Is Angel-Diaz Romance Just Hocus Pocus?

Magician Criss Angel, star of A&E's "Mindfreak," gets a laugh out of the fact that magazines and blogs have romantically linked him to "Shrek the Third" star Cameron Diaz.

"It's just kind of funny to me, because Cameron Diaz is one of the most, I think, one of the most beautiful actresses in Hollywood, you know, talented, has done a million movies … take a look at me. Do you really think she's interested in me?" Angel said in a conference call Thursday to promote the new season of his series.

Angel, 39, and Diaz, 34, were spotted hanging out in Las Vegas earlier this month, which sent tongues wagging.

"We're friends, we're good friends," Angel says of Diaz. "She's an amazing person and I'm honored to call her my friend. She's very dear to me, she's great."

The third season of his series premieres June 5. Promotions kick off the day before with Angel doing a death defying stunt in New York's Times Square where he will be suspended in a glass cube 40-feet above the ground. He has 24 hours to make his way out or it will come crashing down.

Angel will be able to interact with the crowd via audio and video during the spectacle. The demonstration will be filmed for a future episode of the series and streamed live on www.aetv.com.

"It's going to be a challenge. I've not rehearsed it. I've not seen it and it's never been attempted by anybody," he said Thursday.

Angel says that he's thankful for and amazed by the fan base he's generated.

"The first season of 'Mindfreak' I would go out and risk my life and it would be a struggle to get 12 or 14 people to watch it," he says. "Now I go out to eat an apple and 200 people are watching. And those 200 people have their cell phones with their video cameras. So, when I go and do these demonstrations I have to really be on top of my game."
By Amy Bonawitz