Actor Anton Yelchin was found dead at his residence in California. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed to PEOPLE that his “body was found pinned between a car and a gate”, a freak accident due to the car not being in park.
Yelchin was 27 years old.
Most well know for playing Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek series. His wide-eyed enthusiasm and and energy made his character stand out even when he was under utilized. His final performance as Chekov will be in next month’s Star Trek Beyond.
Yelchin had been acting since he was child, working in independent films and various television roles. He starred opposite Anthony Hopkins in 2001’s Hearts in Atlantis. In 2006 Yelchin really started to break out, gaining critical acclaim for his role in Alpha Dog and following it the next year as the title character in Charlie Bartlett.
His charm and surprisingly easy chemistry with anyone you put opposite him allowed Yelchin to gain steady work. He as the rare actor who could elevate a movie just by being in it and he was never brought down by material that didn’t serve him well. His performances in The Beaver, Terminator Salvation and Odd Thomas gave us something to enjoy through the shakier aspects of those films.
He was an actor who seemed like he was just getting started. At such a young age he had already given a heartbreaking, powerhouse performance in Like Crazy and a charming genre lead in Fright Night. Yelchin also starred in the best movie of the year so far, Green Room.
I had expected him to star in many more best movies of the year.
2016 has been a bad one when it comes to celebrity deaths, but few of them have seemed as senseless and cruel as this one. We as an audience are missing out on decades of amazing work and his friends and family are missing out on decades of his love and company.
27 is too young.
