'Limitless' Secrets Revealed: Backstage with Mentalist Peter Antoniou

Now, your last name is like a magic trick. It's really just Antonio, but it doesn't look like that. Second guest: Oh, I've had everything from Antenoo to Antidilillo. My dad's Greek, so when he moved over from Cyprus to the UK in the 60s, he name his name was Vala and antidilio. And British immigration said, yeah, that's that's too long. We're not doing that. So they changed it to Basil Antonio, which is where the extra you comes from cuz, you know, English people love to throw a you in there where it isn't needed.

So we're backstage at the Palazzo where you are now part of the show. Walk me through what your role is. Second guest: Yeah, so I'm the host of the show, so I'll be like welcoming everyone in and providing like the the linking parts of the show that just make Shin's story really shine and also some mind reading and some like comedy relief throughout the show. So it's a great chance for people to get involved and just experience something a little bit different. So it's a nice, what a true variety show. You get shin with his incredible slide of hand, his wife Casey doing aerial and magic, me reading minds.

You said the magic words. Mind reading. Wait, one word or two words with a hyphen or Second guest: I I think I'd say two. Two words. Yeah, I'm English though, so I wouldn't ask me.

The two magic words, mind reading. Uh, how do you do it? Second guest: Mainly years of loneliness is my true secret.

No, we can be friends. Second guest: Oh, thank you. I'd love that. That's that's two now. Um, the other one's my mom. selection of different approaches like I've read tarot since I was nine. I was a weird kid. I've spent my entire life trying to get inside people's brains understanding. So I've spent time with hypnotist and psychologist, and magicians, and psychics and just really learning all of the different approaches so that I can put on the best show that I can. And I got a DM from Shin saying like, hey, senior staff.

slid into my DMs. Wait, stop. You DM'd him on Instagram? Second guest: I think I said, are you available? I think that was the first thing and he said yes, and it was great. And that was that was the start of a an excellent relationship.

You and Shin have known each other for years, both America's got talent alumni. You were incredible on the show. What did you take from the show that has stayed with you all of this time? Second guest: trusting that the stuff I did would work for an American audience cuz there was always, you know, now British humor is very different and like, is that going to work and are people going to enjoy what I do? And I think just getting to see the reactions from America and the judges sort of gave me that confidence to keep pushing over here.

Okay, so break down where we are right now. Second guest: We're standing on the stage in the Plaza Theater in the Venetian. And as you can see, the stage set is very minimal because there really are no trap doors and mirrors and things hiding in the darkness. It's very open stage. There isn't a seat in the room where you can't see everything on the stage, which for a magician or mentalist is terrifying. So this is backstage. This is the heart of everything that happens. We've got our people who are in charge of showing video and making sure that everyone can see on our big screens. And then our stage manager station to make sure the music's playing at all the right time. And then just comfy seats for us to to wait to go on stage. So it's a again, like nothing backstage. We're not hiding lions and tigers and stuff. Actually, there are stuff down there. There's lots of stuff animals, yeah. It's it's important backstage to have good omens. So back here, we've got um Casey Shin's wife's uh exercise place, so she she'll be stretching. Incredible aerialist and doing magic combining two incredibly hard things together, which is mind-blowing. But yeah, she'll be stretching out here making sure that she can do splits and making us feel bad about how inflexible we are. Not doing this again. And then yeah, just some quick change portions. We spell something on ourselves and we don't have to take our pants off in front of our co-workers because that's a HR violation.

I want you to read my mind, but the problem with that is you knew I was coming. You maybe could have looked me up. Second guest: No, yeah, that's one of the great things about this show is that like there isn't a portion of the audience that we pick from. Like everyone in the room can be used at any moment. I pick people randomly using frisbees, so it is truly random. There's no setups and like that's one of the things I love about Shin's show. There's no plants, there's no actors, no one's playing along. People get to experience magic then and then there in real time. So it's the best way to experience your mind. So if you're sat there thinking, man, I want my mind read, the best way to do that, buy tickets to Limitless.

I'm here at Limitless. I didn't buy a ticket. Second guest: You didn't buy a ticket? Then no, sorry. Union rules.

Oh. What happens when friends and family want you to give them advice? Like what should they do in their career? What should they date this person? Am I going to get married? Should I move out of the country? Like what do you do? Second guest: The more I know someone, the harder it is to get like a fair read on them because then what you want to be true comes up and like your own biases and stuff. So I always avoid giving readings and anything like that to friends and family. That's always a no-go for me. And like, I'll give them advice as like a friend and stuff, but anything more than that, I think is is sort of a dicey area.

Okay, what advice would you give me? Second guest: Um, I think stop being so hard on yourself because there is a vibe here of like, like a bulldog energy, like you are out fighting everyone all the time. But then when you go back, you're going to beat yourself up that you could have done more.

Oh. Second guest: Because you're always saying I should have done that. I should have done this. And I think you preemptively get into that mindset. Even in the planning stage and you're like, oh, I didn't save enough time for this, or I didn't save. And you spend so much time winding yourself up.

Yeah. Second guest: That actually you don't get to enjoy the moment. You know, psychic, patient confidentiality.