Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being hailed a hero internationally, for leading his country’s efforts to combat Russian forces who have invaded the country and caused an ongoing humanitarian crisis.
But what many outside of Ukraine don’t realize is that behind Zelenskyy’s stoic facade is a seasoned entertainer. The 44-year-old leader got his start in comedy at the age of 17, before moving onto a successful film career — even voicing Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian dub of both Paddington movies in 2014 and 2017.
As such, this week, a clip of Zelenskyy performing on a comedy talent competition show in 2016 captured the attention of the internet, in which he dropped trousers and played the piano … with his penis.
The show, which is called Vechirniy Kvartal — or translated in English to Evening Quarter — is a comedy series produced by the production company Kvartal 95, which Zelenskyy likewise founded.
Though it’s hard to glean much of what’s happening, save for the obvious, for those who don’t speak Ukrainian, YouTube description notes that fans were particularly complimentary of his take on Jewish classic “Hava Nagila.”
We don’t like to throw around the term “Renaissance Man” all willy nilly — but in Zelenskyy’s case, we think it most certainly applies.
