In part one of my interview with Matt Daniel-Baker we discussed his beginnings and how he went from a star of the silver screen to becoming a world-renowned mind reader and real life jedi. In part two continuing on our conversation we delve deeper into the mind of the mind reader.
You’ve performed all over the world and for some really high profile people. Do you have a favourite venue or type of audience to perform for?
I’ve been lucky to perform all over the world. But I think, in terms of venue, it’s got to be my Crazy Coqs show because, as I just said, it means everything to me. Audience wise I do smaller events where it might be like a dinner party for six people, and I do theatre tours and big venues where it might be 200 people, 600 people, even up to 3000 people, it constantly chops and changes. But for me, I love the intimacy of a smaller audience, anything from 30 to 100 people, where they’re all sat closely, I can really make some extraordinary stuff happen with that. It’s usually a lot funnier as well because everyone’s quite intimate there, and they all get to know each other during the show – it becomes about them. So they all end up being characters in my play, as it were. An intimate audience is probably my favourite.
What goes through your mind in those few moments before you walk onto the stage?
Well, that is another good question because the nerves and anxiety that I have are always the same and it’s because I don’t know what the audience is going to be like. I get worried that the show’s not going to be funny enough or if I’m not going to have a couple of characters in the audience that I can build around. So it’s not that I necessarily fear the show, it’s just the hope the show lives up to its reputation. And you can’t possibly know until you step out and meet the people.
I also have this routine where I know that I have to deliver, and so I go from being me to being the mind reader, and that transition comes, and this is gonna sound a bit bonkers, with a song. I sing a verse in my head of a song from Evita called Rainbow High, originally sung by Elaine Page. There’s a verse in it, I won’t say which one because it’s going to make me sound conceited, but I sing it in my head because it reminds me that I have to be at the absolute very top of my game for the audience. And so it lifts you out of the two hour drive you’ve had as you feel a bit tired. And then, all of a sudden, you have to tell yourself that you’ve got to be everything. My little pre-show ritual, if you like, is singing that in my head and hyping myself up.
You’ve shared a stage with Basil Brush, which is not a sentence many can put on their CV. What was that experience like?
I got asked to do a guest spot on a Basil Brush Unleashed show, which is Basil’s adult show. It was at the Leicester Square Theatre in the West End. I was stood in the wings watching the show before I went on and it was so brilliant, so funny, so charming, endearing and quick – the level was just extraordinary. Even though I’ve been doing this for years and years and years, it was the first time I’d ever really felt ‘Oh my God, I have to hit that level immediately’. I can’t warm the audience up. I can’t feel anything out. I’ve literally got to go and meet that bar, which was set so high in the wings.
But it was one of the best shows and one of the most enjoyable experiences – one that I’ll never forget as a performer. I’ve since gone on to be a regular guest in his shows. As well as becoming a personal friend and golf buddy. But in that one particular show, I learned a lot about what it takes and having it in me to meet that level and deliver as much as Basil Brush does. So yeah, a huge amount of respect to him and I’d give myself a little pat on the back there because that is and will always be my standout moment as a performer.
Matt Daniel-Baker dressed in a suit and tie sitting on the left hand side of the image holding a microphone, on the right hand side is Basil Brush, they are sat at a table image by Matt Daniel-Baker. Used with permission
Matt Daniel-Baker on stage in the middle of the image, behind him is a screen that reads “Basil Brush Live & Unleashed”, on the left of Matt is Mr Martin aka Martin Cabble-Reid, on the right of Matt is Basil Brush image by Matt Daniel-Baker. Used with permission
Matt Daniel-Baker standing on the left of the image outside a theatre above him is a sign that reads “stage door” on the right of the image next to Matt is Basil Brush, in the foreground is the Ace of Hearts playing card image by Matt Daniel-Baker. Used with permission
Inside the mind of the mind reader
You’ve achieved a remarkable amount across several completely different fields. Do you ever stop and think, ‘How did I end up doing all of this?’
I do and I don’t think that. I do because sometimes I stop and stare at what I’m currently doing and go, ‘how the hell did I end up here?’ Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way. But the reason that it feels quite natural to me is because I’ve always believed that people should at least dip their toe in something that they feel excited about. Most people will go, ‘oh, you know, what’s the point?’, ‘It’s silly’ or ‘I haven’t got time’ or, ‘I’m too busy at work’, and that’s wrong. Even if you do it for one minute, it’s going to fill you up, it’s going to make you more complete, and it might last 10 years, or it might last, one minute, but to have no expectation regarding anything that you’d like to do makes it a lot easier for you to just try it.
I think if you’re trying the things that speak to you, it makes you a more complete version of you. But people let stress, money and work get in the way. And it shouldn’t be that way because you’re going to be better for it. Also, I think if you resonate and align yourself with the stuff that you love, you’ve got more chance of that thing bringing you more. I think it’s when you resist that because of, as I say, work, money, stress, you’re blocking the things from coming to you.
So, I’m pleased with myself that I’ve done so many weird and wonderful things, but I also know that the reason that I’ve done them is that I’ve just gone and done it. I haven’t hoped that it would change my mind, even with magic, as I was saying earlier, I didn’t know. I didn’t even know that being a magician was a job when the guy on the train did that trick, but I knew that it resonated and so I went and did something about it. It happened to change my life. But it might not have done. I might have just gone, ‘Oh, that’s how it works!’, but I took a step towards it, and as a result of that, so much more happened. I’m a big believer in that.
You’ve performed for some really high-profile people, from Bill Murray to King Charles, do you ever get starstruck?
No, I’m aware and I get excited if there is someone that I like at an event. I tend to try not to perform to them. I’ll perform on the person next to them, so I’ll let them see, and usually what happens is they will then want to have a go themselves, because I think if you go directly to the main person, it’s just too obvious, and it probably makes them uncomfortable as well. So I tend to go for the person next to them. But there’ve been people that I’ve wanted to perform for and I have performed for.
One that stands out for me was George Ezra, the singer. For a while, I tried to get him to come and see my show. I emailed his management and it never happened. Then out of nowhere, I got the most bizarre gig on a private yacht, in Crete. It was actually Jackie Onassis’ yacht. Good luck spelling that. It was a private event and so I was flown over. They told me I was going to be on after dinner, doing a show, and then there’d be a band on after me. That’s all I knew. When I got there, I found out that it was George Ezra who was on after me so I spent the entire trip in a private room on the yacht with him and his band. I did magic for them. We were chatting, eating, and drinking together. I did my show, and then they came out after me and did an hour’s set in the middle of the ocean. It was extraordinary. So that’s probably more ‘situations-struck’, and one of my favourite experiences, but Basil still trumps it all.
Is there something you’ve always wanted to do that you haven’t had the opportunity to do yet?
Yes, two things, literally two things that I haven’t done out of everything I’ve ever wanted to do. One of them is to visit New Orleans, which can happen easily enough.. And the other thing is I would love to do a gig in New York, some little Broadway cabaret venue. Obviously, it would be lovely to do a theatre performance, but I’d like an old school proper New York cabaret venue. Again, it’s achievable, but it hasn’t presented itself to me yet, but I am determined to achieve both before I leave this planet.
What would Matt Daniel-Baker be doing if he wasn’t a mind reader and magician?
I would be doing something creative. I’d even still try to be an actor. I’ve written things so I’d write. It would always be something creative. I wouldn’t be able to sit still doing a ‘normal’ job. My brain is just way too active, and I think I often see things in a slightly different way. I like peeking behind the curtain. Maybe I’d be a hypnotist or something like that. A therapeutic hypnotist. I’d do something like that, or I’d be something to do with body language, influence, persuasion. I’d maybe interrogate people or teach people how to interrogate people. Something along those lines. I’ve always loved that stuff, as I say, peeking behind the curtain.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
The best piece of advice has to be to trust your gut. From my mum. It will never let you down, your gut or your heart. It always tells the truth. Whether you want to believe it or do anything about it is a completely different matter, but that’s when your mind kicks in. They’re two very different things. So trust your gut, trust your heart, and don’t let your mind pick it to pieces.
And what’s the worst piece of advice you’ve ever received?
That’s easy. Get a proper job.
And finally, what is next for Matt Daniel-Baker?
Well, I’ll keep going. I just want to keep enjoying what I’m doing. I love my job. I love the people that I meet and the places that I go. And I just want more, more of it. Keep working hard. Keep honouring my role on Earth. And that’s it. Just keep going. Keep finding moments, keep finding adventures and little treats along the way, little pockets of life that pop up. I think that’s what makes it all… enjoyable.
There is something wonderfully refreshing about someone who has achieved so much yet remains so genuinely modest about it. Matt doesn’t seem interested in being the cleverest person in the room, even though he very probably is. Instead, he wants you to leave his company having smiled, laughed and perhaps questioned everything you thought you knew about what is possible.
And perhaps that is the real secret behind the magic. It isn’t about the tricks, the technology or even the ability to seemingly get inside someone’s mind. It is about people. Matt understands that the greatest thing a performer can give an audience is a moment they will remember long after the curtain comes down.
So, while I still have absolutely no idea how he does what he does, I think I may have worked out why he does it. And perhaps that is the only secret he is willing to give away.
You can find out more about Matt Daniel-Baker by visiting his website.
To follow Matt on Facebook click here and you can also follow him on TikTok.
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