11 Got Talents Worldwide:
America's Got Talent (2x), Australia's Got Talent (2x), Sweden's Talang (2x) Golden Buzzer to Finals, Israel's Got Talent All Stars, Croatia's SuperTalent, Spain's Got Talent, France's Got Talent
What an honor to be invited to America's Got Talent the first three seasons! Finally in 2008 I accepted and was honored to be the first sword swallower ever to perform on America's Got Talent in Season 3 2008. I was told by other performers, "A sword swallower will never make it on America's Got Talent!" but I felt I needed to give it a try.
On January 24, 2008 I auditioned at the Nashville TN auditions at the Doubletree Hotel in Nashville, where on February 28, 2008 I went on as one of 70 auditions in the live Atlanta Regional auditions (out of 28,000 auditions in the Southeast). Out out of those 70 auditions, only three acts were selected to go on to the Las Vegas Quarter Finals, and I was one of them. where I was blessed to end up making it into the Top 50!
In May of 2008, over 300 acts from around the world were assembled for the Las Vegas Quarter FInals and semi-finals for 10 days. For my act, I swallowed a curved sword, a flaming sword, and while swallowing a sword, I passed 6 juggling clubs with my buddy Ryan Bailey. I was eventually eliminated in the Las Vegas Quarter Finals at #42, but I was invited to return as an Alternate Wild Card.
A few months later, after one of the top 40 acts had to drop out, I was invited out to the live Finals in Hollywood, where I was eliminated again. Over all, I was featued in 7 episodes in Season 3! What an honor and a blessing!
After several other invitations, I was invited back on America's Got Talent Season 11 in 2016 in Pasadena, California, where I got 4 Yes votes.
From there I was blessed to go on to:
Italy's version Tu Si Que Vales in Rome Italy October 2016,
France's Got Talent (La France a un Talent Incroyable) in Paris France in 2017,
Israel's Got Talent in Tel Aviv Israel in October 2018,
Australia's Got Talent in Sydney Australia in June 2021 and 2022, and
Talang Sweden's Got Talent Golden Buzzer winner in Stockholm Sweden
October 2022 and the live Finals in March 2023.
I've been blessed to be invited to perform on several other Got Talents -
Croatia's SuperTalent, Spain's Got Talent All Stars, Germany's Das SuperTalent
and several others! Stay tuned to see what's next!
Talang Sweden's Got Talent S13.2
Stockholm, Sweden (2022-23) Car Pull
Because Dan lived and worked in Sweden, he was invited to audition on Season 13 of Talang Sweden's Got Talent in October 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden. Unfortunately, due to Covid travel restrictions that arose at the time, Dan was not allowed to board the plane to fly to Sweden in October 2021.
In October 2022, Dan was invited back to audition on Talang again. For his audition, Dan swallowed the microphone stand, a long sword and a car axle wanded by a metal detector and removed by two judges For his finale, Dan pulled judge David Batra across the stage in a 2022 Mini Cooper convertible.
The episode was filmed on October 13, 2022 and aired as Ep 13.2 on Swedish TV4 on January 20, 2023. Watch the surprise at the end that made it go viral!
Australia's Got Talent, Sydney (2021-22)
Car Pull
In 2019, 2020 and 2021, Dan was invited to perform on Australia's Got Talent in Sydney, Australia because Dan's mom grew up in Sydney Australia in her childhood. Unfortunately, during the height of the CoronaVirus outbreak, filming was halted in 2021 just before Dan was set to film.
Dan was invited back to Sydney to film again in 2022. For his finale, Dan pulled TWO hosts, Shane Jacobsen and Kate Ritchie across the stage in a 1964 Triumph Spitfire to a standing ovation while breaking the Guinness World Record!
This episode was filmed on June 27, 2022, and aired as Episode 2 on Australian TV channel Seven Network on October 10, 2022.
America's Got Talent Pasadena (2016)
Swallow Car Axle, Pull Nick Cannon in Car
On his return back to America's Got Talent audition in Season 11 2016, Dan decided to push the envelope and step it up a notch. At the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Dan started by swallowing a 30 inch long sword with no hands drop for a standing ovation! Dan then topped that by swallowing an 8 lb car axle, leaving the judges and audience speechless!
For his finale, Dan attempted something he had never done before on national TV - Dan swallowed a sword attached to two straps and pulled a car he had never seen before - a 1974 Triumph Spitfire convertible steered by host Nick Cannon a total of 20 feet using only the sword, his mouth and stomach, and a lot of prayers and stamina!
Dan was awarded TWO STANDING OVATIONS and 4 YES VOTES from Howie Mandel, Mel B, Heidi Klum and Simon Cowell who said he loved the act!
This video went on to receive over 100 MILLION views!
Israel's Got Talent, Tel Aviv Israel (2018-19)
Car Pull
In 2018, Dan was invited to perform on Israels Got Talent in Tel Aviv Israel.
Watch as judge Uri Geller pulls a sword from Dan's throat!
For his finale, Dan pulled the TWO hosts, Asis and Ofer Schecter across the stage in a rare antique vintage 1954 BMW Isetta.
This episode 17 aired on Israeli TV channel Reshet 13 on January 31, 2019
to 8.7 million viewers.
France's Got Talent Paris France (2017)
Car Pull
In 2017, Dan was invited to perform on La France a un Incroyable Talent in Paris.
Watch as judge Hélène Ségara pulls a sword from Dan's throat!
Besides pulling host David Ginola in a car for this audition, Dan also had to learn to speak French!
This episode aired on French channel M6 on November 16, 2017.
America's Got Talent Finals (S3, 2008)
Hollywood Finals Eliminations
As a Wild Card and one of the Top 50 Finalists on America's Got Talent S3, Dan made it on to the Finals of America's Got Talent in Hollywood where he was ultimately eliminated..
America's Got Talent Las Vegas (S3 2008)
Flaming Sword and Curved Sword
On the Las Vegas Semi-FInals of America's Got Talent, Dan decided to push the envelope and step it up a notch. At the Mirage Casino Las Vegas on May 10, 2008, Dan swallowed a 30 inch long sword with blade engulfed in flames, then a curved sword that required him to bend his body to the right to accommodate the sword.
For his finale, Dan swallowed a sword attached to a whip, then juggled six juggling clubs with a juggling partner until his partner whipped the sword from his throat! Here's the first part of that episode. For some reason, America's Got Talent edited out the whipping out of the sword finale while juggling, as NBC found it a bit too extreme for their audiences. What do YOU think?
America's Got Talent Atlanta (S3 2008)
Most Dangerous Act!
This America's Got Talent Season 3 episode is a compilation of interviews and auditions from the Nashville audition and the Atlanta Regional audition.
During the Atlanta audition, Dan received TWO STANDING OVATIONS and
2 YES VOTES from Sharon Osbourne and Pers Morgan who said he loved Dan's act!
During Season 3, Dan and his audition were called "America's Got Talent's Most Dangerous Act" on the Today Show, Jimmel Kimmel Live, Entertainment Tonight, and other shows.
This video went on to receive over 90 Million views.
WHY Does Dan do it?
TEDxMaastricht
Doing the Impossible, Cutting through Fear
For everyone who constantly asks "WHY does he DO it?", the answer is found in Dan's first TED talk at TEDxMaastricht Netherlands.
In his first of many TED talks, Dan describes his long journey from wimp to world record holder, coward to courageous, extreme fears to extreme feats, loser to Ig Nobel Prize winner, and quitter to Finalist on America's Got Talent.
Check out the surprise ending with overwhelming response, and see why this TED Talk has received over 1.5 MILLION views and is now translated into over 60 languages as the #8 Most Translated TED Talk out of over 200,000 TED talks in the world!