Anton Yelchin, best known for his roles in numerous indie films and the new “Star Trek” movies, was killed earlier today in a freak auto accident. According to police reports he was found pinned between his car and a brick mailbox which was attached to a security gate. His engine was running, the car was in neutral, and parked on a fairly steep driveway.
For geeks, Yelchin was best known as the new Pavel Chekov in the rebooted “Star Trek” movies, the third of which is due in theaters in a few weeks. His excited “I can do that!” became an internet meme and a bold statement about the confidence in the rebooted franchise itself. Here are some of his best moments from that film:
The next year after “Star Trek” was released, Yelchin would take on another iconic reboot as the new Kyle Reese in “Terminator Salvation.” Yelchin was fine. The rest of the movie? …
Yelchin would follow that up with his role in the reboot of “Fright Night,” which is better than the original– in large part due to his work and balancing the comedic aspects of the film with the scares.
While Yelchin found success in those Hollywood blockbusters (and also “The Smurfs?” Who knew?), he was prolific in making independent and smaller budget movies. His breakout role opposite Anthony Hopkins in “Hearts in Atlantis” caught a lot of eyes, winning him awards for acting at the age of 11. Continuing through adolescence on both TV and film, he scored again with “Alpha Dog” in 2006– still one of his best, as is his eponymous role as “Charlie Bartlett” alongside Robert Downey, Jr.
Yelchin was at his best in this year’s “Green Room” as well, where he plays opposite Patrick Stewart as the film’s villain. Green Room is one of the best and most original films of 2016, and I can think of no better memorial than to go see if this is still playing in a theater near you and going to support the independent cinema Yelchin worked so hard at.
Anton Yelchin was born in Leningrad (now St. Peterburg), Russia in 1989 to professional figure skater parents who immigrated to the US when he was 6 months old and began acting professionally at the age of 10. He was 27.