Xavier Mortimer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Xavier Mortimer
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Mortimer performing in his Las Vegas show
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| Born | June 20, 1980 Briançon, France
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| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Magician |
Xavier Mortimer was born on June 20, 1980. He is a famous French magician and performer. Xavier has won many awards for his amazing magic acts. You might have seen him on TV shows like Penn & Teller: Fool Us or America's Got Talent. He also appeared on Masters of Illusion. Today, Xavier lives in Las Vegas and has his own magic show at the Strat hotel.
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Becoming a Magician
Xavier grew up in a city called Briançon in France. He loved learning new things. He studied music and dance at a special school in La Rochelle. He also went to acting schools in London and Paris.
His journey into magic started early. He saw a magician perform at a local restaurant. This made him very curious about magic. His father gave him a magic book, which Xavier read over and over again to learn tricks.
When he was a teenager, Xavier wanted to buy his first magic prop. It was a special handkerchief that could fly! To earn money, he sold flowers at the local market. By age 15, he joined a magic club in France. He also loved watching live theater and street performers. As he got older, Xavier learned juggling, acrobatics, and even how to play the accordion.
Xavier's Amazing Career
When Xavier was 18, he teamed up with an acrobat named Thibaud De Premorel. They formed a duo called Les Fréres, which means "The Brothers." They performed together at concerts and special events.
In 2005, Xavier started his own one-man show in Paris. It was called L’Ombre Orchestre, meaning "The Shadow Orchestra." He performed this show at a theater in Paris.
Touring the World
Xavier took his show on tour to many famous places. He performed at the Crazy Horse in Paris. He also went to the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, Canada. Another big stop was the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.
At the Edinburgh festival in 2009, people from Cirque du Soleil saw his show. Cirque du Soleil is a world-famous entertainment company. They offered Xavier a role in their show called 'Michael Jackson ONE' in Las Vegas. He performed in this show for three years.
Creating His Own Shows
While working with Cirque du Soleil, Xavier spent his evenings creating new magic acts. He met a producer named Alex Goude. Together, they created Xavier's own show called ‘Magical Dream’. This show opened in Las Vegas in 2016.
The ‘Magical Dream’ show was very popular. It moved to a bigger theater at Bally's casino in 2019. Xavier performed his show there every night.
Online Magic and New Adventures
In late 2019, Xavier started sharing his magic online. He worked with famous people like Jason Derulo to make cool videos. Xavier's online magic videos have been watched over 2 billion times!
In 2020, he even "fooled" the famous magic duo Penn and Teller on their TV show. That same year, he gained more than 10 million followers online. His videos got over 4 billion views!
In 2021, Xavier opened a brand new, bigger show in Las Vegas. It was called "The Dream Maker" and was at The Strat Casino. However, this show closed on December 30, 2022.
In 2022, one of Xavier's videos, "Impossible Balance," became super popular. It was the second most-watched short video on YouTube ever, with 576 million views!
Awards and Achievements
Xavier Mortimer has won several awards for his magic:
- 2003 International CMI meeting in Italy
- 2010 Mandrake d'or award
- 2018, 2020, 2021 Las Vegas Review Journal Best of Vegas awards: Gold Winner Best Magic Show
- 2019 Las Vegas Review Journal Best of Vegas awards: Bronze Winner Best Magic Show
- 2020 Penn and Teller: Fool Us: Fooler (meaning he successfully fooled them!)
