A comedian … and a magician? Welcome to the world of top hat-wearing phenom Jack Grady, who sat down with us for Take 5 to talk about both of his passions. And that top hat.
You’re a comedian and a magician. How do you meld the two experiences?
I want to be everything on stage that I wish I was. In life, I’m a people-pleasing person. On stage, it’s something where I let go. With magic, people love to heckle and expose the tricks, so on stage I kind of embody this off-the-wall character that takes nothing from nobody. If you want to yell about how my trick is done, I’ll yell right back.
You hold the world record for fastest loss on America’s Got Talent. What was the experience like on that show?
I lasted 10 seconds. If you ask my partner Hannah, she’ll say that was a pretty good amount of time. It was probably the greatest feeling in my entire life. The four buzzers gave me a sense of power. I never had felt so much euphoria in my life. Despite people saying, It’s too bad how that went, I say the opposite. It couldn’t have gone better.
True or false. You’re the first magician to appear in a professional boxing match. Tell us about that.
True. A lot of magicians out there have very athletic builds. When the opportunity came across my table to be the first magician in a professional boxing match, I couldn’t pass it up. I have a dad bod, definitely not built for professional boxing. I signed up for it, and the main thing that helped me win is I got a very old-school boxing trainer. He hated it, told me I was an idiot. I won by knockout in Round 2.
How crucial is social media to your career as a comedian/magician?
The thing I love most is performing on stage and being an entertainer in this day and age, you have to have a social media presence. It’s not what I love most about what I do, but it’s essential. On the other side of that coin, I owe my entire career to social media. I am definitely a social media born-and-bred entertainer.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to jump into comedy, or magic? Or both?
I would say the biggest thing, the most pivotal thing, was joining and improv troupe. You quickly learn that what’s funny doesn’t need to be a joke in a traditional sense. You learn how to make a story funny in improv. With the magic side, I would really dive deep into books and reading. It’s not Googling stuff online, it’s the old dusty books from bookshops or libraries.
Jack also told us he’s ready to roll Saturday. “I’ve been looking forward to it for the last two months,” he said. To prepare yourself for a magical night of comedy, head on over to Jack’s TikTok, which has 1.2 million followers (that’s not a misprint). He’s also just as funny on Instagram and YouTube.
Take 5: JACK GRADY