Anton Viktorovich Yelchin (March 11, 1989 – June 19, 2016) was an American film and television actor, known for portraying Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot series, and for several other prominent roles.
Born to a Russian Jewish family in Leningrad, Yelchin relocated to the United States as an infant. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television roles and the Hollywood films Along Came a Spider and Hearts in Atlantis (both 2001). His role as Jacob Clarke in the Steven Spielberg miniseries Taken was significant in furthering his career as a child actor. He later appeared on the television series Huff and appeared in the films Terminator Salvation (2009), Charlie Bartlett (2007), Fright Night (2011), The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012), and Only Lovers Left Alive (2013).
Yelchin frequently worked on independent and lower-profile films, headlining the romantic drama Like Crazy (2011), the 2011 remake of Fright Night, the supernatural thriller Odd Thomas (2013), the romance 5 to 7 (2014), the horror comedy Burying the Ex (2014), the neo-noir The Driftless Area (2015), and the thriller Green Room (2015). As a voice actor, he voiced Clumsy Smurf in the live-action Smurfs films (2011–2013) and lead role James 'Jim' Lake Jr. on the Netflix animated series Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia (2016–2018). He maintained an active career until his accidental death in 2016 when he was fatally injured by his SUV.
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