Devon Terrell is screening his calls.

"Any unknown calls ... I'm being very apprehensive," he says.

The 24-year-old from Perth makes his acting debut today as none other than Barack Obama in the new biopic, Barry.

The film, being released on Netflix, follows the now outgoing US President's formative year as a drinking, smoking, brooding college student at Columbia University in New York — a far cry from the polished politician we see today.

On top of it being his first ever role, it is easy to see why Terrell would be nervous.

"There were people from the White House at the Toronto screening from what I heard," he says.

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But if early reviews of the film are anything to go by, any unannounced call from the Oval Office should be nothing to fear.

Since premiering at the Toronto Film Festival in September, critics have heaped praise on Barry and Terrell, who became left-handed for the role and had to morph his Australian accent into Mr Obama's dulcet tones.

The LA Times described his performance as "like watching archival footage".

"I watched countless, countless hours of footage of him when he was younger," Terrell said.

"It became a very immersive kind of process of understanding this young man's psyche when he was at university and kind of this moment in his life ... a moment in time that shaped the person he is today."

Mr Obama studied at California's Occidental College before moving to Columbia University. ( Supplied: Netflix )

Fitting in and finding your scene

It was a much lesser task, however, for Terrell to understand Barry's backstory.

With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, Mr Obama was born in Hawaii but also spent time in Indonesia while growing up.

It meant a lot of his time was spent trying to fit in.

"I was born in Long Beach, California, and at the age of five I moved to Perth where my family was," Terrell said.

"I had to change my voice and I became Australian. I was the only African-American Anglo-Indian in Perth probably, so you know I didn't know where I kind of fitted."

Terrell said he found himself when he began studying acting at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in New South Wales — where the likes of Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving made their start.

For Mr Obama, campus life was also pivotal.

In 1981 — when sweatshirts, black leather jackets and Sony Walkmans reigned supreme — young Mr Obama struggled to find his "scene" as a black student at a predominantly white, privileged university.

In Barry, he juggles being an ivy-league scholar and a boyfriend to his white, well-to-do girlfriend, while being a "brother" on the basketball court and treated as a suspect on his own campus.

Fun fact: Barack Obama had a long-term relationship with the daughter of an Australian diplomat. ( Supplied: Netflix )

Terrell said the questions Mr Obama found himself asking were the same many young people would still find themselves pondering today.

"Throughout Barry he's a young man trying to find himself and he's dealing with things like race and a whole number of agendas that are still happening today," Terrell said.

"I asked myself the same questions that he was asking at that age.

"I think it's a great story for young people to watch and think, 'Oh gosh, Barack went through the same thing that I did'."

What would a young Obama think of Trump?

Barry's release comes as the United States prepares to farewell its 44th president, and welcome billionaire businessman Donald Trump.

Growing up in Australia, Terrell had much to learn about the country's politics in preparation for the film.

"It's always in the news, and it's around you everywhere. You can't help but be political in America," he said.

In Barry, young Mr Obama is only just beginning to form the political views that would later define his presidency.

Asked what Barry would think of having Mr Trump in the Oval Office, Terrell said he would likely be optimistic.

"I think he'd have a similar sense of hope ... that there is hope for the younger generation to grab this opportunity and become more politically involved," he said.

As for Terrell, the actor has high hopes for 2017 following Barry's release.

"I've been sent a lot of scripts ... I think 2017 is looking like a very, very exciting year for me," he said.