Derrick Barry is by far the most famous and notorious Britney Spears impersonator we have ever seen. No surprise as Derrick has been a performer all his life.
Born and raised in Modesto, California, he began training as a gymnast at the age of 5. After competing for 7 years, at 12 years old, he decided to trade in gymnastics for the Theatre. Derrick showcased his acting abilities in over 30 productions between junior high, high school and college.
At the age of 19, he moved to Hollywood to further his passion for the art of performing. Halloween 2003 piloted his new found career of impersonating the amazingly talented Britney Spears. In late 2003 he got the long awaited call from our Transformation cover star Frank Marino and from June 2004 to September 2008, Derrick was the youngest cast member in “An Evening at La Cage” at The Riviera Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. He is now focusing on his acting career in his first full length motion picture.
Derrick will be starring as Sammy Reynolds in “Auditing Richard Biggs”. Derrick Barry also continues to entertain through his comedic videos known as “The Experiences”. He tells all that he looks forward to a long career in the entertainment business as an actor, comedian, singer, dancer and female impersonator.
“The second time I dressed up like Britney Spears was at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on November 17, 2003. Production personnel in the studio went up and told Britney, while sitting next to Jay, I was in the audience. Britney was shocked. I heard her say, “Oh My God,” as she covered her mouth. By this time, they already had a camera on me ready to record after the commercial break.
Jay soon segue into asking Britney if she would date a guy like me. The camera was recording and the house lights came on. She said, “Yes. He’s very into himself.” I danced to the “I’m a Slave 4 U” routine in my head. It was my fifteen seconds of fame. Jay quickly replied, “I don’t think he’s into himself this guy. I think he’s into you.” She agreed, “Maybe so, maybe so,” as she smiled and clapped for me. Jay later told Jim Belushi that he missed the “Britney Spears” in the audience. The camera panned over on me one last time. This was truly one of the most exciting days in my career.”
“The truth of it is, is when you go live, I mean you know, there is no lip-sync live, there’s no, you know, there are artists that use stats, when they’re on stage, I mean that’s just because they’re not really musicians who can perform live. They’re artists who are studio accomplished, but they’re very different things, and, I sort of, I love the challenge of having to do it, you know with the nervousness in your voice and the cold hands and the butterflies. I think all of that makes it magical, or a train wreck, and you know, it’s, that’s the danger of it. So, if you use stats, then you’re really not very dangerous are you?”
Catch up with Derrick at www.derrickbarry.com
[Photo] NICK SAN PEDRO
This article was originally published in Transformation 73 June 2010
