Few actors of any generation could segue as seamlessly as
Anton Yelchin did from genre to genre, stealing movies big and small in his
too-brief career. The talented young star passed away this weekend after what
is being reported as a freak car accident. He packed a remarkable amount of
memorable roles into his 27 years on this planet, working with directors as
notable as Jim Jarmusch (“Only Lovers Left Alive”), Jodie Foster (“The Beaver”)
and J.J. Abrams (“Star Trek”). The diversity of his resume hints at the range
of his talent, starring in films like “Alpha Dog,” “Like Crazy,” “Fright Night,”
“Rudderless,” “Experimenter” and this year’s “Green Room.”
Yelchin was born in Leningrad, Russia in 1989 to two stars
of the Leningrad Ice Ballet. His whole family moved to the United States later
that year after his parents received political refugee status. Before long,
Yelchin was acting, starting in the profession when he was just a child. He
made several notable television appearances when he was young, including turns
on “ER,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
Yelchin’s film breakthrough came in the 2001 adaptation of
Stephen King’s “Hearts in Atlantis,” but it was “Alpha Dog” in 2007 that really
put him on the map, and he never turned back. Yelchin never felt artificial. His characters were always in the moment—listening, responding, reacting as if
what was happening to them were real. Yelchin’s work was never showy, and always felt so unbelievably grounded that most people took it for granted.
Jeremy Saulnier’s recent, phenomenal “Green Room” simply doesn’t
work without such a performance at its center. As Pat in “Green Room,” he is
our eyes and ears, responding to each twist and turn of the story as if they’re
happening to him for the first time. Many great actors are great at selling the
act of performance, but Yelchin was great at hiding performance, making his characters resonate through their
realism, even in genre flicks like “Green Room” and “Fright Night.” He had so
many great performances ahead of him that it really feels like a loss for
everyone who loves movies.
We send our deepest condolences to his friends and family.
