Ukrainian comedian and actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy played a teacher in the popular TV comedy series Servant of the People, who is unexpectedly elected president after an anti-corruption rant of his goes viral.

Now life is imitating art: Zelenskiy, who is also head of Kiev-based theater and film comedy studio Kvartal 95, is actually running for president for real — and he is leading the polls.

According to a poll conducted by the Kiev-based organization Peredovye pravovye initsiativy, among 164,590 Ukrainians on March 16-17, about 34 percent of respondents are going to cast their votes for Zelenskiy, followed by incumbent president Petro ...