Actor Anton Yelchin Dead at Age 27
Anton Yelchin, the 27 year old actor best known for playing Pavel Chekov in the new Star Trek big screen adventures, has died in a freak car accident at the age of twenty seven.
Deadline Hollywood quoted LAPD spokesperson Jenny Hauser regarding the circumstances of the accident. “A fatal traffic collision happened in Studio City. On Sunday, June 19 at 1:10 in the morning, a fatal traffic collision occurred. It was the result of the victim’s own car rolling backwards down his steep driveway, pinning him against a brick mailbox pillar and security fence. The victim was on his way to meet his friends for rehearsal. And when he didn’t show up, his friends went to his house, where they found him deceased by his car. It appeared he had momentarily exited his car leaving it in the driveway.”
Reports suggest that Yelchin’s car may been in neutral when he got out. There’s no foul play suspected at this time.
Deadline Hollywood.com noted that Yelchin’s breakout roles in 2009’s Star Trek reboot and Terminator Salvation came after a list of credits in independent film and studio films going back to the 2001 release Hearts In Atlantis. After Trek, Yelchin had notable starring roles in a variety of movies, from the Fright Night remake with Colin Farrell to 2015’s survival-horror themed Green Room with Patrick Stewart.
Variety noted that Yelchin had several unreleased project besides the upcoming Star Trek Beyond, set for release on July 22. Besides appearing in Geillermo del Toro’s animated series Trollhunters on Netflix, Yelchin had several live action films ready for release. These range from psychological drama Thoroughbred, the science fiction suspense Rememory and indie dramas We Don’t Belong Here and Porto.
J.J. Abrams was only one of the most prominent friends, admirers and co-workers paying tribute to Yelchin. On Twitter Abrams wrote “You were brilliant. You were kind. You were funny as hell, and supremely talented. And you weren’t here nearly long enough. Missing you, JJ.”
It’s obvious the tributes that continue to appear on social media that Yelchin wasn’t just a very talented actor, he was a very well liked human being, gone all too soon.