I was in a movie with Zelenskyy. His Jewish optimism will help him beat Russia
“Hey, do you know you were in a movie with the new Ukrainian president?” my brother texted me in the Spring of 2019. He included a screenshot of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s IMDb page.
“Who me?” I wrote back, adding a perplexed hands-up emoji that perfectly represented the haggard suburban mom I now was.
I’d gotten used to these sort of revelations — that someone I had worked with during my years as a struggling actress had become a star. Still, never before had a former co-star become president of a country.
In 2009, Zelenskyy, your run-of-the-mill Ukrainian Jewish comedian, was headlining his first big film, which happened to be shooting in New York. This Russian comedy called “Love in the Big City,” about Russian expats’ romantic exploits in The Big Apple, was also an opportunity for me — a chance for a sizable paycheck for my vital role of “girl in sports club,” mainly, which was no small feat for an actress/waitress.
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interesting take. Here's hoping!