Entertainment
David Letterman travels deep underground to interview Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in war-torn country-Pierra Willix-Entertainment – Metro
Despite a decades-long career, this is the TV star’s boldest move yet.
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He’s been hosting talk shows for 40 years, but David Letterman has taken a major career step by interviewing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky underground.
For a special episode of his series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Letterman has interviewed the politician, who is currently leading his country in war.
But due to the ongoing threats of the Russian invasion, for safety reasons the interview had to happen deep underground – on the platform of a train station.
The trailer for the episode shows Letterman, 75, travelling to the capital Kyiv in October, but expressing his concern about the potential dangers.
‘When we were planning this trip, I wasn’t sure what to expect,’ he said.
‘It had been months since Russian troops were driven out of the city.
‘But just a week ago, Russia launched missiles and drones into Ukraine, including several that hit Kyiv.’
Letterman and Zelensky met in a train station for the interview (Picture: Netflix)
Nine months into the war, Letterman explained that their conversation is taking part ‘in the safest part of the city’, which is 300 feet underground.
‘I’ve never done anything quite like this,’ he added.
A clip of Zelensky, 44, is shown, in which he films himself telling his people: ‘We are all here defending our independence, our country. Our truth is that it’s our land, our country, our children. And we will defend all of this. Glory to Ukraine.’
The two men are then seen meeting up, with Zelensky wearing a black jumper that reads ‘I’m Ukrainian’.
Zelensky has been President since 2019 (Picture: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)
As they prepare to speak to a live audience, Letterman exclaims that the interview ‘is a bit exciting for me’.
Although Letterman interviewed former US President Barack Obama in My Next Guest’s first episode in 2018, this will be the show’s first with an active head of state.
Letterman travels underground for the interview (Picture: Netflix)
After ending his late-night talk show in 2015, Letterman launched this series in 2018, which sees him undertake an extensive interview with one guest each episode.
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Previous interview subjects across the four seasons have included George Clooney, Lewis Hamilton, Lizzo and Kim Kardashian.
Zelensky was recently named Time Magazine’s 2022 Person of the Year in recognition of his global impact over the past 12 months.
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman is streaming on Netflix.
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