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The Rubberboy was a contortionist from Season 2 of America's Got Talent. He was eliminated in the Vegas Round.

Background[]

The Rubberboy, whose real name is Daniel Browning Smith, host of the History network series “Stan Lee’s Superhumans” and Guinness World Records’ Most Flexible Man, is a classically trained contortionist who has used his superhuman flexibility to bring the magnetic appeal of contortion to new heights. From his early career when he began accumulating his Guinness World Records and perfecting his renowned “Rubberboy” act and character, to more than a decade long foray into movies and commercials both acting and doing astounding stunts previously only possible with CGI, to hosting a television series alongside childhood hero Stan Lee.

When just a small boy, Daniel would jump off the top bunk bed and land in a straddle split, much to the amazement of his family, thus jumpstarting his adventures as a contortionist. But his career didn’t really begin until his teen years when Daniel began street performing. Then at 18, Daniel joined a touring circus show, and then another, finally landing at Ward Hall’s Sideshow doing 18 shows a day and sleeping under the stage next to a five-legged cow named Buddy. It was shortly after this that Daniel began contortion training under Master Lu Yi at the San Francisco School Of Circus Arts.

Daniel earned his first Guinness World Record (he has a total of seven) in 1999 for the “Fastest Time Getting Into A Locked Straitjacket”, an act he created himself, and followed it with a record for “Most Contortionists In A Box.” But it was in 2007 that Daniel received the record he wanted the most- the “Most Flexible Man, for dislocating both legs and arms and turning his torso 180 degrees.”

NBA halftime performances followed contortion training, along with Daniel’s first movie appearances (like Minority Report and as an alien in Men In Black 2). Over the ensuing years, Daniel has used his skills as a contortionist to become a much talked about stunt performer and actor, appearing in numerous films and commercials squeezed into a tiny box or contorting his body into shapes most people cringe to even think about. His superhuman flexibility means that Daniel can create grotesque and deathly scenes for scary movies like Paranormal Activity 3 where he doubles the main actor in the final scenes of the film as his back is being broken in half. He has doubled big stars like John Turturro and Adam Sandler (in You Don’t Mess With The Zohan), and has had his flexibility featured by multiple companies’ marketing campaigns from Kansas City to Istanbul. He even had the pleasure of portraying the super creepy contortionist serial killer Sqweegel on the hit series CSI.

Daniel has performed live at a number of colleges, concerts, and trade shows, concerning everything from cars to surf boards. One summer Daniel spent touring on a country music tour doing his Rubberboy act on the main stage between Dwight Yoakum and Brooks and Dunn. Daniel also does creature suit work and mo-cap. Once, while doing motion-capture for a video game, Daniel’s superhuman range-of-motion blew the software and filming had to wait until the computers could be reprogrammed to read his movements. But Daniel has also appeared as himself, the Rubberboy, on dozens of domestic and international television shows like Oprah, Jay Leno, Sabado Gigante, and China’s CCCTV, to name a few. 1

Audition[]

The Rubberboy's audition in Episode 204 consisted of getting himself out of a small box, twisting his legs around his head and moving across the floor on his bottom, performing other contortion moves, and getting back into the box at the end. Piers Morgan buzzed the act. Piers likely voted "No," but Sharon Osbourne and David Hasselhoff voted "Yes," sending the act to the Vegas Round.








Vegas Round[]

The Rubberboy was present during the Vegas Round, but he was never seen. he did not progress to the Semifinals.

External Links[]

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