James Galea

Early career

Galea was introduced into the art of magic at age 14. He spent most of his youth studying sleight of hand magic, practicing for eight hours a day. He also attended Marcellin College Randwick, graduating in 1998. In 1999, at age 18, Galea performed at James Packer's first wedding - the same year that saw him open his own stage show in Japan.

In 2002, Galea became the Australian Close-up Magic Champion. In 2005/2006, Galea headlined venues including the famed Magic Castle in Hollywood and the Flamingo Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Returning from the U.S., Galea filmed a six-part series for the Nine Network titled "Urban Magic".

In 2008, Galea premiered his one-man show I Hate Rabbits at Sydney's Enmore Theatre to a sell-out crowd. The show featured in the 2009 Adelaide Fringe Festival before heading to the Forum Theatre in Melbourne as part of the 2009 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. During the Melbourne season, Galea appeared in the nationwide broadcast of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala Show and performed his award winning routine 673 King Street.

After a chance meeting in 2007, Galea teamed up with writer/actor/director Nicholas Hammond to co-write a play, Lying Cheating Bastard. The plot features a young man drawn into the seedy underbelly of Sydney, the story of infamous con-man Jimmy Garcia (aka "Cricket") and how he became the most successful con-man in Australia by the age of 27.

In 2014 James formed the Band of Magicians with Justin Flom, Justin Willman, and Nate Staniforth and performed a string of sold out performances in Australia.