Reggie Brown

Reginald Dennis Odell II (born 1980) is an American actor, writer and comedic impersonator and look-alike of former U.S. President Barack Obama.

Brown first made international headlines due to the controversy surrounding his performance at the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference, his occasional television appearances, and his activity on YouTube.

Early life and education Brown is a native of Chicago, and was born Reginald Dennis Odell II in Maywood, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. When Brown was five years old, his father and mother separated leaving her to raise Reggie and his older brother Lawrence on her own. At the age of 9, his mother married his step father, Lawrence Brown. A year later his step father was diagnosed with leukemia and began a 3-year battle with the disease. At the age of 13, his step father died, leaving Brown and his siblings to be raised by a single mother.

Brown attended the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign before dropping out of college to pursue a career in modeling. After joining Ford Model Management, he enrolled at The Acting Studios Chicago to take voice and acting classes.

Obama impersonator Brown claims that he first learned of his resemblance to Barack Obama at the age of 21, when Obama was still an Illinois state legislator. Brown subsequently appeared on Stossel for similar mock debates with Governor Gary Johnson and Herman Cain.

2011 Republican Leadership Conference controversy

Brown was the subject of a national controversy in June 2011 when, during a nationally televised performance by Brown at the Republican Leadership Conference, he was cut off mid-sentence by Conference Chairman Charlie Davis. At first, Brown disputed the factual basis of Davis' statement, claiming that the performance was ended because Brown "was over time by a few minutes." Later, Brown responded to the allegations of racism by stating that he "didn't hear any boos on any of the racial jokes" and that he felt "very safe delivering content like that" because he and the President are of a similar mixed racial background.

YouTube activity Brown appeared in a viral YouTube parody of Psy's hit song Gangnam Style, entitled Obama Gangnam Style! The video received over 100 million views all over the world including over 30 million views from Twitter users in China, who reportedly believed that the real President Obama was responsible for the video. He also impersonated Obama in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, and in the 2016 U.S. presidential election he debuted a cross between Obama and Donald Trump, speaking popular Trump quotes, on CollegeHumor. He gave a similar performance in 2017 on Real Time with Bill Maher in a segment called "New Rule: What If Obama Said It?"

Filmography Year Film Role Notes 2008 The Obama Effect Barack Obama 2010 Hannah Montana Barack Obama iCarly Barack Obama 2 episodes Lopez Tonight Barack Obama Piscopo After Dark Barack Obama 2011 Jimmy Kimmel Live! Barack Obama Real Time with Bill Maher Barack Obama Stossel Barack Obama 3 episodes The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Barack Obama Workaholics Barack Obama WWE Capitol Punishment Barack Obama Mr. Bam Redistributes Your Wealth Mr. Bam 2012 Real Time with Bill Maher Barack Obama2 episodes Huckabee Barack Obama 10 episodes Fred: The Show Barack Obama 1 episode 2013 Funny Or Die Drake 1 episodeGoodbye World Barack Obama Movie Austin & Ally Barack Obama 1 episode 2014 I Didn't Do It Barack Obama 1 episodeNicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn Barack Obama 1 episode 2015 Nickelodeon's Ho Ho Holiday Special Barack Obama TV special 2016 Barbershop: The Next Cut Barack Obama Film 2017 War Machine Barack Obama Film

Personal life Brown currently resides in Los Angeles, California.