LIFE OR DEATH DECISIONS
Derren Brown’s TV shows tend to blow viewers’ minds, and his new Netflix special, featuring the use of covert psychological techniques, will be no exception. Georgia Humphreys finds out more about the aim of Sacrifice
IT’S 18 years since Mind Control, Derren Brown’s TV debut for Channel 4. In that, the celebrated mentalist and illusionist, 47, wielded his powers of misdirection over the unsuspecting.
His latest venture is for Netflix, and sees him attempt to radically transform one man’s prejudices, through the use of covert psychological techniques.
And it’s a sign, says the London-born mentalist, of how his work has changed over the years.
“I’ve tried to move, particularly the TV shows, away from, ‘Look at me, aren’t I clever?’ because that’s not interesting to anybody,” he notes.
“I’ve tried now to do shows where I’m more in the background and someone else - a real life person - is going through a real life situation... I’ve created it, but nonetheless they are going through real drama for themselves.
“It’s much more interesting than somebody just showing off.”
Drawing on the expertise of actors, stunt coordinators and ballistic experts, Sacrifice sees a right-wing American man forced to decide whether or not to make the ultimate sacrifice: laying down his life for a complete stranger, who he thinks is an illegal immigrant.
“The last show, The Push, was quite dark, so I wanted to make sure I did something uplifting and more positive, I suppose,” suggests Derren, who was working as a magician and occasional hypnotist in Bristol when he was first approached about a move into TV.
Elaborating on the aim of Sacrifice, he says: “People’s political views have become more extreme. People have moved to the edges and feel that the other side must be bad or wrong or ‘idiots,’ and that can become quite aggressive.
“It’s not a political show - I tried to take any overt politics out of it. But we get very caught up in these political narratives, as you do throughout life; we live out stories that we mistake for the truth, but particularly with socio-political issues, our sense of what’s real gets reinforced by these filter bubbles that we live in, and our social media feeds.
“Any kind of truth or humanity emerges from the dialogue between sides, because both sides are going to have part of the story. So what the show ultimately is about is the importance of stepping out of the narratives of these stories that we tell ourselves.”
Derren ’s first challenge in making the show was finding the right subject.
“We had a kind-of audition day - I didn’t want it to feel too competitive for people,” he recalls.
“The guy chosen thinks he’s taking part in a documentary - that allows us to do some open filming with him, as opposed to it all being hidden camera or him not realising he’s involved in the show.
“But the action in general in the show, which is driving him to the point of whether he does or doesn’t take this bullet, is completely hidden from him.”
What exactly was he looking for in the candidate?
“I asked for people with strong political views, because I wanted it to be someone who had strong bias against a group, that was really my starting point.
“But, importantly, he’s not a hardcore racist; he’s somebody who lives a life which has its economic and other pressures and, as with a lot of people and particularly in that part of the world, and here and everywhere really, frustrations tend to get thrust on a scapegoat, and the scapegoat is often an illegal immigrant. It’s a very common narrative.”
He thought it was important to find someone “relatable and likeable”.
“Though, I think as the show starts a lot of people will probably not like him because of the things he is saying, and his views,” Derren adds carefully.
Meanwhile, “natural suggestibility” was also something he wanted his subject to have.
“Essentially, I’m setting up all these bits of the jigsaw puzzle and I need to know someone will respond to those.”
There has been controversy at times surrounding Brown’s work and his methods - quite frankly, he’s terrified audiences with some of his televised stunts over the years.
A show back in 2003 involved a member of the public loading a revolver with a real bullet, before Derren took the gun and played Russian Roulette on live television.
But his work can also be very inspiring, and notably, the reaction he gets from people when he’s out and about is different to what it used to be.
“Years ago, it would be, ‘Can you read my mind?’ which isn’t always what you want. You wouldn’t say to a singer ‘can you sing a song?’ necessarily. So that was sometimes a bit frustrating. I never really get asked that anymore.
Describing how it is now, he continues avidly: “It’s generally people who have enjoyed my shows, it’s spoken to them, it’s meant something to them or changed something in them.
“If you’re essentially just an entertainer, it can feel a bit banal. It’s nice if people have actually taken something meaningful away from it.”
Having his shows on Netflix means Derren’s now garnered a worldwide audience - he’s certainly cracking America, with outlets such as Fox News talking about him.
“I don’t really do talk shows and chat shows, I’ve managed to duck out of that and that suits me because I’m quite shy, but I’ve been doing a lot more of that,” he says of his new-found fame across the pond.
He’s hopeful for another run on Broadway next spring - his last theatrical experience, Derren Brown: Secret, saw audiences challenged to take a closer look at the stories and beliefs that guide our lives.
But the star, who came out as gay in 2008, has plans to move out of London and into the country with his partner and dogs, in the hope of a quiet life - and so won’t be making the show in the US a permanent thing anytime soon.
“I loved it. New York is amazing and it was a popular show. I’m sure it would be the same if an American came over here and did a West End show that was very popular - you feel like you’re in a little bubble of specialness.
“That’s different to living somewhere different, or feeling like it’s home. I wouldn’t want to move out there. But for little bursts of time it’s exciting, which is the only reason why I’m doing any of it.”
Derren Brown: Sacrifice launches on Netflix on Friday, October 19