Amongst Aidan McCann’s recent acting projects, he appeared in an episode of Series 2 of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches as Ashlar, and he played the recurring role of David Flynn across both series released so far of Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters. In Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 & 2, Aidan played Georgie, with Kevin Costner starring and directing the Western film series, and Aidan attended the worldwide premieres including at Cannes Film Festival, Venice Film Festival and in Los Angeles. Further screen work for Aidan has seen him play Niall Mohan in the 2023 crime thriller series Clean Sweep, Daniel in crime series The Holiday and Nathan in feature film Apocalypse Clown. As a magician, Aidan reached the Semi-Finals in 2019 of Ireland’s Got Talent, and the following year, he was a finalist during the coronavirus pandemic in Series 14 of Britain’s Got Talent. Aidan was invited on America’s Got Talent: All Stars in 2023 where he received the Golden Buzzer, sending him straight into the Final appearing alongside the America’s Got Talent winner Mat Franco, and he returned to Britain’s Got Talent in 2024 as part of Magicians Assemble alongside Ben Hart, Elizabeth Best of The Haunting and Colin Cloud. Aidan hosted Aidan’s Magic Corner on The Ellen Show before the coronavirus pandemic meant he couldn’t travel to LA and, for the four episodes he was able to film, he worked with Jonas Brothers, Emily Blunt, Colin Farrell and Kalen Allen. Talking with us, we found out from Aidan about his recent projects Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches and Bad Sisters, working with Kevin Costner on Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 & 2, his time on Ireland/Britain/America’s Got Talent and being a magician.

This year, you could be seen in an episode of Series 2 of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches, what was it like filming for the show as Ashlar?

It was great! I was on set on my birthday, July 1st. I worked mostly alongside Stephen Mullan and we had some great fun chats when we weren’t filming. The crew were also fun to be around. There was also a magician in the crew, he was great! We stay in touch. Have to shout out my hairdresser who was lovely, I recommended an episode of Black Mirror to her, haha!!

How would you describe your recurring character David Flynn in the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters and what is he like to play?

David Flynn is a fun role to play, it’s always a great time filming Bad Sisters and meeting back up with the cast. I like to bring out a lot of the character’s quirky and funny energy, like the scene when we’re running in the hospital and I’m carrying the batch of eggs but I fall and drop them all over the place!

What was it like developing your role across both series released so far and how is it filming alongside the rest of the cast?

It’s always an enjoyable process developing the role for Seasons 1 and 2. I love the cast of Bad Sisters and always have so much fun filming with them, a lot of them I still keep in touch with from time to time.

How did you find the experience on set of Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 & 2, in which you play Georgie, and what was it like being directed by Kevin Costner, who also stars as Hayes Ellison?

Filming Horizon has been the biggest production I’ve been on, it was so cool. There were so many cameras filming at once and working with Kevin was great, I learnt a lot from him. He’s really kind and funny and we worked together on bringing the character of Georgie to life. I even got to show him some magic when we had some spare time. I remember the first day we got to Utah, we went straight to meet Kevin and we talked about lots of different things and worked on some of the scenes. He is very friendly and very smart.

How did you feel finding out you’d booked the role of Georgie and how is it being part of the Western film series?

It was very cool finding out I got the role, I remember that they really liked my tape, that’s always nice. I was filming a TV series in Dublin at the time, so it was nerve-racking waiting to see if we could work around the dates, which we found out after a few days we could! It was my first time being in a Western. We filmed in Utah, which was stunning! Lots of Westerns have been made there. It was an amazing experience, I loved every bit of it! My character opens the first movie, which is incredible, and then you get to see our story progress more during the other films.

What was it like attending the premieres of Horizon: An American Saga worldwide and who do you think the films will appeal to?

I love attending premieres! These ones were the best because we went to so many cool places, like the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival and my favourite in LA. Always great catching up with the cast and talking to Kevin and, most importantly, seeing the movie!

I think the films appeal to anyone but, obviously, if you already like Westerns, you’ll love it that much more.

In 2023, you were in the cast of the crime thriller series Clean Sweep, how was it playing Niall Mohan in the series and what was it like being involved with the storyline?

Niall Mohan is one of my favourite characters to have played. He had a great storyline, the cast were brilliant and we were all very close by the end of filming and I’m still in touch with my on-screen family. I’m really glad I got to be a part of the show.

What did you enjoy most about playing Daniel in the crime series The Holiday?

My favourite thing about playing Daniel in The Holiday was that he was a very cool character and I had lots of cool scenes with him, I even did some stunt work! Also, we got to film in Malta, which is such a beautiful place. It was a challenging shoot as it was during COVID but, again, cast and crew were super. I made a lot of good friends on the series. Also, Laura (Way), the director, was fab.

Can you tell us about your time filming as Nathan in the feature film Apocalypse Clown?

I filmed Apocalypse Clown when I was in sixth class, I think, and now I’m going into fourth year in secondary school. I remember the place where I shot the film was right opposite my primary school, which was funny, I had never shot a movie in Maynooth before. That only took one day for me to do and the role suited me because my character Nathan was a magician and I loved the scene because it was super funny.

As a magician, you were a contestant on Ireland’s Got Talent in 2019, was there anything that encouraged you to audition for the show and how was it reaching the Semi-Finals?

I really just wanted to show my magic to a larger audience, instead of just my family and friends. I was nine when I auditioned. I’ve always watched the Got Talents growing up, and Ireland’s Got Talent was new at the time so I thought it would be a fun idea to audition for it. It was great reaching the Semi-Finals, I remember going into the room with the judges and they had to tell us if we got into the Semis and I did, so it was great. I remember my school were so supportive, they had posters all around the school!! It was really lovely.

The following year, you were a Finalist on Series 14 of Britain’s Got Talent, which was filmed during the coronavirus pandemic, what are some of your favourite memories from your time on Britain’s Got Talent?

I loved making it to the Final of BGT. I remember I had to do the Semi-Finals from home because of COVID, which was not easy. I had to change my act with a week to go and then perform in my bedroom! But we made it work! When the Final came, I remember I was in school and I got called out and my mum told me we had to get on a plane that day to go to the UK for the finals! It was so exciting. I loved being in the hotel with all of the other acts in the Final and performing live! I also made some great friends.

How was it being asked to compete on America’s Got Talent: All Stars in 2023 and what was it like performing in the Final with Mat Franco?

I remember I was in Utah filming with Kevin Costner when the talks began about me going on America’s Got Talent: All Stars. We had an online meeting with a producer from AGT while I was in Utah. Then there was a really quick turnaround. Right after I was done filming Horizon, I was home for about a month, worked on an act to perform and then flew out to LA and the whole experience was great!

Because it was an All Stars edition, there were super acts from all around the globe!

It’s always nerve-racking before getting onto the stage but once I get going I love playing to the audience and having fun with the judges!! I got the Golden Buzzer on my first round which put me straight into the Final! Honestly, it is such an amazing feeling getting the Golden Buzzer!

I loved performing in the final show and then I got to perform with AGT winner Mat Franco. He’s great and he really let me shine. He taught me a lot of great things too. I saw him in Vegas last year and caught up with him!

I came 5th overall in AGT. I had a lot of family who came out to support me, we all had a blast!

You returned to Britain’s Got Talent last year as part of Magicians Assemble alongside fellow magicians Ben Hart, Elizabeth Best of The Haunting and Colin Cloud, how was it working with the rest of Magicians Assemble and what was your audition like to prepare for?

Working with Magicians Assemble was a very cool experience. They were all very kind people and they were all very experienced so getting to work with them was amazing. I actually met Colin when I was nine, when I was on The Ellen Show and she gifted me a trip to watch magician Shin Lim in Vegas, Colin was performing with him so I met him backstage, then six years later I’m performing with him, haha.

The preparation was cool for it, there was a lot of Zoom calls and then a few days before, we all met up in the UK and started practising in person!

Can you tell us about being part of The Ellen Show, which saw you host Aidan’s Magic Corner with guests Jonas Brothers, Emily Blunt, Colin Farrell and Kalen Allen?

The Ellen Show’s Aidan’s Magic Corner segment was great. I got to meet some of my favourite celebrities and show them magic tricks. The production crew helping me were amazing too. Unfortunately, COVID started just after my first few episodes and I wasn’t able to travel to LA to continue it. But it was fantastic having my own show. I hope to have one again!!

Is there anything you find most enjoyable about being a magician?

I like creating and performing, which fits in really well with magic. It has so many different performance styles and methods, which I really enjoy exploring. I must admit, I do like fooling people and seeing their reactions! 😂

Where does your love of acting and magic come from and how did you get into each?

My dad runs an acting agency and he and my mum are actors and my mum runs stage schools with her sisters, so I got lucky being born into a family of actors. But magic came about randomly, there isn’t a whole lot of magic in Ireland but I remember seeing a magician at an event when I was about five or six and I’ve been hooked ever since. I had magicians come to my birthday parties when I was younger and then I wanted to learn. I’m a very curious person.

Do you have any favourite films and TV shows to watch, and have there been any magicians that have particularly inspired you?

I really like watching Derren Brown specials, like The Push, The Art Gallery Heist etc. Also, his live shows are great! Other casual stuff I like to watch are sitcoms. I particularly like Modern Family, How I Met Your Mother and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. My favourite TV show though is probably Squid Game. My favourite films are probably the Saw movies and another TV show I love is Black Mirror!

How do you like to spend your free time?

I’ve started going to the gym, and I like to read and play chess a lot. I like to play some good story-driven video games too the odd time. I don’t know if you would call this a story-driven video game, but I just finished one called The Talos Principle, which I enjoyed, although some of the puzzles were very hard, haha.

Do you have any acting or magic plans coming up that you can share, and what are you hoping the next few months bring for your career?

I’m currently working on a magic TV show that hopefully you will all be able to see sometime in the near future! I’m also involved in a TV pilot for a new TV series. It’s very funny!

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