Benjamin Hart (born 19 October 1990) is an English magician. In 2007, he was awarded the "Young Magician of the Year" award by The Magic Circle. Hart has worked on British television and is an inventor and designer of magic tricks and stage illusions. In 2014, he starred in ''

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 ...

. Hart was a finalist on ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloqui ...

'' in 2019.

Television career

In 2014, Hart wrote and starred in ''

'' on

which was awarded "Best Non-Competitive Reality Show" at the

National Reality Television Awards The National Reality TV Awards also known as Reality TV Awards or NRTA is an annual award show produced by the IEG Global and National Media Group . The awards show became the first ever awards ceremony to launch in both the UK and US to celebrat ...

. In 2016, Hart starred in ''Ben Hart's Life Hacks'' on

the first episode of which was directed by

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 ...

, and later ''Ben Hart's Life Hacks with The Voice'' which saw him pranking the celebrity judges of ''

The Voice UK ''The Voice UK'' is a British singing competition television series. Created by John de Mol, it premiered on BBC One during the spring television cycle on 24 March 2012. Based on the original '' The Voice of Holland'', and part of ''The Voice ...

'', including

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singer ...

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer and actress. Her debut studio album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?,'' was released in 2009 and was certified double platinum in the UK. The album spawned the sin ...

and Ricky Wilson of the

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

. Hart also appeared in a regular slot within ''Now You See It'' on

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, ...

hosted by

Mel Giedroyc Melanie Clare Sophie Giedroyc (; , born 5 June 1968) is a British actress, comedian and television presenter. With Sue Perkins, she has co-hosted series including ''Light Lunch'' for Channel 4, ''The Great British Bake Off'' for the BBC and c ...

. Other television credits include ''The Sorcerer's Apprentice'' for

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 ...

, ''Lorraine'', ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...

'' for

where Hart teleported a human to the top of Broadcasting House, '' Partners in Rhyme'' hosted by

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (born 25 April 1944) is an English professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach. He has appeared as head judge on the television dance programmes ''Strictly Come Dancing'', a programme where various celebrities c ...

for

, and ''ASAP'', and ''

Umagang Kay Ganda ''Umagang Kay Ganda'' (, also known as UKG) was a Philippine morning show that aired on ABS-CBN from June 25, 2007, to May 5, 2020. Prior to broadcast stoppage and the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was aired every weekday mornings from 5:00 ...

'' live in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He has also presented his favourite music videos on

Myx Myx (, stylized as MYX or myx) is a Philippine pay TV channel based in Quezon City, owned by Creative Programs Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation. The channel is targeted to youth audiences and primarily airs music videos. It was intr ...

. For

BBC Click ''Click'' (formerly ''Click Online'') is a weekly BBC television programme covering technology news and recent developments in the world of technology and the Internet, presented by Spencer Kelly and Lara Lewington. It was created by then BBC pr ...

and

Objective Productions Objective Media Group (OMG), previously known as Objective Productions, is a media company that produces shows in comedy, comedy drama, entertainment, factual entertainment and Magic. It has produced shows including '' The Cube'', ''Breaking Ma ...

, Hart created the "world's first 360 magic trick" for the Royal Television Society. Hart has also performed his magic live on the radio for

BBC Radio One 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, ...

and has created advertising campaigns for

Trident A trident is a three- pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and historically as a polearm. The trident is the weapon of Poseidon, or Neptune, the God of the Sea in classical mythology. The trident may occasionally be held by other mari ...

Nicorette Nicorette is the brand name of a number of products for nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) that contain nicotine polacrilex. Developed in the late 1970s in Sweden by in the form of a chewing gum, Nicorette was the first nicotine replacement p ...

Costa Coffee Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse chain with headquarters in Dunstable, England. Costa Coffee was founded in London in 1971 by Sergio Costa as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. I ...

, and Sky TV. He has appeared multiple times on

This Morning (TV programme) ''This Morning'' is a British daytime magazine programme that is broadcast on ITV1. It debuted on 3 October, 1988 and is broadcast live every weekday from 10:00am to 12:30pm across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The programme featu ...

. In 2019, Hart auditioned for series thirteen of ''Britain's Got Talent''. His first round aired on 11 May 2019, and he was later selected by the judges as one of the 40 acts to perform in the live semi-finals. On 30 May, he won the public vote at the fourth semi-final and competed in the final against 10 other acts on 2 June. He came in third place on the show. During the judge's feedback,

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams, is an English comedian, actor, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series ''Little Br ...

described Ben as "the living embodiment of magic". In September 2019 Hart competed in the second series of BGT: The Champions but was eliminated after one performance. In January 2020 Hart appeared in America's Got Talent: The Champions.

Theatre

Hart has written and performed 5 solo shows, each premiering at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He is known for his unusual performance style that mixes unusual, original magic with storytelling and theatricality, his performance style having been described as somewhere between Hannibal Lecter and Tim Burton His shows include: *''The Outsider'' (2013) (directed by Anthony Owen, the executive producer of Derren Brown) which was nominated for the Time Out and

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

TO&ST cabaret award. *''The Vanishing Boy'' (2014) (co-written by Al Joshua), *''Belief?'' (2017) which was a total sell-out and appeared on

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

's list of top magic shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2017. *''The Nutshell'' (a highly unusual magic show inspired by the work of Frances Glessner Lee) which was critically acclaimed, running at the Edinburgh Fringe 2018, The

Adelaide Fringe Festival The Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between mid-February and mid-March each year, i ...

2019 and will return to Edinburgh for 2019. *"Wonder" (2020) A 65 Date UK tour Since 2015, Hart has performed as part of ''Impossible'' produced by Jamie Hendry, playing two seasons at the

Noel Coward Theatre Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places *Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community *1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, British ...

in London's West End,

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 ...

, Singapore, and

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 ...

in the

. He has also performed his act at

The Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

and

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-s ...

Magic consultant

As a magic consultant and

illusionist Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

, Hart has written and created magic tricks and special effects for TV, theatre and film. His credits include ''Trick Artist'' 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 ...

starring Benjamin Earl, ''The Egg Trick'' starring Ian McKellen, ''Killer Magic'' for

, BBC1's ''Now You See It'', and ''

Not Going Out ''Not Going Out'' is a British television sitcom that has aired on BBC One since 2006, and has 12 series making it the second longest running British sitcom (in series) behind the longest running sitcom worldwide, Last of the Summer Wine. It sta ...

''. Hart is the co-author of "The Darkest Corners", a specialist book for magicians that explores some of Hart's routines and performance theory. In the world of theatre, Ben Hart's special effects design credits include: * Magic Goes Wrong by Mischief Theatre and

Penn and Teller Penn may refer to: Places England * Penn, Buckinghamshire * Penn, West Midlands United States * Penn, North Dakota * Penn, Oregon * Pennsylvania ** Penn, Pennsylvania * Penn Lake Park, Pennsylvania * Penn Township (disambiguation), several muni ...

* ''The Exorcist'' directed by

Sean Mathias Sean Gerard Mathias (born 14 March 1956) is a Welsh actor, director, and writer. He is known for directing the film '' Bent'' and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York City, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney. ...

, *''I and You'' directed by

Edward Hall Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was also sever ...

, *''A Christmas Carol'' (2017) adapted by David Edgar for the Royal Shakespeare Company, *''

Fanny and Alexander ''Fanny and Alexander'' ( sv, Fanny och Alexander) is a 1982 period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman. The plot focuses on two siblings and their large family in Uppsala, Sweden during the first decade of the twentieth century. ...

'' by

Stephen Beresford Stephen Beresford (born c. 1972) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for writing the play ''The Last of the Haussmans'', produced by the National Theatre in 2012, and the 2014 historical comedy ''Pride'', which won the Queer Palm ...

The Old Vic The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, not-for-profit producing theatre in Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Theatre. In 1871 it was rebuilt and reopened as the Royal ...

, *''Dracula'' by The Touring Consortium *''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...

'' (2017) adapted by

Jack Thorne Jack Thorne FRSL (born 6 December 1978) is a British playwright, television writer, screenwriter, and producer. He is best known for writing the stage play '' Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'', the films '' Wonder'' and '' Enola Holmes'', ...

and starring

John Boyega John Adedayo Bamidele Adegboyega (born 17 March 1992), known professionally as John Boyega, is a British actor and producer. He first rose to prominence in his native Britain for his role as Moses in the sci-fi comedy film ''Attack the Block' ...

for

, *''WILD'' (2016) by Mike Bartlett at the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

, *''Wonderland'' by

Gyles Brandreth Gyles Daubeney Brandreth (born 8 March 1948) is an English broadcaster, writer and former politician. He has worked as a television presenter, theatre producer, journalist, author and publisher. He was a presenter for TV-am's '' Good Morning ...

(a musical about the life of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...

) *''Out of My Head'' (2013) by

Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and somet ...

, *''The Arthur Conan Doyle Appreciation Society'' by

Steven Canny Steven Canny is an Executive Producer for BBC Studios Comedy and has written a number of plays. Education Canny attended Filton High School, Bristol, before going to St. Brendan's Sixth Form College, Bristol, and then University of Surrey. Care ...

and John Nicholson for

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary p ...

*''Darker Shores'' at The Hampstead Theatre.

Awards and accolades

* The Magic Circle's Young Magician of the Year in 2007 *The Magic Circle's Irving Schneider Award Scholarship *The Magic Circle's Marvin Rising Star 2018 awarded by

Marvin Berglas Marvin's Magic is a producer and creator of magic products in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1987 by award-winning magician and entrepreneur Marvin Berglas, son of David Berglas, and is the world's largest magic company. The company is ...

"Best Non-Competitive Reality Format" for ''Killer Magic'' * ''Time Out'' and

TO&ST cabaret Award nominee 2013

References

External links

Interview with Ben Hart

Exorcist Interview of Illusionist Ben Hart

''BBG Presents: Ben Hart''

Killer Magic with Ben HartEBSCOhost Connection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Ben British magicians 1990 births Living people People from Winchester People educated at Peter Symonds College British television actors British theatre people Britain's Got Talent contestants