Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville was shocked to discover that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskky, provided the voice of Paddington Bear for the Ukrainian dub of Paddingon and Paddington 2.
On Sunday, Feb. 27, Hugh Bonneville started a short Twitter thread where he shared his appreciation for the news, writing: "Until today I had no idea who provided the voice of @PaddingtonBear in Ukraine. Speaking for myself, thank you, President Zelenskky #PaddingtonBear".
Until today I had no idea who provided the voice of @paddingtonbear in Ukraine. Speaking for myself, thank you, President Zelenskiy. #PaddingtonBear https://t.co/5VaMi201FsFebruary 27, 2022
Hugh also shared a link to a YouTube clip showing President Zelensky voicing the part for Paddington 2, which you can see below.
As part of the thread, Hugh also tweeted a link to the Unicef website, where the charity explains their link with the beloved bear, writing: "For those across the world who cherish the values of Paddington..."
For those across the world who cherish the values of Paddington… https://t.co/r5Kl5kTb7CFebruary 27, 2022
Before he was elected President in 2019, Mr. Zelensky studied law at the Kryvyy Rih Economic Institute (the local campus of the Kyiv National Economic University).
However, he went on to pursue a career as an actor and performer. In 2015, he notably created, produced, and starred in the Ukrainian comedy, Servant of the People.
This series saw Mr. Zelenskyy playing Vasyl Petrovych Holoborodko, a high-school teacher who was catapulted to fame and elected President of Ukraine after a video of one of his rants against political corruption went viral online.
Three years later, the political party 'Servant of the People' (named directly after the show) was officially registered in 2018. On New Year's Eve in 2018, Zelensky himself announced he planned to follow in his character Holoborodko's footsteps and run for office. He went on to win the 2019 presidential election with a huge landslide of 73% of the vote.
Aside from Paddington and Servant of the People, Zelensky has starred in several Ukrainian movies and series. Back in 2006, he also participated in and won the very first series of the Ukrainian edition of Dancing With The Stars.
