Anton Yelchin

Anton Viktorovich Yelchin (11 March 1989 – 19 June 2016) was an American actor. He played Pavel Chekov in three Star Trek films: including the first film, Star Trek (2009); the first sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and the posthumously released Star Trek Beyond (2016).

Born to a Russian Jewish family in Leningrad, Yelchin relocated to the United States, where he began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television and film roles. His role for Steven Spielberg's miniseries Taken was significant in furthering his career. He also starred in television series, including Huff and the posthumously released Trollhunters.

Early life
Yelchin was born 11 March 1989, in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia). His parents, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, were pair figure skaters, who were celebrities and stars of the Leningrad Ice Ballet for fifteen years. His family is Jewish; in the USSR, they were subjected to religious and political oppression. Yelchin had said: "my grandparents suffered in ways I 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 had 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 fled to the United States in September 1989, when Anton was six months old, and was thereafter granted refugee status from the United States Department of State. Yelchin's 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 had stated that he "wasn't very good" at figure skating, his parents' profession.

Career
After his film debut A Man Is Mostly Water, Yelchin's early roles in both film and television included A Time for Dancing, Delivering Milo, House of D and Taken. He guest-starred in the season four episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, as Stewart, Cheryl David's cousin and a self-described magician, knowing a card trick. He played Bobby Garfield in Hearts in Atlantis (2001), which is based on Stephen King's novel.

In Showtime's television series Huff, he played Byrd Huffstodt, the 14-year-old son of the eponymous character (Hank Azaria). 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 Nicholas Markowitz's death. USA Today's review described the performance as "heartbreakingly endearing". After the premiere, Markowitz's mother praised his portrayal of her son. Yelchin subsequently headlined Fierce People, which received a limited release on 7 September 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), and co-starred with Susan Sarandon and Justin Chatwin in Middle of Nowhere. He starred in two films released in May 2009, including the eleventh Star Trek film as teenage navigator Pavel Chekov and Kyle Reese in Terminator Salvation.

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 and its 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 voiced Shun in Studio Ghibli's From Up on Poppy Hill.

He reprised his role for Chekov in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and played the lead in the thriller Odd Thomas (2013) and the horror comedy Burying the Ex (2014). In 2015, he 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 22 July 2016. He also completed filming several independent films which released posthumously. He recorded the voice role of Jim in Guillermo del Toro's Trollhunters.

Personal life
Yelchin once played for the disbanded punk band the Hammerheads. He enjoyed playing the guitar, saying that it gave him "a lot of fulfillment," and was a fan of acoustic blues music.

Yelchin was born with the genetic condition cystic fibrosis. Details of Yelchin's medical condition were only revealed following his death by a foundation established in his name.

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

Death
On 19 June 2016, Yelchin was discovered between his Jeep Grand Cherokee and a brick pillar outside his home in Studio City, California, in what was described as a "freak accident". Yelchin exited his car while in his driveway, which is on a steep incline, when it rolled back and trapped him against the pillar and a security fence. He was pronounced dead later that day. The Jeep crushed his lungs, and he is believed to have died within a minute of impact.

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
The producers of Star Trek said the role of Chekov would not be recast and the character would be written out of any subsequent films. Star Trek Beyond was dedicated to Yelchin, as well as to Leonard Nimoy, who had died between the release of Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond.

Smurfs: The Lost Village was dedicated to him, as he had provided the voice of Clumsy Smurf in the live-action Smurfs films. Additionally, We Don't Belong Here, Rememory, Porto, Newness, Thoroughbreds, and the first two episodes of Trollhunters are dedicated to him, with the entirety of the series being dedicated to him upon its conclusion in May 2018. The upcoming Untitled Terminator film will be also dedicated to his and Bill Paxton's memories.

He was also featured in the "In Memoriam" section 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 Saldana, Simon Pegg, J. J. Abrams, Emile Hirsch, Demi Moore, Jon Voight, Drake Doremus and Jeremy Saulnier. Saldana spoke at the ceremony, paying tribute to Yelchin: "It is a bittersweet moment, because we’re here for Anton, and he’s not here with us. But, it alleviates my heart knowing that we’ll keep him alive. We’re going to keep remembering him in the hopes that by practicing all the things he believed in and remembering all the love that he gave us, and all the joy he gave us, we’re able to just keep him here with us."

Lawsuit
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, 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 which 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 Yelchin's death, FCA accelerated the recall campaign and took steps to get the affected Jeeps repaired more quickly than originally planned.

On 1 August 2016, the attorney of Yelchin's parents announced that they were planning to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler. The dealership that Yelchin purchased the vehicle from claimed he was responsible for his own death, because he had "misused" and "modified" the vehicle. The dealer also asked to be removed from the lawsuit.

On 22 March 2018, it was announced that Yelchin's family and Fiat Chrysler had confidentially settled the lawsuit.