Hand Jobs and Magicians
A behind-the-scenes look at magician hand doubles.
I was working on a TV magic show when I was twenty years old. One day, at lunch, one member of the magic team made a joke about how every magician remembers their first hand job.
My reaction might be the same as yours now.
But then the magician went on to tell the story of their first-hand job on a music video in the 1980s for a very famous pop star—a pop star you likely know.
Then one of the other people on the team shared the story of their first handjob for a Hollywood movie, and another told about a time they were in a TV commercial.
Magicians’ hands appear all over the place.
In movies, television shows, music videos, and commercials.
And they’re not always performing magic.
Sometimes, they’re just holding things… nicely.
In today’s article, we’ll look at some famous examples of magicians’ hands on the big screen, along with why magicians are the first choice for this kind of work.
Plus, I learned how a magician ended up playing the hand in the recent Tim Burton Wednesday series on Netflix. And why he may be carrying on a casting tradition.
Why Magicians?
There is a children’s TV show called LazyTown.
It first aired in 2004.
I was just nine years old.
Ten years later, I met Dan & Dave.
The Buck twins are prolific for kickstarting and championing the cardistry movement. You can even watch them teaching cardistry in well-produced videos for Great Big Story and WIRED. If you like what you see, you can meet them at their Cardsistry Con in London soon this year, which I plan on attending.
Anyway, I was shocked to discover that Dan & Dave doubled for the hands of the main character in the opening sequences of the children’s TV show, LazyTown. A cardist has since pulled clips from their segments and compiled them online.
