The untimely and tragic death of the hugely talented and intelligent 27 year old actor, Anton Yelchin, has shocked and saddened the movie world from fans to his fellow actors. Reportedly being crushed by his own car, Yelchin had an enormously promising career ahead of him.
Russian born Yelchin is due to hit UK screens on the 22nd of July again as Chekov in the upcoming Star Trek Beyond and has recently been on the big screen in the horrifyingly gruesome Green Room alongside Patrick Stewart. Just from the complete contrast in these two films Anton never walked away from the diverse roles that landed on his doorstep. A true actors actor who threw himself into all his roles wholeheartedly and in return mesmerising his audience and commanding the screen. We also had the honour of speaking with Anton at the beginning of May about Green Room and he had us captivated in conversation. He was a truly wonderful and lovely man. Let’s take a look at his most notable Life on Screen both in Film and TV as a tribute to a huge talent lost.
Taken (2002)
Anton first came to our attention back in 2002 in the TV Mini Series Taken. Anton Played Jacob Clarke who was the product of a brief love affair between a human and an alien. Taken spanned five decades and four generations. Centering on three families: the Keys, Crawfords, and Clarkes. World War II veteran Russell Keys is plagued by nightmares of his abduction by aliens during the war; the Roswell incident transforms Owen Crawford from ambitious Air Force captain to evil shadow government conspirator; the unhappily married Sally Clarke is impregnated by an alien visitor. As the decades go by, the heirs of each are affected by the machinations of the aliens, culminating with the birth of Allie Keys, who is the final product of the aliens’ experimentation and holds the key to their future.
Alpha Dog (2006)
Alpha Dog is based on a true story of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever to be on the FBI’s most wanted list. Anton made his mark on the silver screen in Alpha Dog alongside Justin Timberlake, A film which is often forgotten about but it’s his powerful and equally emotional portrayal of the naive and vulnerable Zack Mazursky
Huff (2004-2006)
Between 2004 and 2006 Anton played Byrd Huffstodt in TV Series Huff. The show told the story of a Psychiatrist Craig Huffstodt (Azaria) experiencing his own midlife crisis.
Charlie Bartlett (2007)
In 2007 he starred alongside Robert Downey Jr in the lead as Charlie Bartlett, a comedy romance about a rich kid whose mother is mad, his father has left and he has been expelled from every private school. He decides to appoint himself as a psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school.
Star Trek Franchise
2009 Saw Anton join the ranks of the new Star Trek as a young Chekov, catapulting his fame onto a new level amongst a new genre of fans. This is where Yelchin really becomes a household name. The new Star Trek takes us back to the beginning of this cult series of films which see’s Chris Pine play a young James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as the pointy eared Spook as James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father’s legacy with Commander Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful, time-travelling Romulan creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.
Terminator Salvation (2009)
2009 also saw the release of Terminator Salvation, This time playing Kyle Reese, a human resistance soldier in the post apocalyptic future of the Terminator Universe alongside the likes of Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Helena Bonham Carter and Common. In 2018, a mysterious new weapon in the war against the machines, half-human and half-machine, comes to John Connor on the eve of a resistance attack on Skynet. But whose side is he on, and can he be trusted?
Odd Thomas (2013)
Taking the lead again as Odd Thomas, Yelchin stars with Wiliam Dafoe and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in the story based in a California desert town, a short-order cook with clairvoyant abilities encounters a mysterious man with a link to dark, threatening forces.
Rudderless (2014)
Rudderless tells the story of a grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son’s demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis.
Green Room (2016)
Green Room saw Anton not afraid to delve yet again into a role which is utterly tormented by his surroundings, alongside Patrick Stewart Yelchin plays Pat, the bassist in a band who take a gig in the back of beyond only to witness the murder of a young girl. Their only hope is to get out alive and away from a bunch of neo Nazi thugs.
Green Room was the last released film we got to experience the talents of this young actor, however, 2016 will also see the release of Star Trek Beyond in July as well as ‘We Don’t Belong Here’ in which he plays Maxwell Green. We are also set to see Yelchin in Porto and what looks like his last film Thoroughbred which is due to be released in 2017.
We wish to send our condolences to Anton’s Family and Friends, Such a huge loss to them and the Film Industry. He will be missed.