Anton Yelchin

Anton Viktorovich Yelchin (Russian: Антон Викторович Ельчин; March 11, 1989 – June 19, 2016) was an American actor. Born in the Soviet Union to a Russian Jewish family, he immigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of six months. He began his career as a child actor, appearing as the lead of the mystery drama film Hearts in Atlantis (2001) and as a series regular on the Showtime comedy-drama Huff (2004–2006). His fame grew when he guest-starred in a 2004 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm and when he played the title character in Charlie Bartlett (2007).

Yelchin landed higher-profile film roles in 2009, portraying Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot and Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation. He reprised his role as Chekov in the sequels Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016).

Yelchin frequently worked on independent and lower-profile films, headlining the romantic drama Like Crazy (2011), the 2011 remake of Fright Night, the supernatural thriller Odd Thomas (2013), the romance 5 to 7 (2014), the horror comedy Burying the Ex (2014), the neo-noir The Driftless Area (2015), and the horror thriller Green Room (2015). As a voice actor, he voiced Clumsy Smurf in the live-action Smurfs films (2011–2013) and the lead role James Lake Jr. on the Netflix animated series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia (2016–2018).

Yelchin maintained an active career until his accidental death in 2016 at the age of 27; he was fatally injured by his own vehicle in a freak accident. Multiple films of his, including Love, Antosha, a documentary presented by his parents, were released posthumously.

Early life and education

Anton Viktorovich Yelchin was born on March 11, 1989, in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were pair figure skaters who were stars of the Leningrad Ice Ballet for 15 years. He was Jewish, and his family was subjected to religious and political oppression in the Soviet Union. Yelchin said that his grandparents "suffered in ways [he] can't even begin to understand under Stalin". Nationally, Yelchin's parents were the third-ranked pair team; they thus qualified for the 1972 Winter Olympics, but were not permitted to participate by the Soviet authorities. Yelchin said the reason was unclear: "I don't exactly know what that was – because they were Jewish or because the KGB didn't want them to travel."

Yelchin's family left for the United States in September 1989, when he was six months old, and were thereafter granted refugee status by the Department of State. His mother worked as a figure skating choreographer and his father as a figure skating coach, having been Sasha Cohen's first trainer. Yelchin's uncle is the children's author and painter Eugene Yelchin. In an article published in the Los Angeles Times in December 1989, Yelchin's mother stated, "A woman came up, saw Anton, and said, 'He's beautiful. He will be actor.'" Yelchin stated that he "wasn't very good" at figure skating, his parents' profession.

Yelchin grew up in the San Fernando Valley. He attended the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, California and enrolled at the University of Southern California in the fall of 2007 to study film.

Yelchin was born with cystic fibrosis, though the details of his medical condition were only revealed posthumously in 2017 by a foundation established in his name, the Anton Yelchin Foundation. The foundation aims to support children and young adults ages 7 to 27 who are engaged in the arts and are also suffering from debilitating disease or disability.

Career

After his film debut in A Man Is Mostly Water, Yelchin's early roles in both film and television include Delivering Milo, Along Came a Spider, Taken, and House of D. Yelchin played Bobby Garfield in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), for which he received a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film: Leading Young Actor in 2002.

On Showtime's television series Huff, Yelchin played Byrd Huffstodt, the 14-year-old son of the eponymous character (Hank Azaria). In 2004, he guest-starred in the Season Four episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm as Stewart, Cheryl David's cousin and a self-described magician who knows a card trick. In 2006, he guest-starred in the Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode "Tru Love", as a boy who falls in love with his teacher. He also appeared in the Criminal Minds episode "Sex, Birth & Death" as Nathan Harris, a boy who has murderous urges toward prostitutes and approaches Dr. Spencer Reid to help him before he actually does kill.

In Alpha Dog, Yelchin played Zack Mazursky, a character based on real-life murder victim Nicholas Markowitz. USA Today's review described Yelchin's performance as "heartbreakingly endearing". After the film's premiere, Markowitz's mother praised his portrayal of her son. Yelchin subsequently headlined Fierce People, which received a limited release on September 7, 2007. In 2008, he played the title role in Charlie Bartlett, a film about a wealthy teenager in a public high school. He also appeared alongside the Russian duo t.A.T.u. in the film You and I (which was filmed in Moscow during the summer of 2007).

Yelchin played supporting roles in two blockbuster films released in May 2009: Star Trek, in which he played teenage navigator Pavel Chekov, and Terminator Salvation, in which he played a young Kyle Reese.

In 2011, Yelchin played Charley Brewster in Craig Gillespie's remake film Fright Night, starred in the romantic drama Like Crazy, and voiced Clumsy Smurf in the film adaptation of The Smurfs, as well as its 2013 sequel. He replaced Russell Tovey for the voice role of Albino Pirate in the American version of the animated film The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (also known as The Pirates! Band of Misfits) (2012).

Yelchin again played the role of Chekov in the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness. He played the lead in the thriller Odd Thomas (2013). Yelchin reprised his role as Chekov in Star Trek Beyond, which was released in 2016.

He completed filming several independent films that were released posthumously. He recorded the voice role of Jim Lake Jr. on Guillermo del Toro's animated TV series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia. He was cast as one of the lead actors in a TV adaptation of Stephen King's book Mr. Mercedes, but died before filming began.

Personal life

Yelchin enjoyed playing guitar, and was a fan of acoustic blues music. He once played for a punk band called the Hammerheads. His music was used in the soundtrack of Love Antosha, a documentary released after his death.

He was interested in photography. In January 2018, an exhibit of his photography titled Anton Yelchin: Provocative Beauty was displayed at New York City's De Buck Gallery. Yelchin's photography was critically acclaimed by various magazines around the world as exhibits continued.

Yelchin briefly dated his co-star Kristen Stewart when they were filming Fierce People; after his death, she described him as her "first heartbreak".

Death

After Yelchin failed to arrive at a rehearsal on June 18, 2016, he was found dead by friends at around 1:10 a.m. that night. He was pinned between his Jeep Grand Cherokee and a brick pillar gate post outside his house in Studio City, Los Angeles. When Yelchin exited his vehicle and went to check his locked gate for mail, the vehicle rolled back down his driveway (which was on a steep incline) and trapped him against the pillar and a security fence. He was pronounced dead at the scene; the Los Angeles County Coroner's office identified the cause of death as "blunt traumatic asphyxia" and stated that there were "no obvious suspicious circumstances involved".

Tributes

Numerous actors and other celebrities paid tribute to Yelchin in the aftermath of his death, posting their condolences on social media.

Following Yelchin's death, the producers of Star Trek stated that the role of Chekov would not be recast and that the character would be written out of any subsequent Star Trek films. Star Trek Beyond was dedicated to Yelchin and Leonard Nimoy, who had also died since the previous film.

We Don't Belong Here, Rememory, Porto, Thoroughbreds, and the first two episodes of Trollhunters were all released after Yelchin's death and were dedicated to him, with the entirety of Trollhunters being dedicated to him upon its conclusion in May 2018. Yelchin was featured in the "In Memoriam" presentation during the 89th Academy Awards.

In October 2017, a bronze statue of Yelchin was erected at his grave in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Celebrities present at the unveiling ceremony included Jennifer Lawrence, Zoe Saldaña, Simon Pegg, J. J. Abrams, Emile Hirsch, Demi Moore, Jon Voight, Drake Doremus, and Jeremy Saulnier.