Interview: "David Blaine: Do Not Attempt" Producer Christopher St. John on Bringing Real Magic to National Geographic

David Blaine: Do Not Attempt takes viewers on a breathtaking global journey, blending magic, endurance, and cultural exploration in ways audiences have never seen before. Produced by Imagine Documentaries for National Geographic, the six-part series follows David Blaine as he seeks out extraordinary people capable of remarkable feats - and occasionally attempts them himself. I spoke with Christopher St. John, one of the series' executive producers, about how Do Not Attempt came together, what it was like filming in extreme environments, and how the project ultimately changed Blaine himself.

Congratulations on all the success with David Blaine: Do Not Attempt. For starters, I was there at D23 when they unveiled the project with a magic trick. Were you at that event?

I wasn’t at that particular event, but I was at another one with the same magic trick. It’s pretty special.

You’ve worked with Imagine Entertainment on a variety of projects for Disney+, but this one was specifically for National Geographic. How did working with the Nat Geo brand shape your approach?

Nat Geo clearly has incredibly high standards for its programming. Going into a show about David Blaine, you know what that's going to be, but doing a show for Nat Geo required a whole other component - exploration and appreciation of the places and people we were visiting. Just the fact that it was Nat Geo really helped shape our approach. They were very supportive, and it was a pleasure.

In your role as a producer, did you get to travel with the production, or were you mostly coordinating from afar?

I traveled with the production, although I wasn’t one of the “road dogs" who were out there every single day. I did get to spend time in most of the places the show visited. I love to travel, and I love producing under challenging circumstances, and some of these were very challenging.

Finding the people with whom David can interact in each location is a big part of the show. How much of that was based on David’s personal network versus you having to seek out individuals?

It was both. We definitely did a lot of “casting" — although calling it casting makes it sound a lot neater than it actually was. We started by scouring the internet and social media for people doing interesting things. A lot came through word of mouth, and we also sent international fixing teams on the ground to hunt down stories. David has a really impressive global network of magicians, too, who gave us some great leads. Ultimately, we would pitch three times as many performers and stunts than actually made it into the show because David’s standards are very high.

David is known for being a risk-taker. As a producer responsible for safety, did that give you anxiety?

It was certainly challenging, and it did give me anxiety from time to time. David takes enormous risks, but he’s incredibly calculated about them. He doesn’t rush into anything dangerous. He analyzes it from every angle, does the necessary training, and mitigates the risks as much as possible.

From the production side, we’re with him every step of the way, making sure every safety precaution we can take is in place. And, of course, Nat Geo and Disney have incredibly high standards themselves, so we had to be really buttoned up. Ultimately, even with the most dangerous stunts you’re seeing, we were as prepared as you could possibly be — but there’s always the potential for disaster.

How did you choose the locations and cultural aspects to spotlight?

A lot of it really had to do with who we found — the performers and characters. We wanted a wide diversity of places. We didn’t want six countries in Africa or six in Europe; we wanted to be all over the world. Then it was a potent mix of where it was possible to film, who was there, whether we could find threads tying people together, and what interested David. It all came down to where we found the most interesting people.

The first four episodes are out, with two more premiering tonight and streaming tomorrow on Disney+. What’s the feedback been like so far?

So far, the feedback has been very good. It’s interesting because, with not having all the episodes drop at once, the feedback rolls out a little slower. I’m really excited for the last two episodes to drop so people can see the whole thing as a single series. The few reviews I’ve seen have been very positive, and feedback from friends, family, and colleagues has been fantastic. It’s very gratifying because we’ve been working on this for a while, and it was a tough show, in the best way.

Was there a cultural story or tradition you encountered during filming that especially resonated with you?

The Debus performers in Indonesia were really interesting to me. It started as a way for people to resist colonizers by showing they were impervious to pain. They developed these practices - climbing ladders made of swords, eating razor blades, attacking each other with spears - and emerging unscathed. One of our key characters, Fitz, is a Debus performer who lets venomous snakes bite him without reacting. It’s mind-blowing and inspirational. It was amazing to see how something born out of resistance has become a celebrated cultural tradition that continues today.

The key art of David Blaine kissing a snake’s head is so striking. Did you have a hand in that?

That particular key art was put together by Nat Geo, and they did an incredible job. I think that’s one of the most striking moments of the show. David will say repeatedly - and it took me a while to fully understand this - that real magic isn’t sleight of hand or illusion. It’s real things that seem so incredible people don’t believe they’re real. Facing a real cobra, with no pane of glass or camera trick, is part of that. The magic is in the wonder and awe it inspires.

Were you a David Blaine fan before joining this project? How does your view of magic tie into your role in documentary filmmaking?

I was both a David Blaine fan and a magic fan, but very casually. I’m much more of a David Blaine fan now because I count him as a friend - he’s a wonderful guy. I feel like I’m more of a magic fan now, too, but more as a student of magic. My definition of magic was very narrow before. What this show - and my experience on it - did was broaden that definition in a really exciting way.

You mentioned you count David as a friend. Through this journey, did you see anything that changed him?

I think every time we went out, he was changed a little bit. We were dealing with truly extraordinary people, often unsung and remote, doing amazing things for no other reason than personal passion. Every time David encountered passion equal to his own, it changed him. And I think that’s something that would change anybody.

The final two episodes of David Blaine: Do Not Attempt premiere tonight on National Geographic, with streaming available tomorrow on Disney+. As Christopher St. John shared, the series isn’t just about daring stunts - it’s about discovering real magic in extraordinary people around the world. With each encounter pushing Blaine to new heights, Do Not Attempt proves that sometimes the most unbelievable feats are the ones that are absolutely real.