
Yelchin was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and moved with his figure-skater parents, Irina and Viktor Yelchin, to the United States when he was just six months old. He was already one of Hollywood’s most-exciting young talents -- a screen natural -- when he signed on to play Pavel Chekov in Star Trek (2009), having logged film and television credits that included ER, Hearts in Atlantis, The Practice, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Alpha Dog, Huff and Charlie Bartlett. Since playing Chekov in the first J.J. Abrams blockbuster, he’d appeared in Terminator Salvation, The Beaver, Fright Night, Only Lovers Left Alive, Experimenter and the recently released Green Room, in which he co-starred with Patrick Stewart. In addition to Star Trek Beyond, he'd completed several projects set for release in the near future, among them We Don't Belong Here, Porto, Rememory and Thoroughbred.
John Cho, Star Trek's current Sulu, was among the first to comment on his friend and colleague's passing. He tweeted, "I loved Anton Yelchin so much. He was a true artist - curious, beautiful, courageous. He was a great pal and a great son. I'm in ruins."
Paramount Pictures released the following statement: "All of us at Paramount join the world in morning the untimely passing of Anton Yelchin. As a member of the Star Trek family, he was beloved by so many and he will missed by all. We share our deepest condolences with his mother, father and family."