Real Life as President Starts for Comedian Zelensky Who Played One on TV

Zelensky’s rise to the presidency reflects widespread dissatisfaction with Ukraine’s political class.

Ukrainian president-elect reacts Volodymyr Zelensky after the announcement of exit poll results in Kiev on April 21, 2019. Sergei Gapon/AFP/Getty Images

KIEV, Ukraine—On television, Volodymyr Zelensky plays a school teacher who is catapulted from obscurity to the Ukrainian presidency after his tirade against government corruption goes viral online.

In a case of life imitating art, the comedian who stars as the fictional head of state has upended Ukraine’s political establishment by ousting the country’s president in a landslide victory.