Haysbert: '24' president helped Obama

Dennis Haysbert has claimed that his role as a black US president in 24 may have benefited Barack Obama.

He said: "If anything, my portrayal of David Palmer, I think, may have helped open the eyes of the American people.

"And I mean the American people from across the board - from the poorest to the richest, every colour and creed, every religious base - to prove the possibility there could be an African-American president, a female president, any type of president that puts the people first."

Speaking at the Associated Press, Haysbert recalled how he dined in a "very wealthy, very white and very Republican" California town and was mistaken for his Democratic TV president.

"I go into this little restaurant with that demographic and a lady comes up to me and says, 'You know, I want to vote for you,'" he said. "I don't know if it is a joke or that people just like to say those things. But to me, for them to say it out loud means they are thinking about it."