Criss Angel

Criss: (on when he made a public declaration of love to actress Cameron Diaz) I am a loving person. What do you want, I come from a Greek family! I tell everybody I love them. Cameron is a friend and I love her like that. It was taken out of context . . . I guess I'm learning and I'll have to understand how to separate the professional from the personal.

Criss: I guess one of my biggest influences was Richiardi. Not necessarily because of the magic, but because of his unparalleled style. My parents took me to see his show at the Felt Forum when I was a kid. Although he was getting up there in age, he still managed to blow me away. To this day, I have never seen a magician who could command the stage and your attention so effectively. He was just pure energy, dynamics, and everything that magic lacks today. Unfortunately, like Houdini, he passed on. Most of my inspiration comes from outside magic, though. It comes from music and from people who change the face of their profession. Also, my father has had a profound effect on my life.

Criss: I'm able to communicate my vision through movement and choreography. Also, it gave me the discipline and dedication to achieve whatever I set my mind to. I'm a firm believer that your body is a slave to your mind. When I was in my teens, I experimented with movement quite a bit. I trained in gymnastics and did a lot of popping and locking on the streets and in clubs. I also dabbled in kung fu and karate. I went on to have more serious training and personal instruction in gosoku ryu with World Champion and 7th degree blackbelt Shihan Grant Campbell, who has been inducted into the Karate Hall of Fame. I still practice, and I'm always eager to learn more.