Personality Test: Kevin Hurley

Kevin Hurley spends his days astounding spectators with his magic in the Kevin Hurley Show, where the audience can watch things and people appear and disappear, watch someone float in midair, and see many more seemingly impossible things happen. He has performed the show all around the country at colleges, for corporations and at many other venues. Hurley, of the South Side, also does hypnosis, and sells many self-help CDs that let him hypnotize people in their living rooms to help them lose weight, stop smoking and more. Hurley took a break from his magic tricks, and suddenly, a completed personality test appeared in the Trib.

The star who would play me in the movie version of my life and why:

Tom Cruise. Because he is cool, and I am 6 feet 4 inches.

Childhood hero and why:

Mister Rogers. I used to put on a sweater and change my shoes with him at the beginning and end of his show. I loved how he made the neatest stuff out of nothing. I think that inspired my interest in magic a lot, too.

Pick one:

A. Jack Bauer of "24"

B. Angus MacGyver of "MacGyver"

C. James West of "The Wild Wild West"

D. Sydney Bristow of "Alias"

B. MacGyver. He is the guy that can get out of anything smoothly. I feel like MacGyver most nights performing. There are a lot of high-tech gadgets I am using too, so I can sometimes hear the MacGyver theme song playing in my head when we are setting up the show.

In five years, I'd like to:

Be on the front page of this paper and not taking the personality test.

My favorite thing about Pittsburgh is:

The food, friends and family. I love them all equally. I have been a lot of places lately, and Pittsburgh has the best food.

If the TV is on at 2 a.m., I'm watching:

Ron Popeil, I hope! I love the knife pitch. I cannot change the channel, especially when he brings his cousin on to sell the knives, too.

Three people I'd love to have dinner with:

Houdini, Barack Obama and Evgeni Malkin

After a long day, I like to relax with a (pick one):

A. Martini

B. Cold beer

C. Cabernet

D. Herbal tea

E. Hot chocolate

F. Red Bull

Grey Goose is my favorite right now. I usually grill when I drink it.

My quirkiest inherited trait:

Guilt

My best bar sport:

A. Pool

B. Darts

C. Air hockey

D. Beer pong

E. Other

E. I finally figured out how to beat the shot glass game on the touch-screen computer.

My favorite sandwich, plus fixings:

Hamburger with just ketchup, and maybe a few pickles

One word your mother would use to describe you :

Wild

Celebrity crush:

Chelsea Handler

The oldest thing in my refrigerator is:

A milk carton with the picture of the Lindbergh baby

My required snack in a movie theater is:

Popcorn with a lot of butter

When I was 10, I wanted to be:

A magician or a comedian

Musical instrument I wish I could play:

Guitar. All my friends can, and it really gives them an edge.

My favorite comfort food:

Pizza. I have favorite pizza spots all over the United States.

Exercise I hate most:

Ab stuff and crunches

Vegetable I won't eat:

Cauliflower

I'm deathly afraid of:

Snakes. I have been chased by water moccasins twice!

If I were auditioning for "American Idol," my song would be:

Bruce Springsteen's "Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City"

The first band I saw in concert (when and where):

The Vogues. I was at a rib cookoff with my parents, and it was a free show.

TV marathon you could watch all day and why:

Joel Osteen. I am not sure if that is considered a TV marathon, but he should be on all day.

Favorite Pittsburgh-area landmark:

The Pittsburgh skyline. When you are driving home all night long, it is awesome to see home base come out of the dark.

Saturday mornings you'll find me:

Anywhere and everywhere

Best new gadget I've tried recently:

iPhone. Mine works, and it does amazing things. It will even do magic ... for real magic tricks!

The person I'm most often mistaken for:

Ray Liotta — Henry in "GoodFellas." I get asked if I am him at least 10 times every time I am in L.A.

Pick one:

A. Perry Mason

B. Denny Crane

C. Arnie Becker

D. Ally McBeal

D. Ally McBeal. I thought she was hot, and some parts of that show made me LOL.

The worst advice I ever received:

To "watch my mouth." Several people have commented on this over the years.

In high school, I was:

A pretty OK student and kept to myself. I loved work way more than going to school.

The most famous person I ever became friends with:

Jack Smith: a poet, world traveler and movie star.

Pick one:

A. "Survivor"

B. "Top Chef"

C. "The Amazing Race"

D. "Deal or No Deal"

B. "Top Chef." I am obsessed with the Food Network; 49 is my go-to channel automatically when I turn on the TV.

The movie that always makes me cry:

"Forrest Gump." There are three or four scenes in that movie that kill me, especially when he is talking to Bubba after being shot.

My most treasured fashion accessory is:

Two Swatch watches. One is from New York City and the other from San Francisco. They are not worth much, but I love they way they look, and they are good luck.

What you'll always find in my glove compartment:

E-ZPass

My most embarrassing junk food:

Nerds

If I weren't a magician I'd be:

A neurosurgeon

The last book I read:

"Angels & Demons"

My favorite Pittsburgh pizza:

Fiori's

Movie I could watch every time it appears on cable:

"Billy Madison." Everything in that movie makes me laugh.

My favorite Web site:

Kevinhurley.com

My most memorable fashion mistake:

It was my eighth-grade basketball tournament away game, and I forgot my uniform shorts (which were blue). The hosting school gave me extra-small, red and white, tight gym shorts to wear. I was outrageous, and I was still voted MVP at St. Valentine's tournament.

If I could live my life as someone else, it would be:

Sir Richard Branson

My childhood nickname was:

Lurch

My favorite "bad" movie is:

"Kindergarten Cop"

My best karaoke song:

"Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meat Loaf

My first job:

The Cuckoos Nest Magic Shop in the South Side

My worst job:

I sold credit-card processors for eight days. It was the wildest thing I was ever involved with.

The song that always gets me out on the dance floor and why:

"Love Shack." I like the "bang bang" part that everybody yells.

Life would be better without:

Cleveland

If I could tour with any two bands, they would be:

The Killers and Matisyahu

I never travel without my:

MacBook: I do everything from that computer.

People would be surprised to know that I:

Have hypnotized more than 4,000 people onstage all over the United States. You have to see it to believe it, but I have the tapes!