‘The Push’ Mastermind Derren Brown Reads James Corden’s Mind and Has Him Eat Glass — Watch

Magic may not be real, at least not in the “Harry Potter” sense, but that doesn’t mean some performers aren’t capable of suspending our disbelief. Derren Brown appears to be on such performer, as he stopped by “The Late Late Show With James Corden” last night and proceeded to read Corden’s mind while making him eat glass.

Introduced by Corden as “a national treasure back in the UK,” Brown fancies himself a “psychological illusionist” who prefaces his act by saying that nothing he does is magic — even though he’s something of a mind-reader. “It’s all science and psychology,” he clarifies. To demonstrate, he has Corden focus his attention on something unrelated — namely, eating a small piece of a crushed-up lightbulb — as he attempts to figure out what his host is thinking. It’s an elaborate, compelling process that forces Corden to go through several steps as Brown, well, works his magic.

Suffice to say that it works and Corden is suitably amazed. Watch the full segment below and, if you’re so inclined, avail yourself of Brown’s new Netflix special “The Push” — one of three he’s filmed for the streaming service.