Anton Yelchin

Yelchin was born on March 11, 1989, in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia).[2][3] His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were pair figure skaters who were stars of the Leningrad Ice Ballet for 15 years.[4][5] His family is Jewish and were subjected to religious and political oppression in the Soviet Union.[4][6][7] Yelchin said that his grandparents "suffered in ways [he] can't even begin to understand under Stalin".[7] 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.[4][5] 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."[8]

Yelchin's family left for the United States in September 1989, when Anton was six months old, and were thereafter granted refugee status from the Department of State.[4][5] His mother worked as a figure skating choreographer and his father as a figure skating coach, having been Sasha Cohen's first trainer.[9][10] Yelchin's uncle is the children's author and painter Eugene Yelchin.[4] 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.'"[4] Yelchin stated that he "wasn't very good" at figure skating, his parents' profession.[11]

Yelchin was born with cystic fibrosis. However, details of his medical condition were only revealed in 2017 after his death by a foundation established in his name, the Anton Yelchin Foundation.[12][13]

Yelchin attended the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, California,[9] and enrolled at the University of Southern California in the fall of 2007 to study film.[14]

Yelchin in September 2011

After his film debut in A Man Is Mostly Water, Yelchin's early roles in both film and television included A Time for Dancing,[1] Delivering Milo, House of D and Taken. Yelchin played Bobby Garfield in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), which is based on Stephen King's novel. In 2001, he played Dimitri Starodubov in Along Came a Spider with Morgan Freeman, for which he received a Young Artist Award (Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor) for this performance in 2002.

In 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 towards 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.[9] USA Today's review described Yelchin's performance as "heartbreakingly endearing".[15] After the film's premiere, Markowitz's mother praised his portrayal of her son.[16] 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.[17] 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),[18] and co-starred in Middle of Nowhere.

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.[19][20]

In 2011, Yelchin played Charley Brewster in Craig Gillespie's remake film Fright Night,[21] starred in the romantic drama Like Crazy, and voiced Clumsy Smurf in the film adaptation of The Smurfs and its sequel.[22][23] 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).[24][25] Yelchin voiced Shun in Studio Ghibli's From Up on Poppy Hill.

Yelchin again played the role of Chekov in the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness. He also played the lead in the thriller Odd Thomas (2013)[26] and the horror comedy Burying the Ex (2014). In 2015, Yelchin starred in the independent horror film Green Room, which premiered at the Cannes film festival that year and received limited theatrical release in May 2016.

Shortly before his death, Yelchin reprised his role as Chekov in Star Trek Beyond, which was released on July 22, 2016. He completed filming several independent films which were released posthumously.[27] Yelchin also recorded the voice role of Jim in Guillermo del Toro's Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia.[28][29]

Yelchin enjoyed playing guitar, which he said gave him fulfillment, and was a fan of acoustic blues music. He once played for a punk band called the Hammerheads.[6][30] He was also interested in photography. In January 2018, an exhibit of Yelchin's photography entitled Anton Yelchin: Provocative Beauty was displayed at New York City's De Buck Gallery.[31]

Yelchin's photography has since been critically acclaimed by various magazines around the world as exhibits continue.[32]

On June 18, 2016, when he failed to arrive at a rehearsal, Yelchin was found by friends just before midnight pinned between his Jeep Grand Cherokee and a brick pillar gate post[33] outside his house in Studio City, Los Angeles, the victim of what was described as a "freak accident".[34][35] As Yelchin got out of his car and went to check his locked gate and mail, the vehicle apparently rolled back down his driveway, which was on a steep incline, and trapped him against the pillar and a security fence. Yelchin was pronounced dead at the scene on June 19, 2016, at the age of 27;[36] 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".[37][38]

Lawsuit and recalls

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.[43]

On August 1, 2016, the attorney for Yelchin's parents announced that they were planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler.[44] 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. The dealer also asked to be removed from the lawsuit.[45] On March 22, 2018, it was announced that Yelchin's family and Fiat Chrysler had confidentially settled out of court.[46]

In June 2020, the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee was recalled again for similar rollaway problems.[47]

• Davey Moore - American boxer who died in very similar circumstances

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anton Yelchin.

• Anton Yelchin at IMDb
• Anton Yelchin at the TCM Movie Database
• Anton Yelchin at AllMovie
• Anton Yelchin at Find a Grave