I'm through with all this nitpicky nonsense. I already stated I don't have conclusive, material evidence (like a contract or script) that would convince somebody whose mind is already made up. But the circumstantial evidence is strongly indicative that Magda Rodriguez was paid to act a part. She's definitely an actress, and Derren Brown
certainly lied about that when he said "no actors" were used. As I said, it seems to me by far the most reasonable explanation, in that it accounts for all the known facts and doesn't involve extraordinary claims like "hypnotic mind control," or goofy semantic evasiveness to weaken the definition of the word "stooge."
As for those of you arguing that the fact that she's an actress is a red herring and doesn't mean she was paid, you guys obviously know very little about show business. The UK Actors Union (called "Equity") operates in a very similar fashion to the SAG here in the US, in that all union jobs in professional theatre/screen arts are regulated by contract according to union rules. You'll see that ITV ("Channel 4") is listed in
Equity's list of union employers. So in case you thought otherwise, it's not like a trained, accomplished, card-carrying professional actress would just show up at a TV studio along with a bunch of audience members and "extras" in order to get on a TV show. Professional actors in the Equity union don't perform on nationally broadcast television programs without being specifically hired on contract, and paid at least "scale" wages. A prominent role like the one Magda Rodriguez performed in that "Voodoo Doll" segment (she's basically the star of the piece) would in the USA have paid very highly, though I understand things are quite different in the UK and actors don't usually get paid residuals based on the popularity or profitability of the piece. But the fact that she's a professional union actress appearing in a national TV show means that she was hired and paid for her work.
Comparing Simon Pegg's and Stephen Fry's appearances on Derren Brown's show as "actors' is also disingenuous, because those guys were introduced by name and featured as special guest stars on the show, whereas Magda Rodriguez was not identified at all and her profession as a trained and accomplished actress was kept secret from the audience. Simon Pegg and Stephen Fry also did not perform theatrical roles wherein real
acting was required, like a zombie-like "hypnotic trance" with creepy choking sounds while a rope was being wound around a voodoo doll.
The fact that Derren Brown employed a professional actress to act like she was being paralyzed and choked by a voodoo doll (spoiler alert: she
wasn't really being paralyzed and choked... that's why it's called an
act) is plenty evidence enough for me to conclude that he uses stooges. Take a look at
her website and examine the kinds of roles she typically performs. She's essentially a "character actress" who specializes in "bad girl," Satanic/supernatural/"witchy" types, plus some dance and stunt work. This kind of performance is right in line with her other work. She had even listed the "Voodoo Doll" part on her website CV and IMDB, naming the role as "Vudu Mind Player," until the reference mysteriously vanished from both sites sometime late last year.
In the intro to the "Trick of the Mind" series, Derren Brown said no actors or stooges were used, yet a professional union actor was
obviously used in at least one segment. Derren Brown also said in his blog entry linked above that
everything he says in his shows is in fact true, which we also know to be demonstrably false. So Derren explicitly lied
at least twice when discussing his TV perfomances. If he'd lie about those things, it stands to reason he lies about other things pertaining to his show (like when he says he never uses stooges
).
You guys can blather on about irrelevant details, ruminate till the cows come home about the possible interpretations of the word "stooge," and hand-wave or deny the facts of the matter, but I've already wasted enough of my life bickering over this silly, trifling issue.
