David Blaine has done the “bullet catch“ three times so far. But to make it different for this stunt, he took a string and attached it to the trigger on a pulley so that he could shoot the gun himself.
Blaine - known for his daring, death-defying stunts - prepared for it by getting a friend to shoot various guns at his torso while he wore a trauma plate for protection. This was to train himself to remain completely still and calm during the stunt.
But on Tuesday not everything went according to plan, as the magician, illusionist and escape artist suffered an injury after firing the rifle.
On impact, the bullet broke the guard inside his mouth, with a broken piece cutting his throat.
Blaine received medical attention, and it was established that he had a laceration on his throat.
“I committed to doing it live at he MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for 20 000 people. The part that I didn’t really spend enough attention on, was building a better mouth guard,” he said.
Blaine performed the trick on Tuesday night for a star-studded audience that included Johnny Depp, Drake, Margot Robbie, Emma Stone and John Travolta for the ABC special ‘Beyond Magic’.
IOL