SAN DIEGO—
Nick Afanasiev, a 20-year-old Hollywood actor, has the longest tongue in the United States.Afanasiev's tongue measures 3.5 inch long, from the middle of his closed top lip to the tip of his tongue. It's only 0.36 inches shorter than that of Stephen Taylor, the world record holder from the United Kingdom. Afanasiev can easily stretch his tongue to touch his lower eyelid, and he can even write text messages with the tip of his tongue.
Born in Moscow and raised in Philadelphia, Afanasiev told Fox 5 he did not become aware of his extraordinary talent until his Youtube videos featuring his extremely long tongue got over 1 million hits.
"I knew it was long; I just didn't know it was one of the longest." Afanasiev said.
Because of his long tongue, he started making guest appearances at various television shows, including NBC's "Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and CW's "The Tyra Banks Show." He soon launched his acting career, appearing in popular shows like "I, Carly" and other Hollywood and indie films.
Afanasiev said he hopes his tongue will help him gain more exposure on television and further his acting career.
