The faux president of the United States, Reggie Brown, is excited to be in Sydney, but also a little disappointed. It’s his first time, and he didn’t realise that all the crocodiles and sharks he saw as a child in Crocodile Dundee are still a long way off in the outback.
Born in Chicago, Brown claims the title as the world’s No. 1 Barack Obama impersonator. He’s in Australia to promote the website finder.com, but the visit comes as we enter the twilight hours of the real president’s time in office. What’s a professional mimic to do?
Brown’s resemblance to the president became apparent in 2001. His older brother told him he looked like this guy Barack who he saw playing basketball at the East Bank Club in Chicago, but Brown didn’t think much of it. While waiting tables later that week, a woman told him he looked like her professor. That professor’s name was Barack Obama.
When Obama became a senator, people would run across the street to ask Brown if he was the politician. “Anytime I wore a suit, people really thought I was him before he had gray hair,” he said.
The idea of impersonating Obama became increasingly tempting. “I started to consider it, but I was still working towards my career being a broadcaster,” he explained. “My friend said, ‘you need to meet this manager, you can become the best Obama, you can make great money, travel the world, meet amazing people.’”
Raised by a single mother along with four siblings, he was working three jobs before Obama won office. Once he figured out the earning potential of a successful impersonator, he switched from three jobs to one in 2009 and has been the pseudo-leader of the free world ever since.
Brown is 34 years old, twenty years younger than Obama, and these days he needs makeup to help himself look more like the president. As a close observer of Obama, he’s seen the president’s face change over the years. “I feel for him. Because his job’s so stressful, you can definitely see the toll that the job has taken on him,” he said. Brown makes his hair gray, puts brown contact lenses in, and even has custom-made prosthetic ears.
He’s now performed in every continent except Antartica. Large companies like Unilever have conventions and hire him to do his half-hour comedy show. He makes a grand entrance with Secret Service agents and “Hail to the Chief” playing. “I start roasting their CEOs and having some fun,” he said.
As it turns out, the impressions game can be lucrative. “In the United States we talk about the 99% and the 1%. It’s crazy, but it definitely took me from the 99 to the one. It’s set me up for life,” Brown explained.
While he started out taking jobs for free or for a few hundred dollars to get things up and running, he said he now nets between $7,500 and $12,500 for a corporate job. He was once paid $25,000 for a half hour, not including business class airfares and accommodation.
Ironically, it was the Republican Leadership Conference in 2011 that really put him on the map. The Republicans invited him down to New Orleans to perform, and according to Brown, they were laughing the whole way until he started roasting their own candidates. “They kicked me off the stage live on television and it made worldwide news,” he said. “It ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me from a business perspective.
While he never used to answer questions about politics, Brown said that he does vote and has voted Democrat in the past. “People always ask if I’m going to run for office because of my strong beliefs … I’m very vocal about them,” he said. “For us to still be talking about equality in 2015, whether it’s women’s rights, gay rights, the rights of immigrants … It’s very simple concepts, I don’t know how they’ve become so complicated.”
Brown has even met Obama, and surprisingly, the world didn’t implode. They shook hands at a fundraiser once, although Brown was not in character. “In hindsight, I wish I would have gone [in costume], for the reaction from him,” he said. “He looked at me, we shook hands for, in my mind, 30 seconds. When I watched the video, it was like a second and a half.”
Now, like Obama himself, it’s time to look to the future. It probably won’t be honorary professorships at Ivy League schools or the multi-million dollar speaking circuit for him, but Brown said he’s starting to get work outside of the Obama character as an actor. He’s been appearing on a show called Impress Me, which he compared to Curb Your Enthusiasm, about impressionists trying to transition into dramatic acting.
But when “the” Obama movie comes out, he wants the role. “Whether it’s the bio or what, I think I’ve earned a shot to at least audition, and I don’t think anyone can do the part better than me at this point,” he said.
So, who’s funnier — the president or Brown? “I’m definitely funnier,” Brown said. “And he stole some of my jokes … I’m flattered, but I never got a thank you from the White House.”
While in Australia, Brown’s Obama will be busy appearing at parties and on television shows. He doesn’t know too much about Australian politics, but he’s heard Prime Minister Tony Abbott is an interesting character. He even knows of a guy named Jonas Holt that does a mean Abbott impression, and they’re meant to meet up.
In the meantime, he’s off to take a stroll through Sydney’s central business district, complete with faux Secret Service agents in sunglasses and screaming, hopelessly confused crowds.
