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. Michael Carbonaro artisteffectlove Change image and share on social
It's very exciting to take magic into a new direction, whereas a lot of times magic comes from a place of sort of ego, like, 'Look what I can do that you can't do.' It kind of comes across that way a lot, and you're always trying to challenge the magician; you're always trying to figure out how the magician is doing it. Michael Carbonaro challengedirectionego share on social
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. Michael Carbonaro convinceexplainfascinate share on social
People are really willing to believe in impossible things, which is really beautiful. Michael Carbonaro beautifulimpossiblepeople Change image and share on social
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. Michael Carbonaro amazeblurgoal share on social
I went to NYU completely with the idea I wanted to be the next David Copperfield. Michael Carbonaro completelycopperfielddavid Change image and share on social
My goal is to get people to really believe that the impossible is real, and not that I'm responsible for it. I want them to believe that they're having the most unusual, magical and bizarre days of their lives. Michael Carbonaro bizarredaygoal share on social
Alan Funt was the first hidden-camera magician. It was the playful nature of the way he worked that really inspired me. A lot of prank shows and hidden-camera shows can be a little mean-spirited. Funt was never like that. Michael Carbonaro alancamerafunt share on social
I don't want to be 'the magician'; I want to be an innocent bystander along with the magical moment. Michael Carbonaro bystanderinnocentmagical Change image and share on social
I found that if I stack the moments correctly, people will believe in the most outrageous things. Michael Carbonaro correctlyfindmoment Change image and share on social