Paul trains Daniel Radcliffe to win Qi

Paul gave Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe a crash course in magic history which contributed to his winning appearance on the Christmas edition of Qi.

Paul Kieve – magic consultant to Harry Potter and other films

Paul Kieve was the first illusionist to work on any of the Harry Potter films.

He was requested by director Alfonso Cuaron to add physical magic to the third movie – ” Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”.

He created magical effects performed ‘live’ for the cameras in a number of scenes including the opening Leaky Cauldron shot, the distinctive floating spheres in the Astronomy Room, as well as making a cameo appearance in the Three Broomsticks pub (the first and only magician ever to actually perform magic in a Harry Potter film).

Paul created, constructed and operated the final folding Maurauders map – the last full-sceen effects shot in the movie.

A scene involving Hogwart’s students performed magic in Hogwart’s Hall was deleted from the movie but appears on the DVD. In preparation for this scene Paul held the first ever magic class on set.

Paul also acted as a pre-production consultant to Mike Newall and the producers for the fourth movie “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”.

On a smaller scale he worked and collaborated with renowned German artist Christian Jankowski to create and star in a short film called “Flock” in which he transformed an audience into sheep and lead them around an art gallery.

He has worked closely with writer Tim Firth to develop a script for Sam Mendes and Working title for the forthcoming movie entitled “Fool”.

Paul Kieve on The Lord of the Rings, The Invisible Man and Theatre of Blood

“Paul Kieve The Invisible Man” is from 34 magicseen Issue No.10 September 2006 www.magicseen.co.uk  PDF version here.

Earlier this year, Paul Kieve was awarded The David Berglas Award for outstanding contribution to magic. Past recipients of this prestigious trophy have included Paul Daniels, Geoffrey Durham and Alex Elmsley. Researching this feature, I began to realise just how much this laid-back magician with the Mediterranean looks has played a part in modern day magic. Not only is he an accomplished performer (he recently became the only magician in history to appear in “The Proms” in the Royal Albert Hall) and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe’s personal magic tutor, he is, perhaps, the most prolific and successful magic consultant in UK theatre history! (more…)