Fans of the Paddington movie franchise are completely shocked to discover Ukraine's president Zelensky voiced the main character.
Volodymyr Zelensky, 44, has been hitting headlines this past week due to the ongoing invasion in Ukraine, but the current president of the country worked for 23 years as an actor and comedian before he got into politics.
Twitter and other platforms have seen video clips and photographs resurface of Zelensky prior to becoming the president of Ukraine.
One of the clips and some of the still images that are doing the rounds is of the Ukrainian president recording the voice over for friendly marmalade-loving bear in the Ukrainian versions of Paddington and Paddington 2 .
Fans are completely taken a back, with many not believing their eyes or ears.
"I didn't think it was possible for President Zelensky to be any cooler, but I just found out that he's the Ukrainian voice of Paddington Bear," said one Twitter user.
"I was today years old when I learned that Paddington Bear in the Ukrainian version of the movie was in fact voiced by President Zelensky. Excellent," penned another.
A third then added: "Something very poetic about Zelensky being the Ukrainian voice of Paddington, as thousands of Ukrainians find themselves in foreign train stations, far from home."
Someone else said: "Hang on, Zelensky is Ukrainian Paddington AND a Ukrainian Strictly Winner? Was he REVERSE ENGINEERED TO APPEAL TO BRITS??"
A fifth penned: "Paddington Bear author was inspired by Jewish refugee children in WWII. Chew on that in relation to Zelensky’s heritage, his involvement in Paddington… and our government’s reluctance to open its arms to Ukrainian refugees now."
While a sixth said: "Sweet to discover that Volodymyr Zelensky is the Ukrainian voice of Paddington Bear."
In a preview video for Paddington 2, Zelensky addresses viewers of the film and says: “Hello to my darling friends. I, Volodymyr Zelensky, will lend my voice to the wonderful, charismatic, friendly bear Paddington."
He continued to say that the movie could be enjoyed by everybody regardless of age, adding: "You know you will definitely walk out of the film in a fantastic mood."
His talents and endless career stints before becoming the president of Ukraine don't just end at Paddington.
2006 saw Zelensky compete and win Ukraine's version of Dancing with the Stars, and clips have been doing the rounds on social media of the now-president dancing up a storm in the ballroom-esque studio.
In 2015 he starred in a TV series titled Servant of the People, where he played the role of the president of Ukraine – something that would later become reality.
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