Anton Yelchin 1989-2016

Anton Yelchin has died at age 27, killed in a freak accident involving his car. It's a true tragedy. 

Yelchin, born in Russia in 1989, had been having a great few years. As Chekov in the new Star Trek films he had found a blockbuster role for himself, one that allowed him to do interesting movies on the side. Movies like Green Room, which showed him going to the next level as an actor. I had first noticed him in Hearts in Atlantis, and it had been interesting following his career over the years as he tried to straddle the line between the mainstream and interesting, small indie projects. He was the kind of actor who made anything he appeared in worth watching at least once.

But more than that, Yelchin was a real movie buff. You'd see him at the New Beverly here in LA all the time, checking out great rep programming. In an industry where a lot of the young talent is full of shit and just want to be famous, Yelchin was an honest to god movie guy. 

This is a heartbreaking tragedy for his friends and family, and I cannot imagine their loss. In a lesser way it's a tragedy for us as well, since I think Yelchin had really found his groove and was set to hit the next level in the coming years. The world is short one good actor and, from what I've heard, a good person at a time when we really need them.