The Real Magician Behind Those Complex Mission: Impossible Tricks

The "Mission: Impossible" films are well-known for their muscular stunt work. However, they also present their audience — and super spy Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) — with mental puzzles that must be solved to get a crack at the sensitive information so coveted by Hunt's competitors, rivals, and colleagues. 

Naturally, someone actually working on each film must create workable, solvable codes and puzzles that will please even the most persnickety of backseat fans of mind teasers. In the case of "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," that duty fell to David Kwong, a magician and code maker with a long Hollywood history behind him. Speaking with the Chicago Tribune in 2013, Kwong explained that his interest in puzzles and magic began during his childhood. "Magic for me was the antithesis of my parents' world of academia," he said at the time.

He started with the New York Times puzzle section as a kid, and would eventually end up working as a puzzle constructor for the outlet. But he eventually became so enamored of the magical world that his thesis at Harvard was about Chung Ling Soo, a magician who died performing his famous bullet-catching trick. Kwong has been consulted on the formation of codes and the performance of magic tricks, he's put on his own theatrical magic show, and he even worked as an archivist for magician Ricky Jay.

David Kwong's talents have long been in demand in Hollywood. He started out in the story development department at DreamWorks after working a marketing gig for HBO. In the former job, he was a part of the crew on "Shrek Forever After." He's gone on to act as a technical consultant for films as widely varied as "Paranormal Activity 4," "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife." Kwong has also been a long-term consultant for the series "Blindspot," "Kung Fu," and "The Afterparty."

But he doesn't just act in a magic consultant capacity; he was a co-producer on the TV show "Deception," which, unsurprisingly, was about a magician who helps out the FBI with their cases by using his inborn skills of trickery. The series lasted a single season on The CW before being canceled, but Kwong's stride remains unbroken, and he continues to be a crossword puzzle maven with an active Instagram presence. With all of these successes behind him, it's not hard to figure out why.