Dynamo

Magician

Popular As Dynamo (magician)

Birthday December 17, 1982

Birth Sign Sagittarius

Birthplace Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

Age 41 years old

Nationality United Kingdom

#28172 Most Popular

1967

The show generated 7.67 million viewers in the UK and won the award for Best Entertainment Programme at the Broadcast Awards, show of the year at the Virgin Media awards and was shortlisted for Best Entertainment Programme at the 17th National Television Awards.

This series also received a BAFTA nomination for Best Entertainment Programme.

1982

Steven Frayne (born 17 December 1982), better known by his former stage name Dynamo, is a British magician born in Bradford, West Yorkshire.

2001

Frayne was given the name Dynamo in 2001 while performing at Houdini's centenary celebrations at the New York Hilton in front of magic peers including David Blaine and David Copperfield.

Impressed by Frayne's magic display, a member of the crowd shouted out: “this kid is an effing dynamo”, and the name stuck.

2002

Dynamo's first TV appearances began in 2002 on Channel 4's Richard & Judy.

Bosses at the station were impressed with his magic abilities, and commissioned a one-hour documentary titled Dynamo's Estate of Mind, which followed Dynamo doing his routines around the London circuit.

Dynamo: Magician Impossible is a fly on the wall documentary series that followed the life of Frayne.

The series was produced by Frayne's own production company Inner Circle Films and Phil McIntyre Productions for UKTV and Universal Networks International.

The series reached over 30 million viewers in the UK and over 250 million viewers worldwide across 193 territories.

2003

In 2003, Frayne was given a loan from the Prince's Trust, allowing him to start his business and invest in camera equipment.

2004

Frayne moved to London in 2004 to build a career in magic, and his plan was to create the first ever 'magic mix-tape'.

He set out with a small team to film his performances on the streets of London and backstage at events, after he had been permitted entry by impressing doormen and tour managers.

Within a year, Frayne had created footage with Coldplay, Gwyneth Paltrow, Snoop Dogg and more.

He quickly developed a fanbase after posting the clips on YouTube, helping to boost his profile to a wider audience.

2009

In May 2009, Dynamo levitated comedian Matt Lucas four feet off the ground in front of a crowd at the Emirates Stadium in London.

2011

His television show Dynamo: Magician Impossible ran from July 2011 to September 2014, and saw him win the Best Entertainment Programme award at the 2012 and 2013 Broadcast Awards.

Dynamo has toured the world, and his Seeing Is Believing arena tour was seen by over 750,000 people across the UK, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

The four-episode first series aired from 7 July 2011 until 28 July 2011.

To launch the show, Frayne walked on water across the River Thames outside the Houses of Parliament, in front of a crowd who had gathered on Westminster Bridge.

2012

The first series was filmed in London, Miami and Los Angeles, and had 6.69 million viewers in the UK, leading to UKTV renewing the show for a second and third series in February 2012.

Series 2 of premiered on 5 July 2012, and was again four-episodes in duration.

2013

In 2013, Frayne travelled to New York City, Ibiza, South Africa and London to film content for the show's third series.

The first episode, filmed in New York City, was broadcast on 11 July 2013 and was viewed by 1.35 million people.

The series was again nominated for BAFTA's Best Entertainment Programme award, alongside Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, Derren Brown: The Great Art Robbery and Strictly Come Dancing.

On 19 December 2013, Watch broadcast Dynamo Revealed, a documentary in which Frayne spoke to the then BBC Radio 1 presenter Zane Lowe about the steps he took to grow from rough area of Bradford to the magician that he is today.

Frayne collaborated with Pepsi Max in 2013, where he levitated next to a London Bus driving through Central London.

The stunt attracted media coverage from across the globe, including Good Morning America and Sky News.

Later in the year, Frayne worked with Mercedes-Benz to create a video called Dynamo vs Coulthard, featuring Formula One driver David Coulthard.

2014

A fourth and final series of the show was commissioned by UKTV in 2014, which aired in the September of the same year.

In this series, Dynamo performed street magic in California, India, Paris, London, Manchester and Bradford.

For the third year running, Dynamo: Magician Impossible was nominated by BAFTA for the Best Entertainment Programme award.

In 2014, Frayne worked with Hunter and became an integral part of their London Fashion Week show.

2016

In 2016, Watch commissioned an hour-long TV special titled Dynamo A–Z, where Dynamo presented a retrospective, alphabetical review of clips of some of his magic tricks from Dynamo: Magician Impossible.

Frayne continued his work with Watch to bring his live arena tour, Seeing is Believing, to TV screens across the United Kingdom.

Dynamo Live at The O2 followed Frayne as he embarked on the biggest live magic performance in British history.

The show was broadcast live across the UK on Watch.

Frayne has appeared and performed on multiple TV shows, including Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood, the MTV EMAs and more.

He has also featured in advertisements for the likes of Adidas, Samsung and Pepsi, and has appeared on the catwalk for Naomi Campbell's Fashion for Relief.

Frayne's media appearances have regularly involved magic stunts with celebrities.