Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has won global praise as he fights to defend his country against Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Now, thousands of fans are calling for a film about the 44-year-old politician to be produced by Hollywood, and are urging that actor Jeremy Renner, 51, be cast in the lead role.
“Is it obvious to everybody else that Jeremy Renner is the only logical option to play Zelensky in the biopic screenwriters are almost certainly drafting already?” one asked on Twitter, sharing side-by-side images of the two men.
Indeed, Zelensky and Renner bare striking similarities to one another. The Ukrainian president, who is 5 feet 7 inches tall, is a touch shorter than the actor, who stands at 5 feet 9 inches tall — but the pair both possess deep-set eyes, short brown hair and an almost identical jawline.
Renner has previously played a war hero in the action flick “The Hurt Locker,” with many sharing screenshots of the actor in the movie alongside photos of Zelensky taking to the streets to defend Kyiv.
“‘Zelensky,’ the new biopic starring Jeremy Renner,” another fan enthused.
However, the fan-casting quickly caused backlash, with many reminding Twitter users that Ukraine was in the midst of a real war.
“Ukrainians are losing their lives and having their homes/businesses destroyed and we really have people tweeting ‘Jeremy Renner should play Zelensky in the movie about this!!'” one blasted. “That’s the most pathetic and tasteless thing you could possibly be thinking about right now.”
A second detractor raged: “There are people tweeting about whether Jeremy Renner should play Volodymyr Zelensky in a movie about the Ukraine war. This isn’t entertainment. People are dying. People are being displaced from their homes.”
“We live very sheltered lives in the West if our frame of reference to an international tragedy is whether a movie will be made about it. This is a gap in both empathy and experience,” the Twitter user continued.
Zelensky himself is a former actor who only entered the political arena back in 2019.
The father of two was one of Ukraine’s most popular TV comedians, ironically playing the country’s president in the satirical show “Servant of The People.”
Zelensky is now in imminent danger, refusing offers to evacuate his country following Russia’s invasion last week.
“I need ammunition, not a ride,” Zelensky declared, vowing to stay and fight alongside his countrymen.