Anton Yelchin

Template:Short description Template:Family name hatnote Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Anton Viktorovich Yelchin (Template:Langx; 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 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, as well as his leading role as the title character of 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 when he was fatally injured by his SUV. 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.<ref name="guardianobit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were pair figure skaters who were stars of the Leningrad Ice Ballet for 15 years.<ref name="Yelchinarticle1">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Yelchinarticle2">Template:Cite news</ref> He was Jewish, and his family was subjected to religious and political oppression in the Soviet Union.<ref name="Yelchinarticle1" /><ref name="wanderl">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="jjournal1">Template:Cite news</ref> Yelchin said that his grandparents "suffered in ways [he] can't even begin to understand under Stalin".<ref name="jjournal1" /> 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.<ref name="Yelchinarticle1" /><ref name="Yelchinarticle2" /> 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."<ref name="itgeek">Template:Cite news</ref>

Yelchin's family left for the United States in September 1989, when he was six months old, and were thereafter granted refugee status from the Department of State.<ref name="Yelchinarticle1" /><ref name="Yelchinarticle2" /> His mother worked as a figure skating choreographer and his father as a figure skating coach, having been Sasha Cohen's first trainer.<ref name="Yelchin3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="buzzine">Template:Cite news</ref> Yelchin's uncle is the children's author and painter Eugene Yelchin.<ref name="Yelchinarticle1" /> 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.'"<ref name="Yelchinarticle1" /> Yelchin stated that he "wasn't very good" at figure skating, his parents' profession.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Yelchin grew up in the San Fernando Valley.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He attended the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, California<ref name="Yelchin3" /> and enrolled at the University of Southern California in the fall of 2007 to study film.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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

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.<ref name="YAA">Template:Cite web</ref>

File:AntonYelchin08TIFF.jpg

Yelchin at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

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.<ref name="Yelchin3" /> USA TodayTemplate:'s review described Yelchin's performance as "heartbreakingly endearing".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> After the film's premiere, Markowitz's mother praised his portrayal of her son.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Failed reference 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Anton Yelchin TIFF 2015.jpg

Yelchin at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival

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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2011, Yelchin played Charley Brewster in Craig Gillespie's remake film Fright Night,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> starred in the romantic drama Like Crazy, and voiced Clumsy Smurf in the film adaptation of The Smurfs, as well as its 2013 sequel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite interview</ref> 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).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He recorded the voice role of Jim Lake Jr. on Guillermo del Toro's animated TV series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=":2" />

Personal life

File:Anton Yelchin, 2011.jpg

Yelchin in 2011

Yelchin enjoyed playing guitar, and was a fan of acoustic blues music. He once played for a punk band called the Hammerheads.<ref name="wanderl" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Yelchin's photography was critically acclaimed by various magazines around the world as exhibits continued.<ref name="Artribune 2019">Template:Cite web</ref>

Yelchin briefly dated his co-star Kristen Stewart when they were filming Fierce People; after his death, she described him as her "first heartbreak".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was pinned between his Jeep Grand Cherokee and a brick pillar gate post outside his house in Studio City, Los Angeles.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> As Yelchin apparently got out of his car 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;<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tributes

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

File:Anton Yelchin - THFC.jpg

Yelchin's temporary gravestone at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery was later replaced with a bronze statue of his likeness.

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.

Smurfs: The Lost Village, We Don't Belong Here, Rememory, Porto, Newness, Thoroughbreds, and the first two episodes of Trollhunters are 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 Saldana, Simon Pegg, J. J. Abrams, Emile Hirsch, Demi Moore, Jon Voight, Drake Doremus, and Jeremy Saulnier.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Yelchin was memorialized in the video game Star Trek Online. He received a memorial plaque alongside several other late Star Trek actors, including Nimoy, James Doohan, and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. A Starfleet vessel named "The Yelchin" is mentioned twice in the Star Trek: Discovery episode "Unification III" (S03E07) and again in the season four finale "Coming Home" (S04E13).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In a 2023 episode of Star Trek: Picard, Walter Koenig voices Pavel Chekov's son, named Anton in Yelchin's honor.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In January 2019, Viktor and Irina Yelchin premiered a documentary about their son—Love, Antosha—at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Lawsuit and recalls

File:Jeep grand cherokee modelo 2015.jpg

A Jeep Grand Cherokee like the one Yelchin owned

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the manufacturer of the Grand Cherokee, was aware of 2014 and 2015 models having a high rate of rollaway incidents due to a gearshift design that could make it difficult for the driver to determine whether the vehicle was in park or still in gear. FCA had already recalled all 2014–15 Grand Cherokees for this concern in April 2016, but the software patch to repair the vehicles did not reach dealers until the week of Yelchin's death. Following his death, FCA accelerated the recall campaign and took steps to get the affected Jeeps repaired more quickly than originally planned.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In August 2016, Yelchin's parents announced through their attorney that they were planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The dealership from which Yelchin purchased the vehicle stated that he was responsible for his own death because he had allegedly "misused" and "modified" the vehicle and asked to be removed from the lawsuit.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2018, it was announced that Yelchin's family and Fiat Chrysler had confidentially settled out of court.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Director	Notes
2000	A Man Is Mostly Water	Augie	Fred Parnes
2001	Delivering Milo	Milo	Nick Castle
	15 Minutes	Boy in Burning Building	John Herzfeld
	Along Came a Spider	Dimitri Starodubov	Lee Tamahori
	Hearts in Atlantis	Bobby Garfield	Scott Hicks
2002	A Time for Dancing	Jackson	Peter Gilbert
	Rooftop Kisses	Charlie	Andrew Bernstein
2004	House of D	Tommy Warshaw	David Duchovny
2005	Fierce People	Finn Earl	Griffin Dunne
2006	Alpha Dog	Zack Mazursky	Nick Cassavetes
2007	Charlie Bartlett	Charlie Bartlett	Jon Poll
2008	New York, I Love You	Boy in the Park	Brett Ratner	Segment: "Brett Ratner"
	Middle of Nowhere	Dorian Spitz	John Stockwell
2009	Star Trek	Pavel Chekov	J. J. Abrams
	Terminator Salvation	Kyle Reese	McG	Also plays physical embodiment of Skynet (uncredited) in a Kyle Reese disguise
2010	Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac	Ace Zuckerman	Hans Canosa
2011	Like Crazy	Jacob Helm	Drake Doremus
	You and I	Edvard Nikitin	Roland Joffé
	The Beaver	Porter Black	Jodie Foster
	From Up on Poppy Hill	Shun Kazama	Gorō Miyazaki	Voice (English dub)
	The Smurfs	Clumsy Smurf	Raja Gosnell	Voice
	The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol	Clumsy Smurf	Troy Quane	Short film; voice
	Fright Night	Charley Brewster	Craig Gillespie
2012	The Pirates! Band of Misfits	Albino pirate	Peter Lord	Voice (American dub)
2013	Odd Thomas	Odd Thomas	Stephen Sommers
	Star Trek Into Darkness	Pavel Chekov	J. J. Abrams
	Only Lovers Left Alive	Ian	Jim Jarmusch
	The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow	Clumsy Smurf	Stephan Franck	Short film; voice
	The Smurfs 2	Clumsy Smurf	Raja Gosnell	Voice
	After the Disco Part One: Angel and the Fool	Oliver	Jacob Gentry	Short film<ref name=afterthedisco>Template:Cite web</ref>
	After the Disco Part Two: Holding On for Life			Short film<ref name=afterthedisco/>
2014	The Apprentice	Wayne	Steve Baker and Damon Escott	Short film; deleted Movie 43 segment
	Rudderless	Quentin	William H. Macy
	5 to 7	Brian Bloom	Victor Levin
	Cymbeline	Cloten	Michael Almereyda
	Burying the Ex	Max	Joe Dante
	Dying of the Light	Milton Schultz	Paul Schrader
2015	Experimenter	Rensaleer	Michael Almereyda
	Broken Horses	Jacob Heckum	Vidhu Vinod Chopra
	The Driftless Area	Pierre	Zachary Sluser
	Green Room	Pat	Jeremy Saulnier
	Court of Conscience	Father James	James Haven	Short film<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Unity	Narrator	Shaun Monson	Documentary<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	Star Trek Beyond	Pavel Chekov	Justin Lin	Posthumous release; Dedicated to his memory
	Porto	Jake Kleeman	Gabe Klinger
2017	Thoroughbreds	Tim	Cory Finley
	Rememory	Todd	Mark Palansky
	We Don't Belong Here	Maxwell Green	Peer Pedersen
2019	Love, Antosha	Himself	Garret Price	Archive footage; documentary about Yelchin's life

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	ER	Robbie Edelstein	Episode: "Be Still My Heart"
	Geppetto	Fighting Kid at School	Television film
2002	Judging Amy	Davis Bishop	Episode: "The Justice League of America"
	Taken	Jacob Clarke – Child	2 episodes
	The Practice	Justin Langer	2 episodes
2003	Without a Trace	Johnny Atkins	Episode: "The Bus"
2004	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Stewart	Episode: "The Blind Date"
	NYPD Blue	Evan Grabber	Episode: "Take My Wife, Please"
	Jack	Jack	Television film
2004–2006	Huff	Byrd Huffstodt	Main role
2006	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Keith Tyler	Episode: "Tru Love"
	Criminal Minds	Nathan Harris	Episode: "Sex, Birth, Death"
2011	The Life & Times of Tim	Trent	Voice role; episode: "The Caddy's Shack/The Sausage Salesman"
2015–2016	SuperMansion	Dudley	Voice role; 2 episodes
2016–2018	Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia	Jim Lake Jr.	Voice role; 41 episodes; posthumous release dedicated to him

Video games

Year	Title	Voice role
2013	Star Trek	Pavel Chekov
	The Smurfs 2	Clumsy Smurf

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist(s)	Role	Template:Abbr
2013	"Holding On for Life"	Broken Bells	Oliver	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result	Template:Ref heading
2002	Phoenix Film Critics Award	Best Youth Performance	Template:Nowrap	Template:Nom
	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor		Template:Won	<ref name="YAA" />
2003	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Special – Supporting Young Actor	Taken	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2005	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special – Leading Young Actor	Jack	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2009	Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Ensemble Cast	Star Trek	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards	Best Ensemble		Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2010	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Acting Ensemble		Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• 27 Club
• Davey Moore – American boxer who died in similar circumstances

External links

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