INTERVIEW: And now for his next act, Alexx Alexxander turns to Hollywood
Photo: Alexx Alexxander, a magician from Norway, will soon try to vanish the Hollywood sign. Photo courtesy of Brian To / Provided by Lobeline Communications with permission.
Master magician Alexx Alexxander is having something of a moment — actually call it an American moment. The Norwegian illusionist has enraptured audiences around the world, and now he’s making serious headways in the United States. A couple weekends ago he performed his unique brand of trickery at the world-renowned Magic Castle in Los Angeles, and his time in Southern California inspired him to develop what may be his most daring and most complicated illusion of all time: the disappearance of the famous Hollywood sign.
Alexxander plans to make those iconic letters of H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D disappear in solidarity with the writers and actors currently on strike in the movie and TV industries. Behind the oohs and aahs will be a meaningful message of one artist showing respect for an artistic community that’s currently facing many hardships.
The magician’s American journey began with the Magic Castle shows. This members-only club, sitting just above Hollywood Boulevard, is one of the swankiest VIP experiences in Los Angeles. Patrons — some of them guests who know someone who know someone — are decked out in elegant business attire, ready to enjoy some scrumptious eats and some jaw-dropping illusions. Stepping into the Magic Castle, which this reviewer has done a couple times, is like stepping back in time, or stepping into another dimension. Alexxander was completely taken in by the experience.
“To perform at the Magic Castle has really been a dream of mine,” Alexxander said in a recent phone interview. “It’s considered an honor to perform there. It’s such an iconic place. … It’s kind of like a real-life Hogwarts with Harry Potter. I had some guests last night, and they said it’s just like Harry Potter in real life. So it’s very, very cool. You can have dinner. The dress code is very strict, so you have to dress up. I think it’s perfect for my show. I like the feeling of needing to dress up and really going out like it’s old school. I think it works, especially for magic.”
Alexxander’s time in Los Angeles inspired him to think about that Hollywood sign. The illusionist heard about the ongoing writers’ and actors’ strikes, and he wanted to show his support in some way. That’s when the idea was born.
“What would Hollywood be without the movie industry, without the amazing actors and writers?” Alexxander asked. “It’s not about just Hollywood; it’s actually about the world, everyone, every TV show, every movie coming out of Hollywood. So I really feel for them, and this is something I could do with my art form, will illusions, with magic, to show support. We’re planning it as we speak, and of course the Hollywood sign is one of the most iconic, if not the most iconic landmarks in the world. So it’s a bit of a challenge, but I think me and my team, we have gone through everything. We have been working very hard to try to figure out ways to do this, and we’re very close. We are setting everything up to try to make this happen very, very soon.”
Alexxander said that Norway, where he grew up, is a mystical, magical place where illusions can be found in the natural beauty, but the actual art of magic is not practiced by a lot of people. He had to convince family and friends that this was a worthy endeavor.
“If you think about nature, like fjords, mountains, the forest, sure that’s very magical,” he said. “They say that we have trolls, so of course in a way you can say it’s magical. For magicians and magic in general, it’s not very big. I remember growing up, and people were asking me, ‘What will you do when you grow up? What do you want to do with your magic?’ And I said, ‘I want to do a big illusion show. I want to do my own show. I want to travel around in theaters and big venues and really be what I love to do.’ Everybody said that they didn’t think it would be possible in a country like Norway. It has never been done before. Why should I make it? Why should I be the one who pulled that off? I just talked to myself, well, I’m going to show you. That’s what I did. That was my goal — just to work hard and make that happen. I made it happen. I’m very glad and feel very blessed to be able to do that night after night everywhere. Now I’m not only in Norway anymore, but actually all over the world. But for me now coming to the States seems really like the right timing. I love America, so I’m coming here as often as I can. A lot of things are happening right now.”
For Alexxander, developing a magic trick can take years. He has the initial idea, but then it he needs a lot of time to test out every variable before presenting his art from before a paying audience.
“Stage illusions usually take one to two years to develop it, to test it before the finished result is ready,” he said. “It takes a lot of time, but I think for me I like the creative process. That’s one of the things I really like about pushing the limits, raising the bar. As a performer, I think you always should try to be not just good, but always try to be better. I think every time in every performance try to give the audience an experience they never had before.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
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