Daniel Browning Smith, also known as The Rubberboy (born May 8, 1979), is an American

contortionist Contortion (sometimes contortionism) is a performance art in which performers called contortionists showcase their skills of extreme physical flexibility. Contortion acts often accompany acrobatics, circus acts, street performers and other liv ...

, actor, television host, comedian, sports entertainer, and a stuntman, who holds the title of the most flexible person in history, owning a total of seven ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

''. Smith owes his flexibility to the genetic condition

hypermobile Ehlers–Danlos syndrome Hypermobility, also known as double-jointedness, describes joints that stretch farther than normal. For example, some hypermobile people can bend their thumbs backwards to their wrists, bend their knee joints backwards, put their leg behind the h ...

Early life

Smith was born and raised in

Meridian, Mississippi Meridian is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, eighth most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, with a population of 35,052 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi, ...

, United States. He has one sister and one brother. He was inspired by contortionists since the age of four, giving him the dream of becoming the world's best one. At this time, Daniel began to jump off the top bunk bed and land in a straddle split, much to the amazement of his family. Later, in his teen years, he began street performing with this technique to attract people's attention. When Smith turned 18, he joined the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus before beginning contortion training under Master Lu Yi at the

San Francisco School of Circus Arts Circus Center is a circus school in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1984 by Wendy Parkman and Judy Finelli as the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. History In 1974 the Pickle Family Circus was founded by Peggy Snider and L ...

Ehlers–Danlos syndrome

The remarkable flexibility that Smith possesses is due to a genetic condition known as

or hEDS, one of thirteen types of Ehlers–Danlos syndrome. Those affected by this condition often have extremely mobile joints which are vulnerable to dislocation and skin which is easily bruised. While many people with hEDS have severe muscle and bone pain alongside a range of

autonomic nervous system The autonomic nervous system (ANS), sometimes called the visceral nervous system and formerly the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the nervous system that operates viscera, internal organs, smooth muscle and glands. The autonomic nervo ...

and

endocrine The endocrine system is a messenger system in an organism comprising feedback loops of hormones that are released by internal glands directly into the circulatory system and that target and regulate distant organs. In vertebrates, the hypotha ...

problems, Smith experienced only moderate pain for most of his contortion career, but eventually had to give up performing as his condition progressed.

Television

*'' CSI: NY'' as Lukas Neiman *''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate gr ...

'' as Rollo the Rubberboy/Boneless Billy Benson *'' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' as Sqweegel *''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'' as Danny Chasen *''

Stan Lee's Superhumans ''Stan Lee's Superhumans'' is a documentary television series that debuted from August 5, 2010 to September 17, 2014 on History Channel. It was hosted by Marvel comic book superhero creator Stan Lee and follows contortionist Daniel Browning Sm ...

'' as Host

Filmography

*2005 ''

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy crime film written and directed by Shane Black (in his directorial debut), and starring Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, and Corbin Bernsen. The script is ...

'' as Rubber Boy *2008 ''

You Don't Mess with the Zohan ''You Don't Mess with the Zohan'' is a 2008 American Satire (film and television), satirical Action comedy, action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and written by Adam Sandler, Robert Smigel, and Judd Apatow. Sandler also stars, alongside Joh ...

'' as Real Estate Agent *2011 ''

Paranormal Activity 3 ''Paranormal Activity 3'' is a 2011 American found footage supernatural horror film directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. It is the third installment of the ''Paranormal Activity'' series and serves as a prequel, mostly set 18 years pri ...

'' as stunt *2012 ''

Foodfight! ''Foodfight!'' is a 2012 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Threshold Entertainment and directed by Lawrence Kasanoff (in his feature directorial debut). The film features the voices of Charlie Sheen, Wayne Brady, Hilary Du ...

'' as Cheasel T. Weasel (motion capture)

References

External links

* * Living people Contortionists 21st-century American male actors American male television actors People from Meridian, Mississippi People with Ehlers–Danlos syndrome 1979 births American male comedians Comedians from Mississippi {{US-entertainer-stub