USE YOUR ILLUSIONS
Canadian Darcy Oake intent on making a magical career
For whatever is yet to come in the career of Canadian illusionist Darcy Oake, he will forever be remembered for something he’s already accomplished.
It is perhaps the greatest feat, one that in recent years has seemed Houdini-esque in its impossibility.
That feat? The greatest trick perhaps of all time?
The de-creep-ification of modern magic. He laughs. “I appreciate you saying that, because that’s been the goal for me from Day 1 getting into magic,” Oake says. “I had this vision for it, or have this vision, and I felt from when I got into it this was not being presented in a way that people connect with. It’s a bunch of characters, you know what I mean? There hasn’t necessarily been a regular guy.
“My whole approach is trying to be a regular guy who can do extraordinary things. I want people to leave the show going, ‘I want to hang out with that guy, I think he’d be fun, I’d like to go for a drink with him.’ Not leaving the show going, ‘Wow, that guy was creepy. Ewww.’ ”
We all can surmise of whom the 28-year-old Winnipeg native speaks.
The modern-era magicians, those who roll the illusions into a rock-star shtick, have had their time and will hopefully disappear in a poof of pyro thanks in large part to people like Oake — people who understand the importance of showmanship but don’t dress it up in glitter, ripped jeans, studded codpieces and mascara.
What got Oake to this level, though — he’s currently on his Edge of Reality tour — was his starmaking appearance as a contestant on the eighth season of Britain’s Got Talent.
His illusions and escapes last year on the Simon Cowell talent competition, which boasts a viewership of more than 10 million each episode, not to mention the millions of YouTube hits, was something that, he admits, changed his life.
No, he didn’t take top spot in the competition, but as he notes, the world is filled with “winners” of reality shows who went on to a career in obscurity.
“You’ve got to keep it going, keep the ball rolling — it’s that snowball effect. With a show like that, it’s all about what you do with it after, basically, what can you turn it into and how you make that benefit your career,” Oake says.
“In the terms of that show, once that show is done, Britain’s Got Talent is thinking about the next year. And what I understood from the beginning is, OK, they’re trying to make good TV and I’m trying to further my career. So once you understand the dynamic, that everybody’s using each other and everybody knows it — then it’s easier to plan for the future.”
He continues: “I don’t necessarily for my whole career want to be known as the guy from BGT. Right now, obviously, it’s great, it’s amazing. But it’s using that to get to the next level. And then the next level to the next level.
“One thing is just a stepping stone into the next and that show was the smartest career choice I’ve ever made, for sure, but now the work’s really starting.”
Part of that work is making his celebrity across the pond translate “back in the homeland.” That includes the tour — which followed a U.K. run that received raves wherever it went — as well media appearances and even the release and promotion of a new book, Behind the Illusion.
He even added to his profile a few weeks ago, performing an illusion in the opening of Canadian institution Hockey Night in Canada, the home turf of his father and broadcaster Scott Oake.
Perhaps it should be noted that this appearance was less about nepotism and more about the younger Oake’s growing star-power and influence.
“It’s nice,” he says. “Before it was cool because my dad would get me on there — for After Hours I’d do a little trick for one of the guests or that kind of thing.
“It was always pretty well received, but at that point my dad was like, ‘Hey let’s put this on.’ And in this situation, after BGT and the tour, and all of the things that have happened in past little bit, they called me up and said, ‘Can you do this?’ It was a nice change from my dad asking them to put me up and them calling me.”
Which, again, underscores how far Oake has come since those TV appearances overseas, and it speaks to the typically Canadian artistic dilemma — be you an actor, musician or magician — of having to make it somewhere else before you get accepted and embraced at home on a greater level.
For his part and to his credit, Oake understands and certainly doesn’t resent it — in fact he credits it for some of the success he currently enjoys.
“No, not at all, I completely get it. I kind of like it, because in a way I was constantly trying to prove myself within Canada before BGT. Then when that hit, then people were like, ‘Oh, OK. It’s cool, I like it,’ ” he says.
“If you start off in Canada and immediately you’re receiving praise, then I feel you’re not going to be the most well-rounded performer.
“You’ve got to go through the trenches and earn that respect and credibility, so the way it unfolded, I think, was perfect.”