Liev Schreiber rallies support for Ukraine: They are ‘fighting for our value system’

Liev Schreiber says his decision to speak out in support of Ukraine has nothing to do with his heritage and everything to do with “what is is to be American and what American values are.”

The “Spotlight” actor has an ongoing starring role as the co-founder of BlueCheck Ukraine, an organization that vets groups working to support humanitarian aid efforts to ensure that donations are fast-tracked and go straight to Ukrainians on the front lines in its war against Russia.

“I spent a few weeks in February and March on the couch with my kids watching this war go by and feeling guilty that I wasn’t doing anything and that I wasn’t showing them how important it was to reach out, to be supportive — especially when you feel, as I do, that the Ukrainians are in many respects fighting for our value system over there,” Schreiber said.

“After having a pretty long career in theater and film and television, the feeling that my celebrity can do something substantive and important is really, really rewarding,” added Schreiber, 55.

ITK caught up with the former “Ray Donovan” star ahead of his trip to Washington last week to raise awareness about BlueCheck Ukraine at an event at the French ambassador’s residence in Washington.

The so-called UnSanctioned gathering — organized by a slew of co-hosts including Tammy Haddad, former Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), Kara Swisher, French Ambassador Philippe Étienne, Adam Ghetti, Ryan Evans, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), Dan Jablonsky, Dmitri Alperovitch, Maureen Hinman, Kevin Sheekey and Edward Luce — brought together Ukraine supporters who have been sanctioned by Russia since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces first invaded nearly a year ago. Guests included Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova and a throng of lawmakers: Reps. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) and Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), along with deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and State Department spokesman Ned Price.

While House Republicans have cast doubts on the future of the United States’s financial support for Ukraine, Schreiber — whose grandfather is Ukrainian — said Kyiv success in the war would help bring the country, and potentially the world, together.

“I think a victory for Ukraine, which I personally feel is inevitable, is a unifying event,” he said. “I think it returns us to a phase of optimism, both in America and Europe.”

Schreiber, who’s been to Ukraine three times and says he’s planning a return trip there in the future, appeared undeterred by a poll released last week that found that while most Americans still support sending military aid to the country, the majority was slipping.

Saying he was “sure” there’s a sense of Ukraine fatigue, the performer acknowledged, “As with anything that kind of runs its course in the news cycle, that’s going to happen.”

Schreiber offered a warning, saying, “I think we just need to bear in mind what it means to not support the Ukrainians in this war, what the consequences of losing that gateway to Europe are, and democracy losing out to an authoritarian regime as powerful and as wide-reaching as the Kremlin.”

The Tony Award winner said he’s found “nothing but support on the Hill,” and expressed an appreciation to “anyone who dedicates their life to civil service.”

But with all his work alongside lawmakers on Ukraine, would the father of two ever consider making the leap from acting to politics?

“No. Absolutely not,” he said with a laugh. “I’m getting old and I want to enjoy getting old.”

“D.C. is just one of those places where, fortunately, I haven’t been enough that I’ve become jaded,” Schreiber said. “I just love it as a city.”

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