'Star Trek' actor Anton Yelchin killed in automobile mishap at 27
LOS ANGELES -- Anton Yelchin, a promising and prolific young actor beloved by his peers who recently caught a break playing Chekov in the new Star Trek films, was killed early Sunday in a freakish mishap with his own vehicle. He was 27.
Publicist Jennifer Allen confirmed to Mashable that Yelchin had been killed in a collision. TMZ later reported that Yelchin was pinned between his Jeep and a brick pillar and a wrought-iron gate in front of his San Fernando Valley home.
It appeared as though Yelchin had gotten out of his car -- but what exactly happened was not immediately clear. His friends became concerned when he didn't show up for an 11 p.m. rehearsal, and he was found around 1 a.m., the car still running, TMZ said.
You May Also Like
The Russian-born Yelchin was an only child born to professional figure skaters who moved to the U.S. when he was an infant. Despite his young age and modest fame, he had an impressively long list of credits to his name that stretched all the way back to a 2000 episode of ER.
Through the years he took dozens of roles in TV and independent films -- episodes of The Practice, NYPD Blue, Criminal Minds and many more -- but it was the 2009 reboot of Star Trek that truly put him in another orbit.
Yelchin had experience playing to his Russian heritage, a fact that wasn't lost on director JJ Abrams, who cast him as Pavel Chekov, the resourceful tactical officer originally played by Walter Koenig.
Word of Yelchin's death on Sunday brought a flood of sentiment from his former colleagues, friends and people whose paths he had crossed, painting a picture of a committed professional and rising talent who never let success go to his head.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Yelchin appeared in the 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness, and will be seen again as Chekov in Star Trek Beyond, which is complete and slated for July 22. Three other films, Rememory, Porto and Thoroughbred -- his last appearance -- are scheduled between now and 2017.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Topics Star Trek
Josh Dickey is Mashable's Entertainment Editor, leading Mashable's TV, music, gaming and sports reporters as well as writing movie features and reviews.Josh has been the Film Editor at Variety, Entertainment Editor at The Associated Press and Managing Editor at TheWrap.com.A finalist for the Los Angeles Press Club's Best Entertainment Feature in 2015 for "Everyone is Altered: The Secret Hollywood Procedure that Fooled Us for Years," Josh received his BA in Journalism from The University of Minnesota.In between screenings, he can be found skating longboards, shredding guitar and wandering the streets of his beloved downtown Los Angeles.
