If magician Piff The Magic Dragon isn’t doing card tricks, he told us his natural instincts would be to kidnap princesses, so it’s a good thing the Top 10 performer from Season 10 of America’s Got Talent (AGT) is on the road or princesses of the world may very well be in danger of laughing their asses off.
“Dragons love doing card tricks and kidnapping princesses,” he chuckled when he spoke to YQG Rocks in a phone interview from his Vegas hotel room. “What is more common, card tricks or kidnapping princesses you might ask? It depends on the situation; if we’re not doing one, then we’re certainly doing the other.”
The grumpy comedian currently lives in Las Vegas, where he’s host to a long-term residency at The Flamingo. He’s scheduled for an appearance at Caesars Windsor at the end of the month, performing alongside another AGT alumni, ventriloquist Paul Zerdin, on March 30.
Whether on tour or in Vegas, Piff can always be seen on stage in his unique green dragon costume, with his stage buddy Mr. Piffles at his side. Piffles, a charming chihuahua who wears a matching dragon outfit is almost as iconic as Piff himself.
“I got Mr. Piffles about eight years ago,” he said. “I was doing an act out in the fringe and thought, you know what this act needs is a gimmick, so I got Mr. Piffles and he’s been there ever since. He’s a rescue dog, so he’s cheaper. Mr. Piffles is the most popular thing about my show and I’m happy to share the spotlight with him. He’s a very silent partner in the act. He kinda’ just sits there and falls asleep.”
Piff worked his way through the Top 10 of the 2015 AGT season with his cantankerous attitude and a strong array of enchanted tricks. His magical attitude, and the charm of Mr. Piffles, made Piff’s show a fan favourite throughout the season. He’s returned for encore performances in Season 11 and 12.
“America’s Got Talent really changed my life,” he said. “When I did the show, Howard Stern was one of the Judges, and in the UK he’s a cultural icon. And I found out, he’s a big fan of mine, so it was great to go on that show and to be able to act. It was a good time.”
When asked about how he got his start in magic, Piff had to look back to his childhood:
“I used to play cards as a kid and then I started to cheat at playing cards. Cheating at stuff is pretty much the same as doing magic tricks. That’s how I started.”
Through the years, he honed the craft of cheating (errr, ummm… I mean magic) and eventually donned his trademark dragon suit.
“I have always been a sarcastic guy,” he told us. “But before I became Piff, people just got offended by the sarcasm. Apparently, it’s much funnier when it comes from a dragon, so as soon as the dragon outfit became part of the show, people started to laugh.”
He said he stumbled on the dragon costume one day when he went to a party dressed up in the outfit, only to find out it wasn’t a costume party at all and he was the only dressed up. Somehow the costume stuck and it stayed from that point on.
“The costume somehow changes my face,” he said. “I was working as a magician and everyone was firing me because I had a really grumpy face. They were like “Why are you so miserable” and I was like “I’m not, this is my face”. When the dragon comes out, it somehow changes that.”
Piff The Magic Dragon will be joining Paul Zerdin on March 30 at The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster and the Caesars box office.
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