Now, ANT is getting to try his own hand at the reality competition game on VH1’s "Celebracadabra," a show that pits seven celebrities (including actor Hal Sparks, Pussycat Doll Kim Wyatt and former "Fit Club" contestant Carnie Wilson) against one other to learn magic from professional magicans and compete to see whose dove-producin’ skills are the best.
Was this your first entrée into magic?
When I was a kid I wanted to be Doug Henning. I even had a fake mustache and I had shiny satin pants and my parents thought, "He’s not gay, he just wants to do magic." Turns out we were all wrong! I was obsessed with magic. So when they called and asked if I want to do this, I said absolutely.
Did the childhood practice give you a leg up on the other contestants?
I think it hurt me. I know how to shuffle cards and I’m good at the showmanship, the pageantry. It’s the cleanup—the ‘prestige’—that I’m not good at. Simple is better, and that’s the thing most performers have a hard time accepting. We want the flash, pizzazz and... pizzizzle!
Are celebrities more gullible than regular people when it comes to magic?
I don’t know if we’re more gullible, but we’re not as ambidextrous. They would be like, “This is what you have to do. You have to contort.” I’m like, excuse me. You lost me at 'this is what you have to do.' Forget about contorting!
What’s the trick you enjoyed the most?
At one point I basically turned into a Hershey bar. A big, giant candy bar. It’s probably going to be the highlight of the show for me because everything that could possibly go wrong did.
Have you ever had a real magical experience?
I was with my friends and we were doing the Ouija thing on Halloween night. We were trying to bring back the spirit of Houdini because everyone says that night is the best night to contact him. I guess he’s got a good receiving rate plan on his phone. We were trying it and the board really moved that time. We used to always lie and cheat and swear, but that time I didn’t do it. And it moved! It was almost floating. We all ran.
So why can’t you use your magic skills to make the celebrities’ weight on "Fit Club" disappear?
Because that’s not magic, honey. We need a miracle for that to happen. We need Christ on a cross, we don’t need David Blaine!
Are people always bitchy when they’re losing weight?
I think most people are happy when they’re losing weight. But there is a difference between losing weight and dieting. That’s why skinny people don’t smile. Because you’re freaking starving! They’re looking for a carb.
I used to be fat, so I know! I did every diet in the book. When I did Atkins I was onstage and literally telling people, “I will rape you for a French fry.” I’m not even kidding you.
How much drama goes on behind the scenes of these reality shows?
On this show there was a lot of it and I was the cause of it, I hate to say.
How come?
I was in a bad mood and when I got to the show I realized that it wasn’t the show I wanted to do. I thought it was going to be about me fighting with people and occasionally doing a trick. It turned out they really wanted it to be a show about magic! [Laughs]
Fancy that!
When I got there, I didn’t realize how difficult magic was. And I didn’t respect the art that it is. When people say to me that standup is easy, I say, really? Because then you should get up there and try it. With magic, I didn’t have the respect I have for it now. You’re surrounded by celebrities.
Final question: Do you have any celebrity crushes?
Allison Janney. From West Wing. I’m seriously in love with her! She’s what, 22 feet tall from what I can tell? I’m 5’3. We would be Sonny and Cher. But I love her, even when she does the Kaiser Permanente commercials. I stop everything and am like, “Shut up! Allison is talking!” and all my friends think I’m a cuckoo bird. And you were expecting me to say a guy, too!
” Celebracadabra” premieres Sunday, April 27 at 9 p.m./10c on VH1.
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