The Internet Pays Tribute To Anton Yelchin On What Would’ve Been His 32nd Birthday

On June 19th, 2016 the world lost Anton Yelchin after the actor died at the age of 27 in a freak accident when his Jeep rolled downhill outside his Los Angeles home and crushed him against a security fence. So, to mark what would have been his 32nd birthday today, let’s take a look at his contributions to the movie world.

He began his career as a child with performances in Stephen King adaptation Hearts in Atlantis and playing a minor but important character in psychological thriller Along Came a Spider. A string of roles in indie movies then led to his taking the central part of ensemble crime drama Alpha Dog, portraying the kidnapped younger brother of a volatile junkie in debt to a drug dealer, where a mix of brash overconfidence and emotional vulnerability marked him as a talent to watch.

He came to international stardom in the reboot of Star Trek as Enterprise navigator Chekov, and despite being something of a comic relief character, made a lasting impact on audiences. From there, he went on to star in a number of major releases and was often the best thing about mediocre ones, such as Star Trek’s sequels, Terminator Salvation and the remake of Fright Night.

The latter of the above also brings up his growing potential as a leading man, such as Odd Thomas, where he nailed the genial charm that Dean Koontz’s hero was supposed to display but the novels’ writing utterly fails to convey. It was seen most clearly in the superlative thriller Green Room, though, in which he was the bass player in a broke punk bank who end up fighting for their lives when they witness a murder after playing a gig in the secluded meeting house of a group of neo-Nazis.

Tons of fans have been taking to Twitter today to honor the actor and below, you can see just a sample of what folks are saying:

Of course, Anton Yelchin also completed a number of movies prior to his death that were released posthumously, each of which demonstrated his growing talent and further emphasized what was so tragically and pointlessly lost.