Celebrities you will never believe were game show hosts

Penn Jillette (Identity - 2006)

If the name Penn Jillette rings a bell, it's probably because of his first name. Yes, this is the Penn from the world-renowned magic duo Penn and Teller. A boisterous personality with humor running through his veins, it seems like Penn would be a natural as a game show host ... and he most certainly was. Good thing though NBC didn't pick Teller to host Identity because, well, you wouldn't get many words out of him. Speaking of Identity, that was the name of the show Jillette emceed back in 2006, and although it only lasted for one season, the game's concept was quite good.

A contestant was introduced to twelve complete strangers from all walks of life. They were then shown 12 identities, each one corresponding to one of the stranger's line of work. In order to win the $500,000 top prize, the contestant had to correctly match all twelve stranger's identities. This was an intriguing format simply by the fact that many people play this sort of game on the street, trying to guess stranger's occupations and traits just by looking at them. Identity was part of NBC's whirlwind of prime-time game shows which premiered in the mid-2000s that also included the popular Deal or No Deal and 1 vs. 100. Unlike either of those two shows, Identity actually had three top winners despite only 12 episodes being produced.

Penn used his many years of television experience and showmanship to his advantage. He was able to create suspenseful moments without it feeling forced, as a magician he obviously can communicate well with people, and the game itself was a perfect fit since he was free to use his personality more than being enslaved by trivia questions.

One of the best aspects that Jillette had hosting Identity was the way he revealed each locked-in guess, by saying the catchphrase "is that your identity?" He sort of channeled Howie Mandel saying "deal or no deal" and Bob Saget saying "do you want the money or the mob," but the different tones he would use depending on where in the game the contestant was really added, not only to the thrill of the game but to his ability to capture the viewer's attention. Sure he oftentimes used the Ryan Seacrest American Idol trick when throwing to commercials, which were definitely predictable, but overall, Penn did a solid job hosting Identity and should definitely be considered to host another game show of this style.