During his childhood in Rhode Island, Mat acquired his knowledge of magic by seeing magicians on television. He would record the shows and thereafter analyze them for several hours with meticulous attention to detail. At the age of 12, after accumulating funds from local performances, Mat journeyed to Las Vegas to study under prominent figures in the field of magic.
Several years later, Mat was asked to return to Las Vegas as a teenager, when he was employed to perform at the Riviera Hotel and Casino for the Society of American Magicians National Convention. In his adolescence, Mat received several accolades from the magic community by participating in state and national magic competitions.
As a high school student, Mat’s only marketing instrument was a business card. Mat was always astounded by the potency and efficacy of “word-of-mouth” advertising; but, to elevate his enthusiasm, he recognized the need for more knowledge.
Prior to pursuing magic as a full-time profession, Franco studied Business (Marketing) at the University of Rhode Island. Mat further pursued a minor in Communication Studies. Leveraging his knowledge, he successfully transformed his interest into a profession. Since his graduation from college in 2010, Franco has emerged as a national favorite among University Red/White/Black supporters. Alongside Mat’s endeavors as a live performer, he is the creator of “Franco Talent,” a specialized talent agency that only represents the finest college performers globally. The lineup features Eric Dittelman (America’s Got Talent, Fox Business News, The Ellen DeGeneres Show) and Jacob Williams (MTV’s Wild’ N Out, America’s Got Talent).
Mat auditioned for Season 1 but did not get beyond the producers’ audition round.
In Episode 904, Mat Franco’s audition included a card trick accompanied by a narrative about his magic career and the America’s Got Talent judges, during which he revealed cards that corresponded to the storyline. He also generated the illusion of transforming cards into images of the judges. Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, Mel B, and Howie Mandel unanimously voted in favor, advancing Mat to Judgment Week.
Mat Franco was classified in the “Magicians” category during Judgment Week. In Episode 907, his act included Mel B selecting a random card and arranging cards on a table to construct a picture of Howie Mandel clutching the chosen card. Mat’s performance was sufficiently enough for the judges to advance him to the Quarterfinals in Episode 908.
Mat Franco’s Week 2 Quarterfinals performance in Episode 911 involved applying paint to a playing card image on a wall, having Heidi Klum select a random card from a deck, unveiling the painted wall to display a different card than the one chosen by Heidi, and subsequently igniting the wallpaper to reveal Heidi’s card imprinted on the surface. He then disclosed that the card he had painted was inserted into Howie Mandel’s back pocket. Howard Stern, Heidi, and Howie bestowed standing ovations for Mat. He garnered sufficient votes to go to the Semifinals in Episode 912, surpassing Livy, Matt, and Sammy.
In Episode 919 of Mat Franco’s Week 2 Semifinals, Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel randomly selected three playing cards. Mat thereafter presented the three cards, numbered 6, 4, and 2, to Mel B and captured a photograph of her holding the cards with her phone. He thereafter seemed to inadvertently drop Mel B’s phone into a cup of water and, in an attempt to rectify the situation, placed the phone in a bag, using a hair dryer to dry it. However, the phone vanished inside the bag as smoke was released. Heidi then dialed Mel B’s phone, disclosing that it was ringing among the crowd. Mat severed a seat cushion marked “642,” exposing a ringing phone inside. He then disclosed that the phone had the photograph taken earlier during the performance. Heidi Klum and Howie Mandel both bestowed standing ovations for Mat. Mat garnered sufficient votes to advance to the Top 12 Finals in Episode 920, surpassing Jonah Smith.
In Episode 921 of Mat Franco’s Top 12 Finals, he placed a little box on the judges’ table and instructed Mel B to put her phone on it. Mat thereafter displayed a deck of assorted playing cards. He requested the audience to concentrate on a single card from a deck he displayed, filled a cannon with cards, and unveiled just one card adhered to the ceiling. He then had Howard Stern inscribe his name on one card, partially concealed it inside the deck, and requested the judges to snap their fingers. Whenever they performed the action, the signed card returned to the top of the deck, regardless of whether it was positioned in the center, obscured by a stack of cards, or bent. Mat thereafter instructed Mel B to elevate her phone and disclose Howard’s autographed card contained inside the little package. Mat garnered sufficient votes to go to the Final 6 in Episode 922, displacing David, Leeman, and Mike Super.
at Episode 923, Mat Franco’s Top 6 Finals recap performance included a rhyming narrative about the judges’ encounters at a bar, including three cups and three balls that continuously vanished. The performance concluded with three tennis balls emerging from the cups. Howard Stern, Heidi Klum, Mel B, and Howie Mandel all applauded him with standing ovations.
Mat’s second act of the evening had 52 audience members holding huge masked playing cards on stage. Mat had a standard deck of playing cards. He then rearranged the cards on the table while the spectators organized themselves into a single line. Mat extracted one arbitrary red card and one arbitrary black card. Howard Stern used his intuition to position red cards on one side and black cards on the other side. Mel B used her intuition to categorize certain members of the on-stage crowd into a red section and others into a black section. During the performance, Mat altered the positions of the black and red sides on both the table and the stage. Upon the intuitive sorting of both decks, Mat disclosed that Howard had placed all the cards as expected, with the exception of the Three of Clubs. On stage, the participants displayed cards with the right colors, save once more for the Three of Clubs. Howard, Heidi, Mel B, and Howie all applauded Mat with standing ovations.