How the Aussie star of 'Barry' learnt self-acceptance with help from Obama

What do a 24-year-old kid from Perth, Australia, and the 44th President of the United States have in common?

Quite a bit actually, if you ask the Aussie actor of Netflix's upcoming biopic Barry.

Like the young Barack Obama, who he plays, Devon Terrell is on a journey of self-discovery. And thanks to Obama, he's learning a lot.

Barry centres on the life of Obama as a young Columbia University student in racially-charged New York of the early '80s. Emigrating from Indonesia in 1971, the child of a white American woman and a Kenyan man, Obama deals with issues of belonging in Barry -- based partly on his account of the period in the memoir Dreams From My Father.

Reading the script, Terrell found he could relate. Apparently, so did director Vikram Gandhi. Terrell got the part after just one audition and a quick Skype chat.

Born in Long Beach, California to parents of mixed decent, Terrell moved to the west coast of Australia when he was five. "I had to adapt to my new scenario, as he [Obama] did. There was no one who was of Anglo-Indian and African American mixed race where I was.

"I was the only one of my kind, so I knew what it felt like to be an outsider and to try to fit into different circles. I'm still a very young man as well, so I'm asking the same questions as Barack."

He had a strong emotional connection to the script, saying "I learnt lot about myself and I learnt a lot about him in the process."

But at the same time as he saw a bit of Obama in himself, Terrell found that taking on the role brought with it huge challenges. After all, Obama's dulcet voice and mannerisms is recognised and studied by people all over the world.

"He's left-handed, I'm right-handed," said Terrell. "He has this incredibly distinctive voice. So I just did as much background research as I could. Reading all his books multiple times. Watching as many videos as I could. Just understanding who this person is."

Terrell's "Obama voice" is now his signature party trick for friends and family back home in Perth. And it's his family he hopes will get the most out of the Netflix original movie.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"People in Perth are a bit freaked," he said. "It's hard for my family to comprehend too. I came back to Australia because I wanted to watch it with my family. We're going to watch it in my cousin's living room all together. My mum's already seen it because she came to Toronto with me. She was balling her eyes out."

On a platform like Netflix, the film's creators have an opportunity to catch as many viewers in their own homes as possible. It's a point not lost on Terrell, whose excited to know that on the same day at roughly the same time, his family will be joining many others to watch the president's story together, before his time in office concludes.

It's exciting to be releasing Barry at this time. I hope it will form part of Barack Obama's legacy," he said. "The election has totally taken over conversations around the world right now, so I hopefully this can start other conversations that bring hope to the world. He’s broken down all these barriers that people had on themselves."

He continues: "When you look at his story, it sounds like an impossible story. Years ago, no one would have thought it could be done. But I think his values and morals -- the fact that he's a family man -- I think any man or woman of any race can respect that kind of person."

As for what he learnt the most from playing a young, slightly unsure future president? The kid from Down Under said "Accepting who you are. You don't have to fit in anywhere. The truth is you belong. Wherever you are."

Barry will be available for streaming on Netflix on Dec. 16, 2016.