The first interview David Letterman conducted as part of a special episode of Netflix series "My Next Guest" was with a young woman making the arduous journey from Poland into Kyiv, reports The Indy Star.
She asked the veteran late night host where he is from.
"I'm from Indiana," he said. "Where are you from?"
"I'm from Ukraine," she responded.
The woman inquired as to Letterman's reason for visiting. He was there to interview President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and wondered if she had anything to say to him.
"I would just like to wish him good luck," she said.
Letterman, 75, has nothing left to prove. The Indianapolis native was a successful TV host for more than 30 years, and his Netflix series has featured interesting conversations with guests including former President Barack Obama and Billie Eilish.
But he remains curious.
"When I first saw this man defending his country against Putin and Russia, I thought to myself I would really like to meet this guy," Letterman says to open the episode, which released Monday.
Letterman explained in a recent interview with the Washington Post why he was drawn to interviewing Zelenskyy in Ukraine.
"The first time I saw (Zelenskyy), he said, 'this may be the last time you, my countrymen, maybe the last time you see me alive.' And then he says, 'I don’t need a ride, I need ammunition.' Right away you’re reminded of what you know about Winston Churchill fending off Hitler."
Letterman flew to Poland, took a five-hour van ride to the Ukrainian border and spent 17 hours in a small sleeper car during an overnight rail ride to Kyiv to pull the interview off. It is compelling both in its summation of world affairs and discussion on the ever-present role of comedy — a background shared by both Letterman and Zelenskyy, who was a well-known comic and actor prior to his 2019 election.
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