Kathrine Frich
The attack left a lasting mark on the visiting actor.
When celebrities travel overseas, they usually stick to luxury hotels. But sometimes a personal connection pulls a Hollywood star far away from the red carpet. They trade comfortable trailers for a very different reality.
Deep family roots
American actor Jesse Eisenberg recently swapped the movie business for a volunteer mission. According to TSN cited by United24Media, he spent a week working at a children’s camp in the Lviv region of Ukraine.
He traveled with the US-based Campfire project. Actress Jessica Hecht set up the group to help kids living through the conflict.
Eisenberg felt compelled to visit because his ancestors came from nearby Poland. He noted that a local Catholic family sheltered a relative in Lviv and saved her life during World War Two.
Learning new lines
While at the camp, the actor threw himself into the work. He spent a full year studying the Cyrillic alphabet to perform his lines in Ukrainian.
Despite the preparation, he joked about his performance. He told the locals to watch his American movies if they wanted proof he could actually act.
The trip gave him a fresh perspective.
“When I see art taught in this environment with kids who are not having their own professional ambitions of artistry, to me, it’s this beautiful, pure, wonderful thing, and it makes me like the work that I do, and the work that I’m in, and the industry that I’m in, even more, because I get to see it in this wonderful, pure form,” he said.
Woken by sirens
The peaceful atmosphere did not last. On July 30, Russia launched a massive wave of missiles and drones across the country.
An air raid alert woke the volunteer group in the middle of the night. They rushed into a secure bunker.
According to United24 Media, the July barrage involved more than 70 missiles and 280 drones, killing at least eight people.
Hitting close to home
The attack left a lasting mark on the visiting actor. He could not help but compare the targeted city to his own hometown.
“We were woken up by an air raid siren, we went down to the shelter, and in the morning I saw the aftermath of the shelling. It was terrible… I thought: what if New York were bombed, what if my home were bombed? Because Lviv reminded me so much of the city where I live,” Eisenberg stated.
Sources: TSN, United24 Media
