At the close of the Labor Day weekend, the History Channel is rolling out a two-night movie depicting the life of legendary magician Harry Houdini.

In Monday and Tuesday evening's installments of "Houdini," the title role will be portrayed by actor Adrien Brody.

As a young boy from Queens, Brody said to USA Today that he studied magic and cites Houdini as a major influence in his young days as "the Amazing Adrien."

"He escaped much more than the physical confines of his acts and became the most iconic performer ever," Brody said. "It's something we can all identify with, this longing for acceptance, and he was a real hero for the working class."

While Brody doesn't physically look like Houdini -- Brody is tall and lean where the escape artist was stockier -- the Oscar-winning actor's love and respect of the icon made him the clear choice for the part, said History Channel's chief Dirk Hoogstra.

The four-hour TV movie follows Houdini's life from childhood to his demise. In preparation for the role, Brody attempted to learn all of his tricks and escapes. He even did most of his own stunts on set.

"They strung me up with a crane by my ankles in a straitjacket," he said of one escape scene. "That was putting a lot of faith in people by letting them do that, but the water-torture chamber was the hardest stuff."

However, critics of the miniseries said much of Houdini's magic is revealed through movie magic.

"The mini-series pulls back the curtain on many of the magician's most famous feats, for instance, the metal picks he secreted about his person in order to undo handcuffs" Inquirer TV critic David Hiltbrand wrote. "But some of his most shocking performances, like making an elephant disappear on the stage of New York's Hippodrome theater in 1918, are treated as sorcery with no explanation offered."

The magic begins when History Channel's "Houdini" airs Sept. 1 and 2, 9/8c.