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Anton Yelchin, ‘Star Trek’ Actor, Dies at 27

By Dave Itzkoff

• June 19, 2016

Anton Yelchin, who played the young incarnation of Chekov, an excitable officer on the Starship Enterprise, in the rebooted “Star Trek” movie series, died early Sunday morning when he was pinned by his car in his driveway at his home in Los Angeles. He was 27.

Officer Jenny Houser of the Los Angeles Police Department said Mr. Yelchin was hit around 1:10 a.m. The car, an SUV, had rolled backward down a steep driveway and trapped him against a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence.

Officer Houser said he was found dead by friends who had come to his house, in the Studio City neighborhood, after he did not show up for a rehearsal.

(On Monday, The Associated Press reported that the vehicle, a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, was one of 1.1. million vehicles recalled by the manufacturer, Fiat Chrysler, in April because their gear shifters had confused drivers, causing the vehicles to roll away, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration records.)

Mr. Yelchin was born on March 11, 1989, in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, in what was then the Soviet Union. His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were superstar figure skaters with the Leningrad Ice Ballet.

But the Yelchins, who are Jewish, fled the Soviet Union six months later, facing political and religious oppression and fearing for their son’s safety. They settled in Los Angeles. His parents survive him.

“It is a very bad situation over there,” Viktor Yelchin told The Los Angeles Times . “I would get angry, too — I’d say, ‘Why should we have to buy things on the black market? Why should we have to stand in line?’”

As a child actor, Anton made memorable appearances on television shows like “ER,” “The Practice” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” on which he played a child magician who frustrates Larry David with a card trick.

He also appeared in the films “Charlie Bartlett” (2007), with Robert Downey Jr., in which he played the title role, a talkative student who appoints himself his school’s resident therapist, and “Alpha Dog” (2006), in which he played an innocent boy who becomes an unwitting pawn in a drug war.

His breakthrough came in the director J. J. Abrams’s 2009 resuscitation of “Star Trek,” the venerable science-fiction adventure franchise. Mr. Yelchin was cast as Pavel Chekov, the Russian-born Starfleet officer portrayed by Walter Koenig in the original “Star Trek” television series and movies.

As played by Mr. Yelchin, Chekov was endearingly antic, humorously navigating his way through high-pressure scenarios and — even in the 23rd century — having difficulty with the “V” sounds in words like “Victor” and “Vulcan.”

Mr. Yelchin reprised the role in a 2013 sequel, “Star Trek Into Darkness,” and will be seen in a third film, “Star Trek Beyond,” to be released this summer.

His other recent roles included the voice of Clumsy Smurf in two “Smurfs” movies and a member of a punk-rock band fighting its way out of a neo-Nazi skinhead club in the horror film “Green Room” (2015).

His co-stars mourned his death on social media. In an Instagram post , Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in the new “Star Trek” movies, wrote that Mr. Yelchin was “one of the most open and intellectually curious people I have ever had the pleasure to know.” In a post on Twitter , John Cho, who plays Sulu in the new movies, called Mr. Yelchin “a true artist — curious, beautiful, courageous.”

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Yelchin was unsure exactly why he was cast in that particular role, though he figured it had to do with his young age and the fact that he was "familiar with Russian people. Very, very familiar." His parents are Russian. [2] During his audition, Yelchin had to try out his Russian accent, which included saying Chekov's famous line from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , "nuclear wessel". Yelchin was unfamiliar with Star Trek prior to his being cast as Chekov but planned on viewing the various DVD box sets to learn more about the franchise. [3] (X)

Like the rest of the cast, Yelchin had signed on to do two additional Star Trek films when he took the role of Chekov. [4] The first of those films, Star Trek Into Darkness , was released in May 2013 and the second, Star Trek Beyond , was released in July 2016.

In 2009, he was part of the Star Trek ensemble which received a Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award nomination in the category Best Ensemble and won a Boston Society of Film Critics Award in the category Best Ensemble Cast. He shared these awards with Chris Pine , Zachary Quinto , Zoe Saldana , Karl Urban , Leonard Nimoy , Simon Pegg , John Cho , Ben Cross , Eric Bana , Clifton Collins, Jr. , Bruce Greenwood , Jennifer Morrison , Chris Hemsworth , Winona Ryder , Faran Tahir , and Tyler Perry . In 2010, Yelchin was part of the ensemble which received a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award nomination in the category Best Acting Ensemble for Star Trek .

The 2013 virtual collectible card battle game Star Trek: Rivals used his pictures for card #79 "Ensign P. Chekhov" and card #95 "Acting Engineer P. Chekhov."

On 19 June 2016 , Yelchin was killed outside of his home in Studio City, Los Angeles when his car rolled down his driveway, pinning him against a security fence and brick mailbox pillar. [5] [6] [7] His death was ruled an accident as the result of "blunt traumatic asphyxia." [8] His 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee was subject to a recall.

• 1 Personal life
• 2.1 2000-2003
• 2.2 2004-2007
• 2.3 2008-2013
• 2.4 2014-2016
• 4 External links

Personal life [ ]

Yelchin was born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) in Russia, then the second largest city of the Soviet Union. His parents were Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, both of whom were figure skaters known throughout the country. In September 1989, when Anton was only six months old, he and his parents emigrated to the United States. Because of their Jewish background, they received refugee status, owing to the long-term anti-Semitic policies of the Soviet State. (It is worth noting that Walter Koenig, who created the role of Chekov, was also of Soviet Jewish parentage, although he himself was not born in the USSR, and they were from Lithuania rather than Russia proper.)

Yelchin attended the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, California, and had begun acting by the age of nine. He enrolled at the University of Southern California in 2007 to study film. In addition to acting, Yelchin enjoyed playing the guitar. At the time of his death, he lived in Studio City, Los Angeles, California. [9]

2000-2003 [ ]

His first television appearance came at the age of 11 in an episode of ER . His first films were the drama A Time for Dancing and the independent film A Man Is Mostly Water , both made in 2000, with the latter co-starring Star Trek: Enterprise guest star Christopher Rydell . Yelchin and Scarlett Pomers both made featured appearances in the 2000 television movie Geppetto , which starred Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's René Auberjonois and Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Brent Spiner .

Yelchin played the title role in the comedy film Delivering Milo , about the spirit of a boy who must be convinced that life is worth being born for. Star Trek: Insurrection actor Michael Welch was among Yelchin's co-stars in this film, as was John Cho , whom Yelchin again worked with on Star Trek . In addition, Yelchin had a featured role in the film 15 Minutes , starring Avery Brooks , Kim Cattrall , and Kelsey Grammer . He also had a supporting role in the Paramount Pictures thriller Along Came a Spider . All of these films were released in 2001.

Yelchin won a Young Spirit Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actor for his work in the 2001 Stephen King -based drama Hearts in Atlantis . He received a second Young Artist Award nomination for his performance on the television mini-series Taken (with Matt Frewer , Gwynyth Walsh , Rob LaBelle , and Brian Markinson ).

In 2002, Yelchin had a two-episode recurring role on the legal drama The Practice , with Paul Dooley and Alan Dale playing judges. Yelchin was also seen on Judging Amy with Chris Sarandon . In 2003, he appeared in an episode of Without a Trace with Christopher McDonald . Enrique Murciano was a regular on this series.

2004-2007 [ ]

Yelchin with Walter Koenig, the original Pavel Chekov, on the set of Star Trek

From 2004 through 2006, Yelchin starred in the Showtime series Huff , playing the son of the title character. In addition, Yelchin earned a third Young Spirit Award nomination for his starring role in the 2004 television movie Jack . This latter project also featured the aforementioned Brent Spiner, as well as Erich Anderson . Yelchin's other television credits included guest spots on Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004, with Patrick Kerr ), NYPD Blue (2004, with Gordon Clapp ), and Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2006), which was developed by Rene Balcer .

Yelchin also continued making a name for himself in films, receiving notices for his starring roles in 2004's House of D (co-starring Willie Garson and Robin Williams ) and 2006's Alpha Dog . He also starred in the drama Fierce People , which played at film festivals in 2005 and was released in theaters in September 2007. He then starred in the film Charlie Bartlett (2007), in which he played the title role, a wealthy teenager who appoints himself psychiatrist of his high school.

2008-2013 [ ]

Star Trek was not the only iconic franchise that Yelchin became a part of in 2009. Released just two weeks after Star Trek was the fourth Terminator film, Terminator Salvation , in which Yelchin played a teenage Kyle Reese (the role originated by Michael Biehn in 1984's The Terminator ).

In 2011, Yelchin starred in the acclaimed 2011 romantic drama Like Crazy , which also featured Amanda Carlin and for which he won the Spotlight Award at the Hollywood Film Festival and the Breakthrough Performer Award at the Hamptons International Film Festival. That same year, he starred in the remake of the 1985 cult horror film Fright Night as Charley Brewster, a teenager who believes his neighbor is a vampire. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest actor Chris Sarandon , who starred in the original Fright Night , made a cameo in the remake; Michael De Luca , writer of the Star Trek: Voyager episode " Threshold ", was one of the film's producers.

Yelchin was the voice of Clumsy Smurf in the 2011 film version of The Smurfs and its 2013 sequel The Smurfs 2 . The first Smurfs film also featured the voices of John Kassir and Frank Welker . Also in 2013, Yelchin was seen in Jim Jarmusch 's acclaimed vampire drama Only Lovers Left Alive and in the leading role of the thriller Odd Thomas .

2014-2016 [ ]

Yelchin acted alongside Frank Langella in the romantic comedy 5 to 7 (2014) and the neo-noir dramedy The Driftless Area (2015) and worked with his Star Trek co-star Winona Ryder in the biographical drama Experimenter (2015), the latter of which had Kellan Lutz portraying William Shatner . Yelchin also appeared in Rudderless (2014) with Jennifer Savidge , Burying the Ex (2014) with Dick Miller , and Broken Horses (2015) with Eric Sharp and Steve Luna .

Most recently, he starred opposite Star Trek: The Next Generation star Patrick Stewart in Jeremy Saulnier's critically-acclaimed horror-thriller Green Room (2016). In that film, Yelchin portrays a bassist whose band is hunted down by a gang of skinheads led by Stewart's character.

In addition to Star Trek Beyond , Yelchin had a number of other projects awaiting release at the time of his death, including the sci-fi drama Rememory and the family drama We Don't Belong Here . It was also announced just days prior to his death that he, Kelsey Grammer , and Ron Perlman were the voices of the main characters in Guillermo del Toro 's animated Netflix series Trollhunters , set to premiere in December 2016. [10]

Directors J.J. Abrams and Justin Lin , as well as fellow cast members Zachary Quinto , Zoë Saldana , John Cho , and Sofia Boutella , paid tribute to Yelchin on social media, while Karl Urban expressed horror at what had happened. [11] Abrams sent Entertainment Weekly a note signed by the " Star Trek Family", describing Yelchin as "our little brother. But only by years; he was as wise and clever and intellectually curious as anyone we ever knew." [12] Veterans of other Star Trek shows and films also paid tribute. [13] His character will reportedly not be recast. [14] His parents filed a wrongful death and product liability lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler in relation to Yelchin's death: a confidential settlement was eventually reached two years later. [15]

On 26 February 2017 , he was among the actors honored at the 2017 Academy Awards in their "In Memoriam" segment. [16]

Yelchin privately battled cystic fibrosis, regularly undergoing treatment at the University of Southern California's Keck Hospital. A foundation to help actors with disabilities like him was set up in 2017, and a year later, following a US$1 million donation, the adult cystic fibrosis center at Keck Hospital was renamed the Anton Yelchin Cystic Fibrosis Clinic. [17]

A documentary about his life, Love, Antosha , was released at the Sundance Film Festival on 28 January 2019 , with a later limited theatrical release in on 2 August 2019 . [18]

In 2020, Yelchin was again honored by the production staff of DIS Season 3 , by reference of the USS Yelchin , which was named for him.

In 2023, in the Star Trek: Picard Season 3 episode, " The Last Generation ", a character named Anton Chekov and voiced by Walter Koenig was introduced in that episode. He was named after Yelchin. ( citation needed • edit )

External links [ ]

• Anton Yelchin at Wikipedia
• Anton Yelchin Foundation
• Anton Yelchin at the Internet Movie Database
• Audio interview from the set of Star Trek Beyond

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How Anton Yelchin’s Death Changes Star Trek Beyond

By Scott Meslow

At a key moment in Star Trek Beyond , Kirk leads the crew of the USS Enterprise in a toast. "To absent friends," Kirk says, as everyone raises a glass. And then the camera shifts, ever so slightly, to refocus on the man standing behind him: Pavel Chekov, the crew member played by Anton Yelchin, who died at age 27 in a freak automobile accident last month.

Appreciating the man who said "I can do that!"

By Maggie Lange

At least, I thought the camera pivoted to Chekov. In retrospect, I'm almost 100 percent sure it was in my imagination. But for me, watching Star Trek Beyond so soon after Yelchin's sudden death cast his performance—and the film itself—in a different light. It's a resonance that the film's creative team never intended, but it's still there. When the film began, every time Chekov appeared on screen, I felt a little jolt of grief. As it continued, this feeling gradually softened, but it never totally went away.

None of this is to criticize the creative team behind Star Trek Beyond , who have felt the loss of Yelchin as both a colleague and friend, and who have been unfailingly thoughtful and gracious in their tributes to Yelchin during the movie's promotional circuit. But the death of an actor changes the context in which you watch a movie, and for fans of Yelchin's work, Star Trek Beyond will be both a tribute and a fresh source of grief. And sitting in a movie theater, it's hard to reconcile those feelings with what Star Trek Beyond wants to be: a fun, escapist summer popcorn blockbuster.

Star Trek Beyond is hardly the first Hollywood blockbuster to hit theaters under the shadow of a cast member's unexpected death. The Harry Potter franchise recast the role of Dumbledore after the death of Richard Harris. Last year, the final Hunger Games sequel was reworked to minimize the role of Plutarch Heavensbee, the supporting character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in February 2014. Earlier this summer, Alice Through the Looking Glass featured the final performance of Alan Rickman, whose unmistakable baritone classed up an otherwise forgettable movie.

Of course, a movie faces a different challenge when a late actor's performance contains echoes of their death. One of the Joker's final lines to Batman in The Dark Knight —"I think you and I are destined to do this forever"—became unintentionally ghoulish after Heath Ledger died. And then, of course, there's Furious 7 —the James Wan-directed installment of a franchise largely defined by Stark Trek Beyond director Justin Lin, who directed installments three, four, five, and six. When Paul Walker died during the production of Furious 7 —in a car crash, no less—the film's producers faced a difficult decision: shut down production, or release a movie with some unsettling parallels to a real-life tragedy? In the end, they concluded that releasing the film was the right decision, and they managed to give Walker's protagonist a relatively graceful exit, using previously shot footage, along with CGI and body doubles, to complete the performance.

Star Trek Beyond is largely constructed as a tribute to another late Star Trek icon: Leonard Nimoy.

But the team behind Star Trek Beyond had a simpler choice to make. Yelchin's performance was finished, and nothing in the film directly recalls the circumstances of his death. In fact, Star Trek Beyond is largely constructed as a tribute to another late Star Trek icon: Leonard Nimoy, who died several months before Beyond entered production.

This timeline enabled screenwriters Simon Pegg and Doug Jung to weave Nimoy's real-life death into the fabric of the film. As Beyond begins, Spock (Zachary Quinto) learns that Ambassador Spock (Nimoy)—his older self from an alternate timeline, as seen in the previous two Star Trek movies—has died. This news sends the younger Spock into a soul-searching grief that informs his entire arc in the movie, as he contemplates leaving both the Federation and his girlfriend, Nyota Uhura (Zoe Saldana), to spend more time rebuilding his culture with the other surviving Vulcans. The story crescendoes with a brief, poignant nod to Ambassador Spock and the rest of the original cast, offering a final love letter to both the character and Leonard Nimoy.

Star Trek Beyond features one of Yelchin's final performances, which is both the simplest and most complete way to honor his work in the franchise—but his death also hangs over the movie, and the already-announced Star Trek 4 will need to address it. J.J. Abrams has said that the role of Chekov won't be recast, but that it's "too early" to decide how they'll resolve the character’s absence.

As far as I can tell, the only change that was definitively made to Star Trek Beyond in the wake of Yelchin's death happens several minutes after the movie itself has ended. In the middle of the credits, a warm title card appears that was presumably planned a long time ago: "In loving memory of Leonard Nimoy." When those words fade away, they're replaced by a second, simpler dedication: "For Anton."

Anton Yelchin, new Star Trek's Chekov, dies in freak accident

The 27-year-old, who played Chekov in the Star Trek reboot films, dies after being pinned by his own car.

• Ed was a member of the CNET crew that won a National Magazine Award from the American Society of Magazine Editors for general excellence online. He's also edited pieces that've nabbed prizes from the Society of Professional Journalists and others.

Anton Yelchin, aka Star Trek's Pavel Chekov, arrives on the red carpet at the LA premiere of "Star Trek" in 2009. The actor died on Sunday.

Anton Yelchin, the actor known for playing Chekov in the recent series of Star Trek reboot films, died in a freak accident in Los Angeles early Sunday morning.

Left to right: Yelchin as Chekov, Chris Pine as Kirk, John Cho as Sulu.

Yelchin, 27, was killed when his

Friends found Yelchin after he failed to show up for a scheduled rehearsal, Houser said.

The Russian-born actor played Pavel Chekov in 2009's " Star Trek " and 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," as well as in " Star Trek Beyond ," due out later this year.

Yelchin's Star Trek colleagues took to Twitter on Sunday to express their sorrow, including actors John Cho and Zachary Quinto, who play Sulu and Spock, respectively, "Star Trek Beyond" director Justin Lin and "Star Trek" and "Star Trek Into Darkness" director J.J. Abrams (by way of his production company, Bad Robot):

Update, 12:23 p.m. PT: Adds information from the LAPD; adds Cho's tweet. 12:42: Adds tweets from Lin and Quinto. 1:30: Adds Bad Robot tweet of J.J. Abrams' note.

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Anton Yelchin dead: Remembering his funny, frantic Star Trek role

“Russian whiz kid.” That’s what they call Chekov in 2009’s Star Trek — and that’s an accurate description of the actor who played Chekov, too. Anton Yelchin was born in St. Petersburg when it was still Leningrad; his family moved to the United States when emigrating from Russia still counted as “fleeing the Iron Curtain.” The actor wasn’t yet 20 when he was cast as the Enterprise ‘s navigator in J.J. Abrams’ reboot, but he was the most experienced movie star in the cast: 12-year-old Yelchin had the title role in 2001’s pregnancy fairy tale Delivering Milo , and grew through adolescence acting with legends like Anthony Hopkins and Robin Williams in Hearts in Atlantis and House of D .

By summer 2009, Yelchin had already learned to shuttle between low-budget independent fare and major Hollywood productions. Two weeks after Star Trek hit theaters, Yelchin was playing another iconic franchise role as Kyle Reese in Terminator: Salvation . A couple years later, he gave a fine performance in the cultishly adored romance Like Crazy . Earlier this year, Yelchin gave a devastatingly realistic everydude-caught-in-a-bad-situation performance in Green Room , a bleak and terse thriller several million tonal miles away from the bright space-pop of the new Star Trek films.

Next month’s Star Trek Beyond isn’t the last film Yelchin worked on before his impossibly sad and untimely death this weekend . But the film will now stand as a tribute to the late actor. What makes Yelchin’s Chekov so interesting is that, in some respects, the role was an outlier for the actor. Though baby-faced well into his mid-20s, Yelchin’s hoarse voice and melancholy bearing were often deployed to play roles that were at once precocious and world-weary.

Pavel Chekov was created by Walter Koenig, a second-generation child of Russian immigrants. Chekov-on-the- Enterprise was a timely and hopeful vision — Russians and Americans working together! — but the story goes that Roddenberry wanted Koenig to ham up the accent. (“Nuclear wessels .”) By the time Yelchin took over as Chekov, the topical resonance was long gone – but you could feel how he thrilled to the part’s energy, and the comedic potential of combing the “Chekov accent.”

There’s a moment in Star Trek Into Darkness which shows off Yelchin’s talent as a comedic performer. Captain Kirk has just fired his Chief of Engineering – and he promotes Chekov, the ship’s official know-everything prodigy. Koenig’s Chekov was often used as an all-purpose support staff – he’s variously a second-in-command executive officer, a science officer , and a medical officer in the original films – and the new films had a lot of fun with the notion that Yelchin’s Chekov could do pretty much anything, if he had the chance.

So Kirk makes his navigator into an engineer, which requires a change of outfit. “Put on a red shirt,” the Captain says – a line built for a belly laugh from the Trek fandom, who know that “redshirt” is a synonym for “nothing good coming your way.” The camera lingers on Yelchin, staring off into the distance – a look that is knowing without being remotely sardonic, a committed clownish moment worthy of a silent comedian – before he mutters, in that delirious accent, “Aye, kep–tin.”

It’s become a depressingly regular experience in the summer blockbuster months: To see a big-budget fantasy spectacle suddenly rendered as a monument to a performer gone too soon. Yelchin’s career was about so much more than Star Trek , but Beyond will now be a final moment for the mainstream moviegoing public to see one of the true young talents of his generation. Yelchin gave richer performances, but there’s a rare magic to his Chekov, to the way Yelchin seems to be playing human flop sweat. In his big showcase scene in the 2009 Trek , Chekov races from the bridge to the transporter room, all-but-leaving a Yelchin-shaped hole in the walls of the ship. “I can do that! I can do that!” he screams. “Move, move, move!”

That was Yelchin: The kinetic energy, the forward motion, the feeling that he really could do everything, if he only got the chance.

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Tributes pour in for late 'Star Trek' actor Anton Yelchin

Actor Anton Yelchin, best known for his role as Ensign Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek movie series, has died in what is being labelled a "freak accident" involving his own car.

Los Angeles police found the actor in his driveway at around 1am PST on Sunday morning. The cause of death has been declared accidental by authorities, with LAPD spokesperson Jenny Houser telling The Hollywood Reporter : "It appears he momentarily exited his car and it rolled backward, causing trauma that led to his death."

Born in what is now Saint Petersburg, Russia on 11 March 1989, Yelchin's parents Irina and Viktor – both figure skaters who had qualified for the 1972 Olympics but were prevented from competing by the former Soviet regime – moved the family to the USA when Anton was six months old.

Anton Yelchin's movie debut came in 2000's independent film A Man is Mostly Water . He also appeared on television in series such as E.R., Hearts in Atlantis, and Huff . His big screen career took off in 2009 when he appeared as Kyle Reese in Terminator: Salvation and the JJ Abrams-directed Star Trek .

Yelchin would go on to resume the role of Chekov in 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness in its impending sequel, Star Trek Beyond , and appear in numerous movies including 2011's Fright Night remake, Odd Thomas , and Only Lovers Left Alive . He also lent his voice to animated feature The Pirates! and the English language dub of Studio Ghibli's From Up on Poppy Hill .

Tributes to the young actor have flooded in, praising his charm and charisma, and mourning the loss of such a talent so young.

Trek director and producer JJ Abrams tweeted a note reading "Anton - you were brilliant. You were kind. You were funny as hell, and supremely talented. And you weren't here nearly long enough. Missing you, JJ."

In a further statement to Entertainment Weekly , Abrams said "Anton was our little brother. But only by years; he was as wise and clever and intellectually curious as anyone we ever knew. His laugh was preposterous – you couldn’t hear it and not laugh yourself. He was funny, edgy, wild and talented beyond measure. His focus and dedication was admirable, as was his love of family, friends, literature and music."

"We loved Anton, at work or at play. We are all shocked and numb and devastated by the world’s loss of an extraordinary young man. To his family, we send you our love during this impossible time. We will miss Anton forever."

Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the Star Trek film series, also released a statement. It said: "All of us at Paramount join the world in mourning the untimely passing of Anton Yelchin. As a member of the Star Trek family, he was beloved by so many and he will missed by all. We share our deepest condolences with his mother, father and family."

Will Knight

Steven Levy

Scott Gilbertson

Brendan I. Koerner

Yelchin's Star Trek cast mates also paid tribute. John Cho, who plays Sulu, said "I loved Anton Yelchin so much. He was a true artist - curious, beautiful, courageous. He was a great pal and a great son. I'm in ruins," and "Please send your love to Anton's family right now. They need it."

Zoe Saldana - Lt Uhura - said "Devastated by our friend's loss. We are mourning his passing and celebrating the beautiful spirit that he was. #RIPAnton".

Justin Lin, director of Star Trek Beyond added "Still in shock. Rest in peace, Anton. Your passion and enthusiasm will live on with everyone that had the pleasure of knowing you."

Dozens of other Trek cast and crew, both past and present, have also paid their respects to Yelchin, though it was perhaps a fan tribute to the late actor that most poignantly hits home .

Yelchin will be posthumously seen in Star Trek Beyond , released 22 July, 2016's Porto and We Don't Belong Here , and 2017's Thoroughbred .

This article was originally published by WIRED UK

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EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Anton Yelchin, Chekov in ‘Star Trek’

| May 8, 2009 | By: Anthony Pascale 53 comments so far

Even though he just turned twenty, Anton Yelchin has already built over two dozen acting credits in less than a decade, including two big movies this month, Terminator Salvation and a certain Star Trek movie. In our exclusive interview we talk about how this Russian-born actor shaped the role (and accent) for the new Chekov and much more. We also have a new image of Yelchin as Chekov. [interview contains SPOILERS]

TrekMovie interview with Anton Yelchin

TrekMovie.com: I hate to do this but I am going to start off with the accent.

Yelchin: Well the accent is what makes it.

TrekMovie: In my review, it is one of the areas I had some difficulty with. I am one of those who would be OK with things being different. How much of a discussion with J.J. was there on the level of genuine ‘Russian-ness’ to put into it?

Yelchin: I wanted it to be close to the Chekov accent, I guess that is where our opinions differ. I have no problem doing a real Russian accent, but that wouldn’t be Chekov to me. The interesting thing about it is that his accent is a cold-war stereotype of a Russian person. And when I watched the series and the films, that is what I found interesting about it. And I adjusted it, it is not entirely the same, but Walter [Koenig] came on set and was like “that sounds like me.” And that is what was fun for me. As a person familiar with a Russian accent, and someone with Russian roots who can speak Russian and knows what Russian people sound like, it was fun to purposefully mess around with the Russian accent — to purposefully change what I thought a Russian accent was to suit that stereotype they had in the sixties.

TrekMovie: What does your family think of your version of Chekov’s Russian accent?

Yelchin: They think it’s great. We’re Russian, but not very Russian at the same time. There is no nationalism, there is no pride. It is a very difficult country to come from. I think they find it just as amusing as I did.

TrekMovie: I noticed that for the world tour you only did one stop, Moscow.

Yelchin: [laughs] Yeah, that was a no-brainer.

TrekMovie: What was the reaction from the Russian press to your portrayal?

Yelchin: They love it. There are certain things in the movie that are very Russian that is difficult for an American audience to pick up on. Like when [Kirk and Sulu] free fall and I capture them and I say something in Russian… [says Russian phrase]…it means “Oh man!” basically, which is something I ad-libbed. Which goes back to what I was saying. Chekov never speaks Russian in the series, and that was Russian slang. And that that is something I decided to add just for the hell of it because JJ [Abrams] said ‘throw in some Russian, let’s do it for fun.’ It was just a moment that needed some kind of reaction, and they loved it out there. It is one of those things that Russian people get . I think Russian people are very happy with Chekov because he is one of the few Russian characters in American pop culture history that is not the Red Dawn kind of Russians.

TrekMovie: Right, there is nothing villainous about him. In fact, there is something new about this Chekov that I liked, which is that he is this kind of genius. He is seventeen, but already out of the Academy, so he must have gone in when he was pretty young. And Chekov figures out how to save them from the free fall and how to get onto the Narada. So this Chekov knows his physics and science, did you do any research to help you understand that angle?

Yelchin: No, most of my research involved reading the Star Trek Encyclopedia and watching the series and doing Trek research.

TrekMovie: You did a lot of that, Chris [Pine] said that after watching the first half of the first season he stopped.

Yelchin: I kept going. I loved it. I even watched the episodes that Chekov wasn’t in. The ones that he was in I found interesting, like when they go to a bar in “The Troubles With Tribbles” and they have a drink, I liked that. And that one with Apollo and the hand [“Who Mourns for Adonais”], I thought that was hilarious. I really got into the show.

TrekMovie: Which one was your favorite?

Yelchin: Probably the one with Apollo. I think is such an intelligent episode. It is an episode where the basic point is that humanity — looking at it in terms of the 60s when men are their own gods and look at where they brought their universe to. It was such a fascinating, touching, weird thing to have an episode where men come to a planet where a god wants to be a god again. I also love the episode where Spock is PMSing and where Kirk has to fight Spock [“Amok Time”].

TrekMovie: Now in this film you never get off the ship…

Yelchin: I barely get off the bridge!

TrekMovie: So what would you like to see for Chekov’s arc going forward?

Yelchin: I don’t know, I haven’t given it much thought and I agree with Chris [Pine] that it is kind of presumptuous to sit around and think about sequels before this comes out. It would be great to play this character again and I just got started with it. I got to do what I got to do, but it would be fun to see where I could take it.

TrekMovie: You are in two big May movies. How would you describe the differences between working on Terminator Salvation and Star Trek , and the differences between McG and J.J.?

Yelchin: Well first of all the visions between the two movies is so different. The universe of Star Trek is a very positive, optimistic universe. And in Terminator it is just the most f–ked up universe, to put it bluntly. So it was two totally different characters and two totally different looks. The closest this Trek movie comes to Terminator is Nero’s ship, but even that is not as disgusting as the filth-ridden universe of Terminator . The sets, costumes, and the philosophy behind it is totally different. The philosophy of Terminator is: what makes us human in the face of us losing all humanity and being destroyed — how can we preserve our humanity? With the characters, Chekov is like the Star Trek universe, joyous, fun. Kyle Reese is anxiety-ridden, paranoid, angry, unhappy, the list goes on — vulnerable, not to say Chekov isn’t vulnerable, but just in a different way. And that is just the difference between the films.

The sets were different, but I had a great time working on both. There is a great cast and crew here with Trek. J.J. is a wonderful filmmaker to work with. I really think he makes these kinds of films so well. I am so happy with this movie. And it is a cast of similar kind of young men and women. It’s funny though, on Terminator for the first time, I wasn’t the youngest member of the cast. There was girl that was seven, and I was like “yes, finally!” McG and J.J. are very different people. J.J. is very funny and very intelligent and witty, but not does not nearly put as much of himself out there as a human being. When he walks into a room, you may not know it. But when McG walks into a room, you hear McG right away. That was really different, but they are both really collaborative. If you offer an idea to J.J., that idea will get on film, and the same with McG. They are both really enthusiastic about what they are doing. They both love the franchises they are working with and want to honor them and do the best possible job with them.

TrekMovie: You mentioned bringing ideas. Can you talk about some examples of things that you brought that ended up on film?

Yelchin: Well that one Russian line and idea. And [in the scene running towards the transporter room] the freedom to run how I wanted to or to yell what I want to yell as I am pushing people out of the way. A lot of their jump sequence was ad-libbed. J.J. was like ‘just throw stuff out’. He just fully embraces your understanding of the character and works with you to achieve his vision, but factors in your vision as well.

TrekMovie: You spent a lot of time at your console on the bridge and the console in the transporter room. Did any of the set designers ever tell you ‘this button does this, and that button does that’? So when Pike issues an order, you know what button to push?

Yelchin: Me and John Cho kind of sat down the first day and talked to J.J. said that because this is going to become the way for us to do things, we need to figure out what is what. We really kind of stuck to doing the same things over and over again. We also got these neat little space pens, like when I come up with the solution. No one sat us down so it was up to us and John and I really coordinated what we were doing to make sure it looks legitimate.

Up Next – Romulans (Bana and Collins) This week’s series of Star Trek interviews will conclude a couple of Romulans, Eric Bana, and Clifton Collins, Jr. Look for that by Saturday.

Other final pre-movie exclusive interviews at TrekMovie:

• Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
• Leonard Nimoy
• Zachary Quinto
• Zoe Saldana
• Bruce Greenwood

Also check out:

• Premiere red carpet interviews (including Simon Pegg )
• Los Angeles Press Conference (including Chris Pine)

Keptin Kurk! Class!

It’s a geek thing, and not that important in the overall scope of the movie.. but I was so glad they actually used those glass walls for once, and that they weren’t just meaningless set pieces.

Those walls seem to be like general purpose blackboards to scribble ideas on and get all sorts of information from. I might sort of believe in them as useful interfaces now.

We’re approaching wulcan, complete genius, one of the highlights of the film. Chekov and McCoy now battling for my favouritism, even though I was alway a Picard or Data person.

“Nuclear wessel” must be included in the next movie.

The accent way maybe a little bit overdone but overall I really liked his Chekov!

I LOVED Chekov in this movie!!! What a nice surprise!! The single biggest laugh during the entire movie (at least in my theatre) was for those two words in russian that mean oh man! I dont know what he said, but it sounded hilarious and had the theatre cracking up!!

Although I loved all the characters, I wish they all followed Anton and Karl’s lead and watched TOS for pointers. These guys seemed to actually want to BE those characters, while the others wanted to take the characters off on their own. Both methods are fine, but I think Chekov and McCoy are by far the closest to the originals in this movie.

wictor, wictor…

absolutely brilliant stuff from Anton, funny but doesn’t fall into parody or take the mick. I thought he might end up as Wesley mark II (sorry Wil!) but he doesn’t. Now that we’ve got the band back together hopefully in the next film we’ll get more into the characters. As the saying goes:

Every character get’s their page…

Chekov was great – wide-eyed and full of wonder and enthusiasm.

I enjoyed Chekov as well. Sulu and Uhura were fine, but lacked Chekov’s spark.

I really liked this Chekov, very much in the spirit of the old, Anton made him fun, intelligent and that ad-libing was brilliant. It’s interesting how first of all people began by laughing at his accent and then by the end of the film it was accepted as his intelligence and spirit shone through, you can really see how Star Trek is so important, more today in our multicultural lifestyles than ever before.

he did a great job. He sounded a lot like Walter from the Tos. he has a bright future ahead of him in acting.

I mentioned it in a previous thread, but Anton’s little contribution, which he translates as “Oh, Man.” actually translates more as “Holy F*ck” (Yo Mayo!). Either a joke on JJ, or on us, but I can discuss the etymology ad nauseam.

I thought Anton’s contribution to the film was terrific. He was underused, but far from extraneous.

Also, Walter Koenig speaks native Russian. He had a line in STIII: TSFS: “Ya ne sumashedshii! Nu vot!” (I’m not crazy..take a look!) when he discovered someone had entered Spock’s quarters, and showed Scott on his screen.

Trek lives. Big time.

As great as this Movie was and is ju8st think how much better the next one will be. With everyone in there place and with all of the elements together the next movie will be one even more wild ride. I hoe they do something with the doomsday machine. But thats just wishfull thinking.

Okj. Bad Typing Sorry!. To the Agoniser booth for me!!!!.

Have to agree with everyone, Anton Yelchin did a fabulous job in the film, he made Chekov stand out in a way the character hasn’t done for me before, and would love to see Chekov solve a few more problems if a sequel does happen.

You know I should’ve taken off of work after all.. a bit of a challenge with Trek on the brain! At least I had some Trekkie friends I could chat with. Even if they hadn’t seen the movie yet..

One of the things I just couldn’t get out of my head was this new Chekov. At first, I admit having mixed feelings.. I have a vague memory of slapping my face a couple times.. but when my boyfriend suddenly burst out laughing while uttering “nuclear wessels” (I forget the scene) I was beginning to enjoy him.

Guess I did love Yelchin in this role after all. Slightly over the top, yet very, very fun. Awesome job!

Spot on !! Keptain!

I just seen the movie in the Netherlands, and I must admit that I love it. It rocks. Thanks tot JJ and the team. All the actors are great and it all comes together very well. Can’t wait to see it again. Cheers!

I think Anton did a great job with Chekov. Really made him real and it felt good to hear all those W’s again :) I knew he’d be good when I watched House of D and Charlie Bartlett. He’s a good kid and I can’t wait for Terminator in a few weeks. Seeing Trek again on Sunday!

His accent was great even if it did sound like Borat.

I cringed the first time I heard the accent too, but I have to say by the end of the movie it didn’t really bother me.

Yelchin is just so damn endearing that somehow the cute accent kind of fits him.

Just seen the Movie for the 2nd time. Wow. What a Movie. my record for any Trek Movie is at 9 and thats for Trek 2. Could be that record will be broken.

Good on you, Anton.

I wanted to prejudge/dislike and just be a Hater.

Although I think a new (next) adventure would be crafted better- and I felt that there were moments when a bit of exposition(small) would have gone a long way.

Comic book prequel does make the movie make more sense- whether one is an old or a new fan.

Nero’s [on screen] motivation to do what he did, IMHO was simply not strong enough.

I grudgingly liked it at first- then liked it a second time.

Good Job on Chekov (writing and acting) Good to see him competent again- Treks V and VI had taken that away from our beloved Comrade.

“Yelchin: Me and John Cho kind of sat down … ”

Oh my. I see the Ruskies have slipped in their English language training since the end of the Cold War.

Sincerely, C.S. Lewis

I was pleasantly surprised by the portrayal of Chekov in this film. Loved the voice verification sequence!

I thought his performance and acting were both refreshing and extremely entertaining. Simon Pegg definitely shares the comic relief with Anton, as the audience and myself found all of Chekov’s scenes were hilarious yet showing his youth and genius.

Just saw the movie. I, too, was uncomfortable with Chekov’s accent at first, but by the end of the movie it fits perfectly. This must have been what it felt like back in the sixties to hear Walter do it for the first time… BTW, the movie is EXCELLENT, especially the last scene when Pine says “Bones” for the last time in the movie, GAWD that delivery was BRILLIANT, pure Shatner-esque.

that scene was flippin funny. whole theatre got a laugh out of it.

When is Paramont going to to greenlight a sequel ?

I love Chekov I hope he gets more line in a Squeal! here is to hoping we see more of the Enterprise Crew sooner rather then later!

@30: Jeff, there was an article in Variety a few weeks ago stating that Paramount already has greenlit the twelfth movie for a summer 2011 release.

Oh and p.s., Anton’s Chekov was one of my favorite parts of the movie.

One thing that came to mind during the voice-verification gag (which I thought was cute, btw), was the stuff that was being discussed back when the movie was being made in the midst of the writer’s strike … the notion that the writers and the director weren’t allowed to mess much with the script, but that the actors could ad-lib because that didn’t step on anyone’s contractual toes (pardon me if I’m misremembering the details).

And then remembering that Abrams had apparently given the crew license to choose their own level of homage to the old performances … and that it was said that Yelchin made a conscious choice to do the V/W swap.

… And then concluding that if it’s true that Yelchin made his own choice, and that it wasn’t scripted assuming that he’d make one choice or another, that the verification gag must either have been an ad-lib on set or something that they added/finished later in the process (post writer’s strike).

(Or maybe that it was scripted that way, but had Yelchin decided to go another way with an accent they just would have dropped the gag).

There’s a question lurking in this mess of a post and I’ve lost track of it, but if anyone knows the answer that’d be cool :)

Also: Enjoyed all the performances, including Yelchin’s (even if it felt like virtually everyone had only three minutes on screen each!). Will probably catch him in Terminator next week.

Yelchin = Sexy, can’t wait to see this guy grow up ;)

I posted as much yesterday but its worth repeating- Anton is terrific in the role of Chekov, really properly good. He’s clearly a very talented young actor.

After seeing the movie, Yelcin’s performance was probably the only disagreement I had with Anthony P.’s review. I liked him (and got a sense that the audience liked him as well).

i marveled at his performance, and found the “accent” (although the way an actor uses his voice can be much more than an accent, as was the case here) to solidify the film in a good way. this was new, this was strong, and this was a clearly defined character as opposed to a haircut and some lenigrad jokes, as the original chekov tended to be.

also, chekov’s part seemed very well written, as if they were having fun with the possibilities, creating the “best crew in the fleet.”

Yelcin was one of the highlights of the film and it is evident that he took the time to actually watch the original series. His performance was both fun, comical, and enduring.

A great touch was the ship wide briefing he presented through those translucent displays -a nice update to Kirk simply speaking into the intercom!

Yelcin appears to be way more intelligent that the average thespian.

He´s great. Although he´s not quite right that Checkov never spoke Russian before….he did in one of the movies…..sounded like “mi kalerma” or something like that

On Yelchin’s accent. I heard him say “ze” instead of “the” like I’ve heard a lot of Russians do. And the inversion of V’s and W’s like Koenig. (And, by the way, I have heard other Russians invert V’s and W’s. Just check out the Washington Capitals hockey team web site for some interviews and you’ll see what I mean.)

Yelchin…. If you’re reading this (don’t listen to those Hollywood people that tell you never to read press on you – you’ll like this one)

You were the best thing in the movie! Your characterization of Chekov was great. There was depth in the brief lines you had. Just as I always thought Keonig was underrated, I thought buzz on you has been WAY underrated. Have to admit I didn’t see or feel this deep characterization I’ve heard the movie has from the rest of the crew. Don’t get me started on that. However, I really felt if from you. And in the very brief moments you had on screen. I enjoyed you. Good job.

Let’s have a Chekov moive next time around.

Didn’t do it for me. He was miscast for the role.

“Yo mayo!” Does mean something closer to ‘holy shit!’ or the like, but still quite appropriate.

Genius, I love Anton. He was hands down my favorite.

Anton was wonderful. I enjoyed the movie as a whole, but his portrayal of Chekov had me smiling the entire time. Being so adorable helps, but hey.. it was a good performance. The accent fit perfectly. I know it’s been out for over a month now, but I feel like seeing it again. I can’t wait until the DVD release before Christmas!

I absolutely loved Anton Yelchin’s Chekov! My brother and I are die-hard trekkies, and I’ve seen the movie a couple of times now. I wasn’t expecting much from the movie, as far as it being accurate and true to the series, but I was pleasantly surprised. I love how Yelnich watched the whole series (glad you enjoyed it!)

I’m only fifteen, and I have a huge crush on Chekov!!!

sorry! i spelled it yelnich the second time. please forgive me!

I LOVE ANTON YELCHIN HE IS GREAT

I like ti sjf jltoooo much

I like the picture 3

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Anton Yelchin, Star Trek actor, dies in car accident at age 27

The rising star – best known for playing Chekov in the new films – was found dead in his driveway early on Sunday morning

Anton Yelchin, a charismatic rising star best known for playing Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek films, has died at the age of 27. He was killed in a car accident early on Sunday morning, his publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed.

Yelchin’s friends alerted police when he failed to turn up to a rehearsal scheduled to start on Saturday evening. They then discovered the actor in his driveway at around 1am. No other vehicles are thought to have been involved and the cause of death is being reported as accidental. Jenny Houser, a spokeswoman for the LAPD, told the Hollywood Reporter : “It appears he momentarily exited his car and it rolled backward, causing trauma that led to his death.”

Yelchin was an actor whose stock-in-trade was sweetness and even naiveté: his career began young, in small films and TV series, before he broke out in 2006 with crime thriller Alpha Dog and the following year as Robert Downey Jr’s troubled pupil in Charlie Bartlett . In 2011, he starred opposite Felicity Jones in Like Crazy , a transatlantic romance that won both audience and jury awards at the Sundance film festival, as well as playing Mel Gibson’s son in Jodie Foster’s The Beaver .

But it was as mathematical brainbox Pavel Chekov in the new set of Star Trek films that Yelchin first came to mainstream attention. In JJ Abrams’ critically and commercially successful 2009 Star Trek, and the 2013 follow-up, the actor won acclaim for an innocence and humour that characterised many of his roles. A third film, Star Trek: Beyond, is due out in July.

Abrams posted a photo of a handwritten note via the Twitter account of his production company, Bad Robot. He paid tribute to Yelchin’s “kind … brilliant … funny” nature.

pic.twitter.com/q8VBJBVPK3 — Bad Robot (@bad_robot) June 19, 2016

Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the franchise, said that they joined “the world in mourning the untimely passing of Antony Yelchin. As a member of the Star Trek family, he was beloved by so many and he will missed by all. We share our deepest condolences with his mother, father and family.”

His Star Trek co-star, John Cho, tweeted that he was “in ruins” at the news of Yelchin’s death.

I loved Anton Yelchin so much. He was a true artist - curious, beautiful, courageous. He was a great pal and a great son. I'm in ruins. — John Cho (@JohnTheCho) June 19, 2016

Despite his age, Yelchin had managed to carve out a career that balanced blockbusters with credible independent movies. Speaking to the Guardian in 2009 to promote the sci-fi movie Terminator Salvation, Yelchin said: “What I watch and what I work on are different.”

His own taste veered more towards the films of directors such as Michael Haneke, Lars von Trier and Pedro Almodóvar, as well as Martin Scorsese and Jim Jarmusch, in whose 2013 vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive Yelchin went on to take a role.

The star of that film, Tom Hiddleston, said he was “absolutely devastated” to hear the news of the death of “such a gifted, natural actor [and] a deeply kind man”.

Absolutely devastated to hear about Anton Yelchin. He was such a gifted, natural actor & a deeply kind man. My thoughts are with his family. — Tom Hiddleston (@twhiddleston) June 19, 2016

An only child, Yelchin was born in Russia in 1989. His parents were professional figure skaters who moved the family to the United States when Yelchin was a baby. Yelchin’s family has requested privacy at this time.

Tributes to the actor began appearing on Twitter shortly after reports broke. Anna Kendrick called his death a “huge loss”, while Matt Lucas called it “dreadful news” and Kevin Smith described it as “so damn sad”.

This is unreal. Anton Yelchin is such a talent. Such a huge loss. — Anna Kendrick (@AnnaKendrick47) June 19, 2016

Anton Yelchin just died in a car wreck. So damn sad. I met him and his Mom on a plane once. They were very sweet. https://t.co/OtkoO4HisG — KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) June 19, 2016

Dreadful news about Anton Yelchin. I thought he was an amazing actor. — Matt Lucas (@RealMattLucas) June 19, 2016

Like Crazy director Drake Doremus has also shared his memories of working with Yelchin. “Anton was one of a kind,” he told Variety . “Such an old soul who was one of the most sincere but also funniest people I have ever met. Anton changed my life in so many ways and I’ll never forget him.”

Earlier this year, Yelchin won much acclaim for his role in ensemble horror Green Room , opposite Patrick Stewart and Imogen Poots. The film’s director, Jeremy Saulnier, described his lead as “such a dedicated, generous and hyper-smart young man”.

Oh, Anton. Such a dedicated, generous and hyper-smart young man. So grateful for the time we shared, destroyed he left so soon. — Jeremy Saulnier (@saulnier_jeremy) June 19, 2016

Among Yelchin’s upcoming projects was Baseballissimo, a sports comedy set in Italy during the second world war. Its writer and Yelchin’s co-star, Jay Baruchel, wrote of his shock and sadness over the sudden loss of someone he “call[ed] my friend for the better part of the last decade”.

Fuck. I was lucky enough to call Anton Yelchin my friend for the better part of the last decade. This is so fucking awful. — Jay Baruchel (@BaruchelNDG) June 19, 2016

Yelchin was also due to take a voice part in Guillermo del Toro’s upcoming TV series Trollhunters. The director said the actor was “a great creative partner and artist”.

Anton was a sweetheart. Absolutely a great creative partner and artist. — Guillermo del Toro (@RealGDT) June 19, 2016

Among the other Hollywood stars who took to Twitter to pay tribute were Captain America actor Chris Evans, who said he was “devastated” by Yelchin’s death . He was joined by Spider-Man actor Dane DeHaan and Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul, who said he was “utterly heartbroken” .

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Anton Yelchin, ‘Star Trek’ Actor, Dead at 27

By Daniel Kreps

Daniel Kreps

UPDATE: The 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee actor Anton Yelchin was driving at the time of his fatal accident was under recall, The Associated Press  reports.  The SUV’s gear shifters reportedly confused drivers and caused vehicles to roll unexpectedly. 

On Monday, Jeep auto-maker Fiat Chrysler said in a statement that the company is investigating and that it’s premature to speculate on the crash cause. The 2015 Grand Cherokees were included in Fiat Chrysler’s global recall of 1.1 million vehicles announced in April. A Los Angeles coroner’s official has stated that Yelchin’s death has been ruled an accident. 

Anton Yelchin, the actor who portrayed Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek series and star of films like  Like Crazy  and Green Room , died early Sunday morning in a fatal traffic collision, his publicist confirmed to The Associated Press . Yelchin was 27.

According to TMZ , Yelchin was involved in a freak accident outside his San Fernando Valley, California home. After missing a rehearsal earlier in the night, concerned friends found Yelchin pinned between his car and a brick mailbox that was attached to the security gate. The car was on and in neutral when the actor was found in his driveway. TMZ adds that police do not suspect foul play.

“Oh, Anton. Such a dedicated, generous and hyper-smart young man. So grateful for the time we shared, destroyed he left so soon,” Green Room director Jeremy Saulnier tweeted  of the actor.

Born in Russia to professional figure skater parents, the Yelchin family emigrated to the United States when Anton was six months old. After making his acting debut at the age of nine, Yelchin appeared in films and television shows like ER , Curb Your Enthusiasm , House of D and Along Came a Spider while still in his early teens.

Yelchin’s breakout role came as the kidnapped younger brother in the 2006 film Alpha Dog , based on the true story of Jesse James Hollywood. Soon after, Yelchin nabbed prominent roles in films like Charlie Bartlett (in the title role), Like Crazy , the remake of Fright Night and Terminator: Salvation , playing the Kyle Reese role.

Yelchin was perhaps best known for portraying Pavel Chekov in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek in 2009 and Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013. Yelchin reprised the role for the upcoming Star Trek Beyond , due out July 22nd.

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Recently, Yelchin starred in the critically acclaimed Green Room , the zombie comedy Burying the Ex and the Shakespeare adaptation Cymbeline . Yelchin was also a member of the band HammerHeads.

“Anton Yelchin was one of my best friends. Can’t say anything that conveys what this feels like,” actress Kat Dennings tweeted . Anna Kendrick wrote , “This is unreal. Anton Yelchin is such a talent. Such a huge loss.”

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Anton Yelchin (1989-2016)

Camera and electrical department.

IMDbPro Starmeter Top 5,000 51

• 9 wins & 19 nominations

• Bobby Garfield

• Additional Voice Talent
• Jim Lake Jr. (voice)
• 52 episodes

• Milton Schultz

• Maxwell Green

• Dudley (voice)

• Jake Kleeman

• Father James

• Jacob Heckum

• Dr. Jack Stewart

• super 8 camera operator
• performer: "Wayfaring Stranger"

• performer: "Home", "Real Friends", "Stay With You", "Wheels on the Bus", "Beautiful Mess"

• performer: "Those Were the Days (Theme from All in the Family)", "If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out", "Yankee Doodle"

Personal details

• 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
• March 11 , 1989
• Leningrad, Russian SFSR, USSR [now St. Petersburg, Russia]
• June 19 , 2016
• Studio City, California, USA (blunt traumatic asphyxia)
• No Children
• Parents Irina Korina
• Eugene Yelchin (Aunt or Uncle)
• Other works TV commercial "Star Trek" for XboxOne with Zachary Quinto and Anton Yelchin in character as Spock and Chekov from Star Trek (2009) .
• 10 Articles
• 1 Pictorial
• 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

• Trivia The 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee that rolled into him was part of a 2016 recall for that exact same issue. Incredibly, the recall notice was mailed to Yelchin seven days after his untimely death.
• Quotes Russia is very complicated. It is one of the most complicated histories. I could go on about this forever. It produces Dostoyevsky and Rachmaninoff and then it produces Stalins and Lenins. It is such a strange combination. I don't know why that rant about Russia was necessary.
• Trademarks Distinctive hoarse voice
• When did Anton Yelchin die?
• How did Anton Yelchin die?
• How old was Anton Yelchin when he died?

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Anton Yelchin Dies In Car Accident: Chekov In ‘Star Trek’ Reboot Was 27

By Ross A. Lincoln

Ross A. Lincoln

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Anton Yelchin, best known for portraying Ensign Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot film series, as well as for roles in, Jim Jarmush’s Only Lovers Left Alive , the Stephen King adaptation Hearts In Atlantis , and the acclaimed horror film Green Room , is dead following a tragic car accident in his Studio City home last night. He was 27.

“Actor Anton Yelchin was killed in a fatal traffic collision early this morning. His family requests you respect their privacy at this time,” his publicist, Jennifer Allen said in a statement.

Born in Leningrad, Russia (now Saint Petersburg) in 1989 to parents who were stars of Russia’s Ice Ballet for 15 years, Yelchin and his family immigrated to the United States as political refugees that same year. Yelchin subsequently grew up in Los Angeles, attending Tarzana’s Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies and in 2007, the University of Southern California. However, his entry into acting came at age 9 in the indie film A Man is Mostly Water , with other early roles including in Delivering Milo , House of D , and the 2002 Steven Spielberg-produced miniseries Taken .

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His first major recognition as an actor came in 2001 when he played the younger version of Bobby Garfield, played as an adult by David Morse, in Hearts in Atlantis . The next year, Yelchin won Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor at the Young Artist Awards for his performance. Yelchin next came to increased prominence in 2006, co-starring as the central kidnapping victim in Nick Cassavetes’ crime thriller Alpha Dog , opposite Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Olivia Wilde, Amanda Seyfried, Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone, and Bruce Willis.

Yelchin’s breakout role came at 19 in Charlie Bartlett , the Jon Poll-directed comedy-drama written by Gustin Nash about an awkward, wealthy teenager who begins giving out therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to his classmates in a bid to become popular. This was followed in 2009 by a pair of major franchise roles that solidifed his career – the teenaged version of Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation , taking on the role originated in 1984 by Michael Biehn in James Cameron’s The Terminator , and Ensign Pavel Chekov in JJ Abram’s 2009 Star Trek .

Like many of his co-stars on Star Trek, Yelchin notably looked to the performance of his predecessor on the original series and subsequent films, Walter Koenig, for insight into the role. Mimicking the original Chekov’s accent, Yelchin also drew from his own Russian background as well as from the Cold War climate of the original series for inspiration. “I wanted it to be close to the Chekov accent, I guess that is where our opinions differ. I have no problem doing a real Russian accent, but that wouldn’t be Chekov to me. The interesting thing about it is that his accent is a cold-war stereotype of a Russian person,” he said in a 2009 interview . “It is not entirely the same, but Walter [Koenig] came on set and was like “that sounds like me.” And that is what was fun for me. As a person familiar with a Russian accent, and someone with Russian roots who can speak Russian and knows what Russian people sound like, it was fun to purposefully mess around with the Russian accent — to purposefully change what I thought a Russian accent was to suit that stereotype they had in the sixties.”

One notable aspect of that performance came in the reboot franchise’s first film, when Yelchin’s Chekov displayed extraordinary difficulty pronouncing the phrase “victor victor” and ended up saying it as “wictor wictor”, a tribute to Koenig’s memorable pronunciation of “nuclear vessles” as “nuclear wessles” in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . Yelchin portrayed Chekov two more times – in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness , also directed by JJ Abrams, and in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond directed by Justin Lin which hits theaters July 22.

Most recently, Yelchin drew great reviews for his performance in the acclaimed horror film Green Room , in which he co-starred with Imogen Poots and Alia Shawkat as members of a punk band who find themselves hunted by neo-Nazi skinheads after witnessing a murder at an isolated Pacific Northwest club. The film won raves throughout its festival run in 2015, taking home the Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award at the Toronto Film Festival last October. It had limited theatrical release in April of this year.

Other roles include: Charlie Brewster in remake of Fright Night opposite David Tennant, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Imogen Poots, and Toni Collette; Jim Jarmush’s critically acclaimed vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive , opposite Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi, and John Hurt; the romantic drama Like Crazy ; voicing Clumsy Smurf in the feature film adaptation of The Smurfs ; the Aardman Animations production The Pirates! Band of Misfits ; and the 2014 romantic comedy 5 TO 7 .

Yelchin’s final film is Thoroughbred , a psychological thriller also starring Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy that marks the feature film debut of playwright Cory Finley. Filming on Thoroughbred wrapped two weeks ago in Boston.

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• <i>Star Trek</i> Actor Anton Yelchin Killed by Own Car

Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin Killed by Own Car

(LOS ANGELES) — Anton Yelchin, a rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new “Star Trek” films, was killed by his own car as it rolled backward down his driveway early Sunday, police and his publicist said.

The car pinned Yelchin, 27, against a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence at his home in Studio City, according to Los Angeles police Officer Jenny Hosier. He had gotten out of the vehicle momentarily, but police did not say why he was behind it when it started rolling.

Yelchin was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal, Hosier said. When he didn’t show up, the group came to his home and found him dead.

The freak accident tragically cuts short the promising career of an actor whom audiences were still getting to know.

Yelchin began acting as a child, taking small roles in independent films and various television shows, such as “ER,” ”The Practice,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” His breakout big-screen role came opposite Anthony Hopkins in 2001’s “Hearts in Atlantis.”

He transitioned into teenage roles in films such as the crime thriller “Alpha Dog” and the teen comedy “Charlie Bartlett.” He also played a young Kyle Reese in 2009’s “Terminator Salvation.”

Yelchin, an only child, was born in Russia. His parents were professional figure skaters who moved the family to the United States when Yelchin was a baby. He briefly flirted with skating lessons, too, before discovering that he wasn’t very skilled on the ice. That led him to acting class.

“I loved the improvisation part of it the most, because it was a lot like just playing around with stuff. There was something about it that I just felt completely comfortable doing and happy doing,” Yelchin told The Associated Press in 2011 while promoting the romantic drama “Like Crazy.” He starred opposite Felicity Jones.

“(My father) still wanted me to apply to college and stuff, and I did,” Yelchin said. “But this is what I wanted.”

His biggest role to date has been in the rebooted “Star Trek” films as the heavily accented navigator Chekov, for which he was able to draw on his Russian roots. The third film in the series, “Star Trek Beyond,” comes out in July.

“What’s great about him is he can do anything. He’s a chameleon. He can do bigger movies or smaller, more intimate ones,” ”Like Crazy” director Drake Doremus told the AP in 2011. “There are a lot of people who can’t, who can only do one or the other. … That’s what blows my mind.”

Yelchin transitioned between the big sci-fi franchise and voicing a part for “The Smurfs.” He also appeared in more eccentric and artier fare, like Jim Jarmusch’s vampire film “Only Lovers Left Alive” and Jeremy Saulnier’s horror thriller “Green Room,” a cult favorite that came out earlier this year.

The actor’s publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed his death and said his family requests privacy.

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Star Trek 's Anton Yelchin Talks Chekov Accent and Klingons

...and green screen work aboard the enterprise..

In the new Star Trek movie, rebooting the franchise with all new actors playing the original Enterprise crew, Anton Yelchin is the new Chekov. Reinterpreting Walter Koenig ‘s Russian starship lieutenant required some interesting linguistic decisions on Yelchin’s part.

“The thing is about Walter Koenig was his accent was interesting,” said Yelchin. “I think I’m just going to leave it at interesting. All of us had to make the choice of what we wanted to take from the original and what we wanted to bring to it. There are certain things that I took, from the fact that he replaced every V with a W which is weird. I don’t really know where that decision came from but regardless that’s the decision that he made and I thought it was important to bring that to the character.”

If he can nail that down, Yelchin has done Chekov proud and should have free reign to do whatever else he wants with the character. “I talked to J.J. [Abrams] a lot about what he wanted. His thing was we’re not making something that’s supposed to be the old Star Trek . He’s making his own movie but there is a bit of, like, I think people want to see what they love so we’re all trying to find things that will remind people of the old characters. So it’s been interesting picking up on little things.”

As for finding opportunities to say the line “But Ceepteen, the Kleengons are approaching,” Yelchin has spent most of his time on the ship. “Chekov is just on the Enterprise. A lot of it is green screen. I mean, the Enterprise itself, J.J.’s trying to shoot as much of it as he can with out green screen, but I think a lot of space is obviously green screen — what I’m looking at while seeing the Klingon warships.”

Star Trek hits theaters Christmas 2008.

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Anton yelchin, ‘star trek’ actor, dies at 27.

J.J. Abrams, Jodie Foster and Drake Doremus pay tribute in the wake of the actor's accidental death on Sunday morning.

By Arlene Washington , Ryan Parker June 19, 2016 11:15am

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Anton Yelchin , best known for playing Chekov in the new Star Trek films, has died. He was 27.

The actor was killed in a car accident early Sunday morning, his publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed.

The accident happened around 1:10 a.m. at Yelchin’s home in Studio City, LAPD spokeswoman Jenny Houser told The Hollywood Reporter . “It appears he momentarily exited his car and it rolled backward, causing trauma that led to his death,” said Houser. 

Yelchin was on his way to meet his friends for rehearsal and when he didn’t respond, his friends went to check on him. The actor was found pinned between the car and the fence and a mailbox pillar. 

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Yelchin  stars in the upcoming  Star Trek Beyond , which is set to open July 22. The film’s studio, Paramount Pictures, released a statement on Yelchin’s death:

All of us at Paramount join the world in mourning the untimely passing of Anton Yelchin . As a member of the Star Trek family, he was beloved by so many and he will missed by all. We share our deepest condolences with his mother, father and family.

Star Trek director J.J. Abrams posted a tribute to the actor through his Bad Robot Productions Twitter page. He tweeted a photo of a handwritten note which reads, “You were brilliant. You were kind. You were funny as hell, and supremely talented. And you weren’t here nearly long enough. Missing you. JJ “

pic.twitter.com/ q8VBJBVPK3 — Bad Robot (@bad_robot) June 19, 2016

Yelchin in May signed on to co-star in DirecTV/the Audience Network’s 10-episode straight-to-series Stephen King adaptation Mr. Mercedes . Producer David E. Kelley told THR Yelchin was to portray Brady Hartsfield , a mentally deranged ice cream truck driver and IT worker for Cyber Patrol (aka Geek Squad) who is secretly the Mercedes Killer. The drama is slated to premiere in 2018 on both DirecTV and AT&T Uverse . 

“We are devastated to learn of the tragic death of Anton Yelchin ,” a spokeswoman for DirecTV/Audience Network said in a statement. “We greatly admired his talent and were very much looking forward to working with him on Mr. Mercedes. Everyone at AT&T and Audience Network extends our deepest condolences. Our thoughts are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”

It remains unclear how Yelchin’s death will impact the series.

Yelchin began acting as a child, both in films and television, including in Steven Spielberg’s Emmy-award-winning TV series Taken , which aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in late 2002. The prolific actor starred in several films released in 2001, including Along Came a Spider , but garnered the most recognition for Hearts in Atlantis .

In 2006, Yelchin received widespread acclaim for Alpha Dog , a crime thriller drawing from the real-life story of kidnap and murder victim Nicholas Markowitz . 

Paramount was particularly impressed with the young actor; the studio and Abrams cast him to play Chekov in their reinvigorated Star Trek series, the first of which hit theaters in 2009. Yelchin reprised the role in Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013 and will be seen posthumously in Star Trek Beyond . (Justin Lin took over directing duties from Abrams on the third film.)

Yelchin also devoted his time to a number of smaller and independent films, including Jodie Foster’s The Beaver (2011).

“Anton … What a rare and beautiful soul with his unstoppable passion for life,” Foster said in a statement. “He was equal parts serious thinker and the most fun little brother you could ever dream of. I am so honored to have been able to direct such a deep actor, so committed and genuine. I will forever be grateful for all of those little exchanges we shared, his contagious enthusiasm, his questions, his company. My heart breaks for his mom and dad who were a part of every anecdote. He carried their love into everything he touched.”

Yelchin starred opposite Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence in the 2011 indie film Like Crazy , which won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Paramount’s specialty division, Paramount Vantage, picked up the movie and gave it a limited release at the box office, where it earned north of $3.4 million.

Drake Doremus , who co-wrote and directed Like Crazy , was reached by THR shortly after the news broke. “I’m still in shock,” he said. “I’m having a hard time processing it. I just woke up and saw it online and thought it was a hoax, you know, like some of these things are. Then I talked to some people who confirmed it and it’s just devastating.”

He continued: “Everyone’s devastated. I spoke to Felicity, who is very devastated and very upset. And Jon Schwartz [the film’s producer]. You just try to touch base with all the people you love and who changed your life, and he certainly changed all our lives.”

Yelchin also starred in Rudderless ( 2014) for director William H. Macy; Michael Almereyda’s Cymbeline (2015), which made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival; and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Broken Horses (2015). Major studio offerings in recent years outside of Star Trek included DreamWork’s Fright Night remake (2011), directed by Craig Gillespie, and Sony’s animated franchise The Smurfs . 

Pamela McClintock, Lesley Goldberg and Scott Feinberg contributed to this report .

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Published Aug 17, 2011

Anton Yelchin Talks Star Trek and More - Part 2

Anton Yelchin , in part one of our interview with him, spoke about his experience playing Chekov in Star Trek (2009) and started to preview his latest project, the upcoming remake of the 1980s horror-comedy Fright Night. Today, in the second half of our conversation, the actor chats more about Fright Night, discusses the film Odd Thomas , which he’s shooting right now, says he’ll “be there” whenever J.J. Abrams and company are ready to roll camera on the Star Trek sequel, and explains his penchant for alternating between independent features and major-studio productions.

Colin Farrell (who plays the vampire Jerry) and David Tennant (who plays a vampire killer/magician) get to chew the scenery in Fright Night. Did you feel a little bit like the straight man on set?

Yelchin: Yeah, absolutely. But that allows them to do whatever they want. That’s my job in the film. That allows them to do what they want to do and go as far as they want to go, because there’s someone grounding the situation, essentially this hyper-real situation in some kind of reality. So they could be as vague and great as they wanted, and I enjoyed every minute of watching their performances, because they’re great actors, great characters. But somebody has to be there to be the audience, essentially, and feel some sense of urgency or danger in the reality you’re watching.

This movie really has an exceptionally good cast. How did you enjoy working with Farrell, Tennant, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots and Chris Sarandon?

Yelchin: It was great. One of the best things about going to Comic-Con, aside from presenting a movie to an audience that was obviously waiting for it, was just seeing all these people again. We all got along really well. It was a great time. Chris and I became really good friends. We have sort of the same background and we got to be friends. I’d say every one of us got to be friends and I really appreciate the fact that I’m now able to have these people in my life. And it wasn’t just the cast. The crew was great, too. And I’m working with some of them on the movie I’m doing right now.

Sarandon was in an episode of Deep Space Nine , actually. But did you pick his brain about the original Fright Night?

Yelchin: You know, I really didn’t do that. I just appreciated him being there. I’m a big fan of his work in Dog Day Afternoon. So when I look at him, that’s kind of what I see. That’s a film I grew up on, and his performance in that is absolutely brilliant. It was cool to have him on set, and I think it was a huge kick for Colin, too, because they’re playing Jerry.

The original Fright Night begat Fright Night II. If this new version of yours is popular, how open are you to returning for a sequel?

Yelchin: Of course. I think the people are great. I like this film, and if we can make another that I like, that’d be awesome.

You’re working now on Odd Thomas, which is based on the Dean Koontz book series of the same name and stars you, Willem Dafoe, Tim Robbins, 50 Cent and Addison Timlin. How is that going? And what intrigues you most about the creepy story?

Yelchin: It’s going well. It’s a great group of people, a great cast and crew. For me, it’s a very good story. Ultimately, it’s a beautiful romance, a tragic romance, which is something people are always drawn to. For me, it’s a pulp novel. It’s like Raymond Chandler, but with supernatural s*** thrown in. It definitely has that quality, and I like that. That excites me.

J.J. Abrams got busy with Super 8 . Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman have had Cowboys & Aliens and other projects going on. And so the next Star Trek film has been in a holding pattern. How ready are you to finally get back into Chekov’s uniform and start filming another Star Trek adventure?

Yelchin: I’m ready. I’m ready. It’s been a while, but whenever they let me know, I’ll be there.

From the looks of things, you’ll have some time between wrapping Odd Thomas and starting the Star Trek sequel. What are you hoping to do in between the two?

Yelchin: I don’t exactly know when Star Trek is going, but if there’s space I’d like to do, probably, a smaller film.

That’s been your M.O., acting in a couple of smaller films and then a couple of bigger-budget studio films. So, the last few years, you’ve done Star Trek and Terminator Salvation, but also Charlie Bartlett and The Beaver and the upcoming drama Like Crazy . What keeps you going back to the indie films?

Yelchin: I think right now, personally, that we’re just at the beginning of a revolution in independent filmmaking. You don’t need that much money to make a good independent film, not that much money at all. You can make a film for less than $10,000. You can make a film for the cost of a nice car. You can do it in your house if you just want to tell a story. You don’t need a production company. You can just go out, buy a 7D (camera), shoot a movie and cut it together. You don’t need a production company. You don’t need anything. You just need yourself, your mind and likeminded people to do it with you. I’m someone who’s very, very, very interested in that and would like to be involved in it. It’s a different time in terms of creation, pre-production and distribution for the indie film industry. Plus, as an actor, I’m interested in all sorts of things. I’m interested in characters. So it’s very important to me to be able to do both.

To read part one of our interview with Anton Yelchin, click HERE .

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Anton Yelchin Dies In Car Accident: Chekov In ‘Star Trek’ Reboot Was 27

Anton Yelchin , best known for portraying Ensign Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot film series, as well as for roles in, Jim Jarmush’s Only Lovers Left Alive , the Stephen King adaptation Hearts In Atlantis , and the acclaimed horror film Green Room , is dead following a tragic car accident in his Studio City home last night. He was 27.

“Actor Anton Yelchin was killed in a fatal traffic collision early this morning. His family requests you respect their privacy at this time,” his publicist, Jennifer Allen said in a statement.

Born in Leningrad, Russia (now Saint Petersburg) in 1989 to parents who were stars of Russia’s Ice Ballet for 15 years, Yelchin and his family immigrated to the United States as political refugees that same year. Yelchin subsequently grew up in Los Angeles, attending Tarzana’s Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies and in 2007, the University of Southern California. However, his entry into acting came at age 9 in the indie film A Man is Mostly Water , with other early roles including in Delivering Milo , House of D , and the 2002 Steven Spielberg-produced miniseries Taken .

His first major recognition as an actor came in 2001 when he played the younger version of Bobby Garfield, played as an adult by David Morse, in Hearts in Atlantis . The next year, Yelchin won Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor at the Young Artist Awards for his performance. Yelchin next came to increased prominence in 2006, co-starring as the central kidnapping victim in Nick Cassavetes’ crime thriller Alpha Dog , opposite Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Shawn Hatosy, Olivia Wilde, Amanda Seyfried, Harry Dean Stanton, Sharon Stone, and Bruce Willis.

Yelchin’s breakout role came at 19 in Charlie Bartlett , the Jon Poll-directed comedy-drama written by Gustin Nash about an awkward, wealthy teenager who begins giving out therapeutic advice and prescription drugs to his classmates in a bid to become popular. This was followed in 2009 by a pair of major franchise roles that solidifed his career – the teenaged version of Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation , taking on the role originated in 1984 by Michael Biehn in James Cameron’s The Terminator , and Ensign Pavel Chekov in JJ Abram’s 2009 Star Trek .

Like many of his co-stars on Star Trek, Yelchin notably looked to the performance of his predecessor on the original series and subsequent films, Walter Koenig, for insight into the role. Mimicking the original Chekov’s accent, Yelchin also drew from his own Russian background as well as from the Cold War climate of the original series for inspiration. “I wanted it to be close to the Chekov accent, I guess that is where our opinions differ. I have no problem doing a real Russian accent, but that wouldn’t be Chekov to me. The interesting thing about it is that his accent is a cold-war stereotype of a Russian person,” he said in a 2009 interview . “It is not entirely the same, but Walter [Koenig] came on set and was like “that sounds like me.” And that is what was fun for me. As a person familiar with a Russian accent, and someone with Russian roots who can speak Russian and knows what Russian people sound like, it was fun to purposefully mess around with the Russian accent — to purposefully change what I thought a Russian accent was to suit that stereotype they had in the sixties.”

One notable aspect of that performance came in the reboot franchise’s first film, when Yelchin’s Chekov displayed extraordinary difficulty pronouncing the phrase “victor victor” and ended up saying it as “wictor wictor”, a tribute to Koenig’s memorable pronunciation of “nuclear vessles” as “nuclear wessles” in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home . Yelchin portrayed Chekov two more times – in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness , also directed by JJ Abrams, and in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond directed by Justin Lin which hits theaters July 22.

Most recently, Yelchin drew great reviews for his performance in the acclaimed horror film Green Room , in which he co-starred with Imogen Poots and Alia Shawkat as members of a punk band who find themselves hunted by neo-Nazi skinheads after witnessing a murder at an isolated Pacific Northwest club. The film won raves throughout its festival run in 2015, taking home the Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award at the Toronto Film Festival last October. It had limited theatrical release in April of this year.

Other roles include: Charlie Brewster in remake of Fright Night opposite David Tennant, Colin Farrell, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Imogen Poots, and Toni Collette; Jim Jarmush’s critically acclaimed vampire romance Only Lovers Left Alive , opposite Tom Hiddleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, Jeffrey Wright, Slimane Dazi, and John Hurt; the romantic drama Like Crazy ; voicing Clumsy Smurf in the feature film adaptation of The Smurfs ; the Aardman Animations production The Pirates! Band of Misfits ; and the 2014 romantic comedy 5 TO 7 .

Yelchin’s final film is Thoroughbred , a psychological thriller also starring Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy that marks the feature film debut of playwright Cory Finley. Filming on Thoroughbred wrapped two weeks ago in Boston.

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'Star Trek' Actor Anton Yelchin Killed By His Own Car At Age 27

June 19, 2016 / 2:28 PM EDT / CBS Boston

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Anton Yelchin, a rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new "Star Trek" films, was killed by his own car as it rolled backward down his driveway early Sunday, police and his publicist said.

The car pinned Yelchin, 27, against a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence at his home in Studio City, according to Los Angeles police Officer Jenny Hosier. He had gotten out of the vehicle momentarily, but police did not say why he was behind it when it started rolling.

Yelchin was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal, Hosier said. When he didn't show up, the group came to his home and found him dead.

The freak accident tragically cuts short the promising career of an actor whom audiences were still getting to know.

Yelchin began acting as a child, taking small roles in independent films and various television shows, such as "ER," ''The Practice," and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." His breakout big-screen role came opposite Anthony Hopkins in 2001's "Hearts in Atlantis."

He transitioned into teenage roles in films such as the crime thriller "Alpha Dog" and the teen comedy "Charlie Bartlett." He also played a young Kyle Reese in 2009's "Terminator Salvation."

Yelchin, an only child, was born in Russia. His parents were professional figure skaters who moved the family to the United States when Yelchin was a baby. He briefly flirted with skating lessons, too, before discovering that he wasn't very skilled on the ice. That led him to acting class.

"I loved the improvisation part of it the most, because it was a lot like just playing around with stuff. There was something about it that I just felt completely comfortable doing and happy doing," Yelchin told The Associated Press in 2011 while promoting the romantic drama "Like Crazy." He starred opposite Felicity Jones.

"(My father) still wanted me to apply to college and stuff, and I did," Yelchin said. "But this is what I wanted."

His biggest role to date has been in the rebooted "Star Trek" films as the heavily accented navigator Chekov, for which he was able to draw on his Russian roots. The third film in the series, "Star Trek Beyond," comes out in July.

"What's great about him is he can do anything. He's a chameleon. He can do bigger movies or smaller, more intimate ones," ''Like Crazy" director Drake Doremus told the AP in 2011. "There are a lot of people who can't, who can only do one or the other. ... That's what blows my mind."

Yelchin transitioned between the big sci-fi franchise and voicing a part for "The Smurfs." He also appeared in more eccentric and artier fare, like Jim Jarmusch's vampire film "Only Lovers Left Alive" and Jeremy Saulnier's horror thriller "Green Room," a cult favorite that came out earlier this year.

The actor's publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed his death and said his family requests privacy.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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