How interesting to take the magician out of the equation of a magic show.”
“I'm doing everything I can to take the magician out of the equation of magic.”
“The goal is to really blur the line. Can you perform a magic trick in a way that someone doesn't think it's a magic trick but is something amazing they haven't seen before? Then they have to wrestle with reality.”
“My goal was becoming the next David Copperfield. I learned how to be a performer by emulating him as a kid - his formula of just talking to people onstage, being free to improvise, being charming and witty with a crowd, together with great, beautiful magic.”
“I found that if I stack the moments correctly, people will believe in the most outrageous things.”
“I have heard I look like the guy from 'The Carbonaro Effect.'”