By age 12, he had not yet learnt to read.

"I was just disconnected, I'd fallen behind; I used to sit up the back of the classroom, I was introverted bordering on crippling," he said.

Encouraged by his teacher-mother, Cosentino finally found a magic book that opened his eyes to reading.

He said it was an Encyclopedia of Magic, illustrated with Vaudeville-style pictures.

"It looked like a comic book; as a kid this was awesome," Cosentino said.

"At first mum read me stories about Houdini and his adventures and in the back of the book were magic tricks.

"I had to actively participate in the book to learn the tricks."

By 17, Australian illusionist and escapologist Paul Cosentino, now known by his stage name Cosentino, started doing school incursions with his brother.

"We travelled in a beaten up blue van to the shows," he said.

"I made some good pocket money but it wasn't really a living."

Cosentino became a household name when he appeared on Australia's Got Talent in 2011 though he had been working on his craft for a decade.

Having recently completed a sold-out run of metropolitan dates, Cosentino has developed an all-new show, Cosentino Live, designed for his regional tour during October and November.

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Cosentino has written, produced and starred in eight prime-time television specials.

His shows have been broadcast in more than 40 countries.

Cosentino said regional Australia had a special place in his heart.

"I am delighted to bring my new stage production Cosentino Live to the regional cities," he said.

"It has been more than a decade since I have performed in those parts of the country.

"Most Australians discovered me when I was runner-up on Australia's Got Talent in 2011, but for 10 years before that I constantly toured the regional areas, right across the country."

Cosentino has multiple Merlin Awards from the International Magician's Society. Other recipients include David Copperfield, Criss Angel and Penn & Teller.

Cosentino won Dancing With The Stars in 2013, starred in Bleeding Steel in 2018 and wrote an autobiography Anything Is Possible. He also created an animated book series The Mysterious World of Cosentino.