Devon Terrell (born 23rd October 1992, in Long Beach, California) is an American-Australian actor. He moved to Perth, Australia when he was five years old and grew up there. He's perhaps best known for portraying Barack Obama in the 2016 biopic Barry and Arthur (yep, that one) in the Netflix series Cursed.
Filmography:
- Barry (2016) as Barack 'Barry' Obama
- Ophelia (2018) note as Horatio
- The Professor (2018) as Danny
- Cursed (2020) as Arthur
- Rap Sh*t (2022) as Cliff Lewis
- Totally Completely Fine (2023) as Dane
Tropes associated with the creator and his roles:
- Actor-Shared Background: Both Terrell and Obama have mixed ancestry; Terrell's father is African-American and his mother is Anglo-Indian, while Obama's mother was a white American with mostly English ancestry (as well as some Scottish, Welsh, Irish, German and Swiss ancestry) and his father was Kenyan.
- Darkhorse Casting: Terrell was a virtually unknown actor and had no screen credits besides an unsuccessful TV pilot when he auditioned to play Barack Obama in Barry. He ended up getting the part, which he described as his "dream role".
- Dyeing for Your Art:
- Not as extreme as some examples, but he learned how to write and play basketball with his left hand to more accurately portray Obama (who is left-handed).
- He trained in sword-fighting and horse riding for his role as Arthur in Cursed.
- Fake American: Downplayed with his role as Obama; Terrell was born in America but raised in Australia, so he had to learn to do an American accent.
- Fake Brit: In Cursed, he portrays the British Arthur. Terrell's mother is in fact from England.
- Fake Nationality: Horatio's country of origin is unclear, but seeing as both Hamlet and the Perspective Flip Ophelia are set in medieval Denmark, it seems highly unlikely he's American or Australian like Terrell, making it a case of this.
- What Could Have Been: He was cast as Beverly Snow, the lead role in Steve McQueen's series Codes of Conduct, but the show was cancelled after the pilot was filmed.
- Young Future Famous People: His first film role was as future US President Barack Obama during his time at Colombia University in 1981.
