Anton Yelchin

Yelchin was born on March 11, 1989, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.^[1][2] His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were pair figure skaters who were stars of the Leningrad Ice Ballet for 15 years.^[3][4] He was Jewish, and his family was subjected to religious and political oppression in the Soviet Union.^[3][5][6] Yelchin said that his grandparents "suffered in ways [he] can't even begin to understand under Stalin".^[6] 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.^[3][4] 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."^[7]

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.^[3][4] His mother worked as a figure skating choreographer and his father as a figure skating coach, having been Sasha Cohen's first trainer.^[8][9] Yelchin's uncle is the children's author and painter Eugene Yelchin.^[3] 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.'"^[3] Yelchin stated that he "wasn't very good" at figure skating, his parents' profession.^[10]

Yelchin grew up in the San Fernando Valley.^[11] He attended the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, California^[8] and enrolled at the University of Southern California in the fall of 2007 to study film.^[12]

Yelchin was born with cystic fibrosis, though the details of his medical condition were only revealed posthumously^[13] in 2017 by a foundation established in his name, the Anton Yelchin Foundation.^[14][15] The foundation aims to support children and young adults ages 7-27, who were engaged in the arts but also suffering from debilitating disease or disability.^[16]

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.^[17]

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.^[8] USA Today's review described Yelchin's performance as "heartbreakingly endearing".^[18] After the film's premiere, Markowitz's mother praised his portrayal of her son.^{[19][failed verification]} 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.^[20] 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).^[21]

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.^[22][23]

In 2011, Yelchin played Charley Brewster in Craig Gillespie's remake film Fright Night,^[24] starred in the romantic drama Like Crazy, and voiced Clumsy Smurf in the film adaptation of The Smurfs, as well as its 2013 sequel.^[25][26] 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).^[27][28]

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).^[29] 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.^[30] He recorded the voice role of Jim Lake Jr. on Guillermo del Toro's animated TV series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia.^[31][32] 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.^[33]

Yelchin enjoyed playing guitar, and was a fan of acoustic blues music. He once played for a punk band called the Hammerheads.^[5][34] 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.^[35] Yelchin's photography was critically acclaimed by various magazines around the world as exhibits continued.^[36]

Yelchin briefly dated his co-star Kristen Stewart when they were filming Fierce People; after his death, she described him as her "first heartbreak".^[37]

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.^[38][39] He was pinned between his Jeep Grand Cherokee and a brick pillar gate post outside his house in Studio City, Los Angeles.^[40][41][42] 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;^[43][33] 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".^[44][45][46]

Tributes

Numerous actors/actresses 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.

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.^{[47][48][49][50]}

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.

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).^[51][52] In a 2023 episode of Star Trek: Picard, Walter Koenig voices Pavel Chekov's son, named Anton in Yelchin's honor.^[53]

In January 2019, Viktor and Irina Yelchin premiered a documentary about their son—Love, Antosha—at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.^[54]

Lawsuit and recalls

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.^[55]

In August 2016, Yelchin's parents announced through their attorney that they were planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler.^[56] 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.^[57] In March 2018, it was announced that Yelchin's family and Fiat Chrysler had confidentially settled out of court.^[58]

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