Hey, guys. Quint here with some straight up awful news. Anton Yelchin was killed early this morning in a car accident. It's always horrible to lose an actor you admire, but it's a real kick in the gut when they go so young.
I first became aware of young Anton Yelchin's work in Hearts In Atlantis. Being a big Stephen King fan I was naturally interested in any adaptation, especially one with Dark Tower ties. The movie skirted most references to that series, but was a pretty faithful adaptation of King's book, carried mostly on the strength of Yelchin and Anthony Hopkins' relationship.
While I enjoyed the movie and thought he did well in it, it wasn't really until a few years later that I really stood up and took note of this kid's talent. He did a show called Huff, which should be talked about more. It only ran for two seasons, but it features some great, crazy performances by Hank Azaria, Oliver Platt and Blythe Danner. Yelchin played Azaria's son and kind of established the type Yelchin would play in his early career; the smart, emotionally sensitive and slightly confused young man.
Even at a young age he imbued his characters with complex layers. I'm sure much of that was due to his talent as an actor, but there's something about him as a person that found its way into every character he played. You liked most of his characters because you liked him.
Yelchin was very willing to promote his movies, which meant that our paths crossed a few times over the years and I can vouch that he was just as engaged and kind and humble and giving in person as he appeared on screen.
Our first interview was for Alpha Dog, which is really his first major “I'm here, now cast me in everything!” performances. It was a phoner and I never ran it because it's awful, through no fault of his. I dropped the ball as an interviewer and got in a weird rut when asking questions that didn't inspire more than yes or no answers. It can happen, but even though it wasn't my finest hour he was very gracious.
We had a much better interview for a great little movie he did called The Beaver. For whatever reason we engaged more and he revealed his film geek side, citing both Cronenberg and Fassbinder when discussing what to expect from his upcoming (and happily pretty great) Fright Night remake.
He was a man who was committed to his craft and never wanted to put forth sub-par work. That doesn't mean he wasn't ever in a bad movie, but he was always good and nuanced, no matter how the movie surrounding him turned out. That's the mark of a truly great actor.
Take Terminator Salvation, for example. That's a misfire of a movie, but he actually sold me on his Kyle Reese despite it all. Yelchin managed to both pay subtle tribute to Michael Biehn's performance and give Young Kyle Reese his own spin. If McG had thought to use the talent in front of him and make Kyle the central character instead of vanilla Sam Worthington I think we'd be looking back much more kindly on that film.
Selfishly, I'm finding I'm affected so strongly by his untimely death because I feel a little robbed of a few more decades of his work. I'm convinced his best work was still ahead of him. Just watch him in Green Room if you don't believe me.
There was a vulnerability he had as an actor that always made you connect with him and I'm legitimately going to miss his presence on screen.
He could draw you in whether he was doing something small and intimate like in The Beaver or Like Crazy or a giant franchise picture, like Star Trek. His Chekov was a bright spot in both current gen Trek films. It's going to be incredibly bittersweet to see him on the bridge in Star Trek Beyond.
If you want to pay tribute to him tonight, I'd recommend a smaller movie he did on his post-Alpha Dog rise to fame called Charlie Bartlett. It's not the best movie he's ever been in, but it's probably the best example of his skill as an actor. His charisma is on full display and takes what could be a typical indie festival style dramedy and elevates it into something not only worth watching, but worth recommending.
Anton Yelchin died way too young, but he somehow left behind an impressive legacy in his short time at work. I can't imagine what his friends and family are going through right now, but my thoughts are with them and with those touched by his work.
-Eric Vespe
”Quint”
quint@aintitcool.com
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