Anton Yelchin
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
 |
 | Warning! This page contains information regarding the 2009 film, Star Trek, and thus may contain spoilers. |
| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
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| Anton Yelchin | |
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| Birth name: | Anton Viktorovich Yelchin |
| Gender: | Male |
| Date of birth: | 11 March 1989 |
| Place of birth: | Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russia |
| Character(s): | Pavel Chekov |
Anton Viktorovich Yelchin (born 11 March 1989; age 19) is an actor from Southern California who has been cast to play Pavel Chekov in Star Trek for director J.J. Abrams. He will be taking over the role from Walter Koenig, who played the character on Star Trek: The Original Series and in seven feature films.
Yelchin was unsure exactly why he was cast in that particular role, though he figured it had to do with his young age and the fact that he was "familiar with Russian people. Very, very familiar." (His parents are Russian.) [1] During his audition, Yelchin had to try out his Russian accent, which included saying Chekov's famous line from Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, "nuclear vessel". Yelchin was unfamiliar with Star Trek prior to his being cast as Chekov but planned on viewing the various DVD box sets to learn more about the franchise. [2]
Yelchin has signed on to do two additional Star Trek films following the 2009 movie. [3]
[edit] Biography and career
Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), Russia, Yelchin and his parents immigrated to to the United States when he was six months old. He attended the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies in Tarzana, California, and began acting by the age of nine. He made his acting debut with a role in the 2000 independent film A Man Is Mostly Water, co-starring Star Trek: Enterprise guest star Chris Rydell.
Shortly thereafter, Yelchin made an appearance in the 2000 TV movie Geppetto, which starred Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's Rene Auberjonois and Star Trek: The Next Generation's Brent Spiner and also featured Scarlett Pomers of Star Trek: Voyager fame. Yelchin's other early credits include a small role in the film 15 Minutes, starring Avery Brooks, Kim Cattrall, and Kelsey Grammer, as well as a supporting role in the 2001 Paramount thriller Along Came a Spider. He played the title role in the 2001 comedy Delivering Milo, about the spirit of a boy who must be convinced that life is worth being born for. Star Trek: Insurrection actor Michael Welch was among Yelchin's co-stars in this film, as was John Cho, whom Yelchin will again be working with on Star Trek, in which Cho portrays Hikaru Sulu.
Yelchin won a Young Spirit Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Young Actor in the 2001 Stephen King-based drama Hearts in Atlantis. He received a second Young Artist Award nomination for his performance on the acclaimed series Taken (with Matt Frewer, Gwynyth Walsh, Rob LaBelle, and Brian Markinson) and a third nomination for his starring role in the 2004 TV movie Jack. This latter project also featured Brent Spiner, as well as Erich Anderson.
His other television credits have thus far included guest spots on The Practice (in two episodes featuring Paul Dooley), Without a Trace (starring Enrique Murciano, in an episode with Christopher McDonald), and NYPD Blue (with Gordon Clapp). From 2004 through 2006, Yelchin starred in the Showtime series Huff, playing the son of the title character.
Yelchin has continued making a name for himself in films, with major roles in 2004's House of D (co-starring Willie Garson) and 2006's Alpha Dog. His next film will be the drama Fierce People, which played at film festivals in 2005 and was released in theaters in September 2007. He more recently starred in the film Charlie Bartlett, in which he played the title role, a wealthy teenager who appoints himself psychiatrist of his high school. This film is set to open in February 2008.
In addition to playing Chekov, Yelchin is rumored to be up for the role of the iconic DC Comics character The Flash in the upcoming feature film version of Justice League of America. [4] He is currently playing a teenage Kyle Reese (the role originated by Michael Biehn) in the fourth Terminator film, Terminator Salvation, which is scheduled for release two weeks after Star Trek.
[edit] External links
- Anton Yelchin at Wikipedia
- Anton Yelchin at the Internet Movie Database
- Anton Yelchin Resource - a fan site
