Chris Cox (born 21 January 1984 in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

) is a mentalist magician – a self-proclaimed " mind reader who can't read minds". On television he stars in "Chris Cox's Mind Blowing Magic" on

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

& BBC iPlayer and is "The Geek" in the award-winning ''

Killer Magic ''Killer Magic'' is a British reality television series that shows five magicians competing against each other in tasks. A pilot aired on 1 April 2014 with a full series to follow on 24 March 2015. It is narrated by Matt Edmondson. The five co ...

'' on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

. He also stars in touring stage show

The Illusionists The Illusionists is a touring magic production which features a rotating cast of 5 to 8 magicians who all specialise in specific branches of magic from stage illusions to mind reading to escapology and comedic magic. Scheck, Fran"'The Illusionists ...

and in the West End in ''

Impossible Impossible, Imposible or Impossibles may refer to: Music * ''ImPossible'' (album), a 2016 album by Divinity Roxx * ''The Impossible'' (album) Groups * The Impossibles (American band), a 1990s indie-ska group from Austin, Texas * The Impossibl ...

''. He is the only mind reader in history to play Broadway, London's West End and Sydney Opera House. In his radio career Chris was the writer and producer for

Matt Edmondson Matthew Edmondson (born 27 December 1985) is a British television and Sony Award-nominated radio presenter, best known for his work with BBC Radio 1 and ITV2. Edmondson currently presents the weekend afternoon show Fridays, Saturdays and Sund ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

; the assistant producer on ''

The Chris Moyles Show ''The Chris Moyles Show'' is the title given to two differing versions of a radio programme hosted by Chris Moyles, originally broadcast as Radio 1 Breakfast from 5 January 2004 to 14 September 2012 before transferring three years later on 21 ...

''. Chris stars as The Mentalist in

and has performed as part of their 2015 season at the Moon Palace Arena in Cancun, 2018 sold out

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

tour at The Grand West Arena (

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

) and The Teatro at

Montecasino Montecasino, popularly shortened to ''Monte'', is a leisure and casino complex in Fourways, Sandton in Gauteng, South Africa. It was designed by American company Creative Kingdom Inc. and built by South African architects Bentel Associates I ...

Johannesburg and the 2018 US Tour performing at venues such as Starlight Theatre (Kansas City, Missouri), Fox Theatre (St. Louis) and Bass Performance Hall. In December 2018 & January 2019 he starred in

Australian Tour at

Canberra Theatre Canberra Theatre Centre (CTC), also known as the Canberra Theatre, is the Australian Capital Territory’s central performing arts venue and Australia’s first performing arts centre, the first Australian Government initiated performing arts c ...

, Sydney Opera House. Queensland Performing Arts Centre and

Regent Theatre, Melbourne The Regent Theatre is an historic former picture palace built in 1929, closed in 1970, and restored and reopened in 1996 as a live theatre in Collins Street, in the city of Melbourne, Australia. It is one of six city theatres collectively kno ...

. For spring 2019 Chris headlined The Illusionists Experience at the Eldorado Showroom in Reno before returning for an unprecedented third West End run this time in London's Shaftesbury Theatre with The Illusionists Direct From Broadway. Chris is now the only mind-reader in history to have played Broadway, London's West End and Sydney Opera House. During the 2019 Holiday Season Chris made his Broadway Debut in The Illusionists - Magic Of The Holiday's at the

Neil Simon Theatre The Neil Simon Theatre, originally the Alvin Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 250 West 52nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was built for ...

on Broadway during which he was a guest on NBC's

Today show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It w ...

. In 2020 he embarks on another US Tour with

In 2018 his

and BBC iPlayer series "Chris Cox's Mind Boggling Magic" launched with ten episodes where Chris reads the minds of children and some of the stars of

The Dumping Ground ''The Dumping Ground'' (also informally referred to as ''The DG'') is a British children's television drama series that focuses on the lives and experiences of young people who live in a children's home with their care workers in care. The s ...

including

Annabelle Davis Annabelle Davis (born 28 March 1997) is an English actress. She portrayed Sasha Bellman in the CBBC series ''The Dumping Ground'' from 2015 to 2022, and from 2023, she is set to play Lacey Lloyd in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. She ...

. Chris starred as Muddles alongside her father,

Warwick Davis Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. He played the title character in ''Willow'' (1988) and the ''Leprechaun'' film series (1993–2003), several characters in the ''Star Wars'' film series (1983–2019), most nota ...

as Muddles in Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

Pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

New Victoria Theatre The New Victoria Theatre in Woking, England opened in June 1992. The main theatre seats approximately 1,300 people, making it one of the largest receiving house theatres outside London. In addition to the main theatre the complex also conta ...

in 2016. Cox performed his first major show – entitled ''Chris Cox He Can Read Minds?'' – at the

2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was the 59th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Events 2006 was the first Fringe following the introduction of the new legislation banning smoking indoors. During a photocall at the Assembly Rooms for a play in which ...

. Cox's second show, ''Everything Happens for a Reason'' ran at the

Gilded Balloon Gilded Balloon is a producer and promoter of live entertainment events, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and best known as one of the Big Four venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each August. The company has its origins in a venue kno ...

during the 2007 Fringe before a one-off performance at the

Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamber ...

in London's West End. His show ''Chris Cox : Control Freak'' premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Pleasance after which it had a UK Tour and finished with a performance at the Southbank Centre in London. He also performed with Frank Skinner, Jonathan Ross, Tim Minchin and featured on the television programmes

The Culture Show ''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015. Early history Launched in November 2004, t ...

and

The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show f ...

Revealed. His next major show, entitled "Chris Cox: Mind Over Patter", was premiered at the King Dome of the Pleasance during August 2009. It was met with 5 star reviews and gained Cox the Fest Buzz Twitter of the Year Award. Cox took highlights of the show to the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

for a weekend of shows in September 2009. During the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe, he took part in

Mark Watson Mark Andrew Watson (born 13 February 1980) is a British comedian and novelist. Early life Watson was born in Bristol to a Welsh mother and English father. He has younger twin sisters and a brother, Paul. He attended Bristol Grammar School, ...

's 24 Hour Show performing various mind-reading stunts including the prediction of

Simon Amstell Simon Marc Amstell (born 29 November 1979) is a British comedian, writer and director. He wrote and directed the films '' Carnage'' (2017) and ''Benjamin'' (2018). His work on television has included presenting '' Popworld'' and '' Never Mind th ...

's choice of date in ''Blind Date''. While at the Edinburgh Fringe, he also played the role of Eric Randolf in the Fringe First award-winning ''The Hotel''. ''Mind Over Patter'' went on to tour the UK in Spring 2010 before an extended, sell-out run at the 2010 New Zealand Comedy Festival. Cox performed at The Herald Theatre and read the mind of

Rove McManus John Henry Michael McManus (born 21 January 1974), better known by the stage name Rove McManus, is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the e ...

as part of the televised gala. He performed a final version of the show at the Udderbelly in London's Southbank Centre in May 2011 before replacing the show with a new one for the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The 2011 show for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was called "Fatal Distraction". The show weaved a love based narrative around never seen before mind-reading stunts. It gained a collection of five star reviews before embarking on an international tour. Fatal Distraction won the 2011 Venue Magazine award for Best Comedy Show, beating Daniel Kitson (3rd) & The Bath Comedy Festival (2nd.). The show toured as part of the New Zealand Comedy Festival in Auckland & Wellington in 2012 picking up rave reviews. It returned for sell out dates to the Udderbelly in London in Spring 2012, 2013 and again in 2014. During one performance Chris ended up on the shoulders of Jonathan Ross as part of a trick. Cox performed as part of Robin Ince & Friends at the 2009 TAM London event and again at TAM 2010 supporting his friend Tim Minchin. He appeared as part of Dick & Dom's Funny Business on BBC Two in February 2011. He produced a documentary on Minchin for BBC Radio 1 in December 2011. Cox and Minchin appeared together in an article about their friendship in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

in Spring 2012. He also produced Dan and Phil's Guide To Happiness for BBC Radio 1 along with creating the show My Playlist and producing the likes of

Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...

Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). Sh ...

, Jared Leto, Joss Whedon, Little Mix and others. In 2012 Chris was invited to perform on the main stage at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

, Latitude Festival and

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

. In April 2012 it was announced that Cox was developing a television show with SyFy with the working title of The Chris Cox Project. In 2014 Chris starred in

's Killer Magic. In 2014 he appeared with

Heston Blumenthal Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with u ...

on Heston's Recipe For Romance for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, this was the start of Cox's creative relationship with Blumenthal. He is a creative consultant for Heston and the team at

The Fat Duck The Fat Duck is a fine dining restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, England. It is run by celebrity chef proprietor Heston Blumenthal. Housed in a 16th-century building that had previously been the site of the Bell pub, the Fat Duck opened on 16 Aug ...

. For five weeks over the summer of 2015 Chris starred in the new West End show ' Impossible (magic show)' at the

Noël Coward Theatre The Noël Coward Theatre, formerly known as the Albery Theatre, is a West End theatre in St. Martin's Lane in the City of Westminster, London. It opened on 12 March 1903 as the New Theatre and was built by Sir Charles Wyndham behind Wyndham's ...

to rave reviews. He went on to tour the show round the UK in 2016 as well as star in second West End season before taking the show to

Dubai Opera Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat, multi-format, performing arts centre, which is located within The Opera District in Downtown Dubai. It was developed by Emaar Properties to host a variety of performances and events including theatre, opera, ballet, c ...

Kallang Theatre Kallang Theatre is a 1,744-seat theatre in Kallang, Singapore. Located at 1A Stadium Walk, Singapore 397689 within the Singapore Sports Hub, beside Leisure Park Kallang and Stadium MRT station, Kallang Theatre is managed by Sport Singapore. Origina ...

(Singapore),

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

and a Christmas Season at the

Smart Araneta Coliseum The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. Nicknamed as "the Big Do ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. He was also the theatrical magic consultant for

Barnum (musical) ''Barnum'' is an American musical with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart, and music by Cy Coleman. It is based on the life of showman P. T. Barnum, covering the period from 1835 through 1880 in America and major cities of the wor ...

Menier Chocolate Factory The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat off-West End theatre, which comprises a restaurant, bar and rehearsal rooms. It is located in a former 1870s Menier Chocolate Company factory at 53 Southwark Street, a major street in the London Boro ...

, Dan & Phil's Amazing Tour Is Not On Fire and Dan & Phil's 2018 World Tour, Interactive Introverts. He is the Magic & Illusions Assistant For

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Thorne. Previews of the play began at the Palace Theatre, London, on 7 June 2016 as a two-part play, and it p ...

Palace Theatre, London The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. Its red-brick facade dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus behind a small plaza near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road. The Palace ...

. On December 17, 2023, he performed at

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...

, as the mentalist for

. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' has called him "One of the most exciting entertainers in Britain" and '' Time Out'' once said he "does tricks that would make Jesus proud".Arthur, Tim
"Chris Cox Everything Happens For A Reason Preview"
, ''Time Out'', November 2007

Colin Murray Colin Murray (born Luke Wright on 10 March 1977) is a Northern Irish radio and television presenter. In 2010, he became host of BBC Television's '' Match of the Day 2'' on BBC Two, while still anchoring shows on BBC Radio 5 Live, including '' 5 ...

was the co-director of his early stage shows, and was once a

flatmate A roommate is a person with whom one shares a living facility such as a room or dormitory ''except'' when being family or romantically involved. Similar terms include dormmate, suitemate, housemate, or flatmate ("flat": the usual term in Briti ...

of Cox. Outside of the world of magic Cox works alongside

on TVOD for ITV2, produced the documentaries 'The Story Of Tim Minchin', 'Scott Mill's Perfect Christmas Single' and Dan & Phil's Guide To Happiness for

. He produced the Mayor Of London's New Year's Eve Fireworks, was the Programme Associate for

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

's show 'Now You See It'. and created the viral hit, Wolverine The Musical for

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

Cox left his producers post (of The Matt Edmondson Show) at BBC Radio 1 in 2015.

References

External links

Chris Cox's websiteInfo about Cox's 2007 Edinburgh Show from Broadway BabyChris Moyles Show Running Order talking about CoxDetails of Cox's 2009 Festbuzz Award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Chris 1984 births Alumni of the University of Bristol Television personalities from Bristol English magicians Mentalists Living people British comedians