Mentalist Keith Barry has revealed his stunts are so dangerous they could kill him.
And he said he always takes the risks seriously, because one mistake could be fatal.
The Waterford-born performer returned to screens this week with the first installment of his new four-part RTE series The Keith Barry Experience.
Explaining why he keeps on pushing the boundaries with his stunts for the new shows, he told the Irish Mirror: “With the straight jacket escape, where I’m hanging upside down, outside the building Houdini did that all those years ago, a suspended straight jacket escape.
“Basically upside down on a crane and, you know, a lot of people have done straight jacket escapes but I’ve always wanted to do one but I didn’t want to do one without adding a twist.
"But the twist I came up with was wrapping my head in cling film so obviously there’s a different reason to get out of the straight jacket because obviously if I don’t get out, 150ft in the air, I’m going to pass out, or maybe worse, killed.
“Ultimately these things are very dangerous and actually something happened in the middle of that stunt that was not planned and it could have been fatal.”
Opening up about how he rationalises the risks involves in his line of work, the 42-year-old added: “You have to plan for the worst-case scenario because if you don’t plan for these things you don’t get nervous and you are going to get injured or you are going to die.
“I am covered in injuries from all the stunts from all over the years.
“But I don’t mind, it’s what I do and it is much like a stunt man or a stunt woman, you get battered all the time.”
To stop his family from worrying about what he is getting up to, Keith admitted
he has stopped telling them about his death-defying stunts before he does them.
He said: “To be honest I don’t really tell them what I am doing anymore I just tell my wife I am going out to do a shoot, or a stunt and she doesn’t really ask.
“She just says, ‘What time are you going to be home for dinner at?’”
Keith – who is dad to Breanna, 10, and seven-year-old Braden – added he revels in his own kids’ interest and talent in magic already.
He said: “They can both perform magic very confidently and have an interest in it as a hobby but I don’t think it is anything more than that right now.
“I give a lot of keynote speeches and motivational talks and my key takeaway is you have to follow your passion or follow your dreams or your gut.
“Too many people fall into the trap of the nine-to-five world we are in and aren’t happy.
“So I would just be happy for my kids to find out what their passion is and follow that.
“But of course there is a small part of me that would love to see them pursue magic as a career because it has been very good to me and I love what I do.”
