PARK CITY, Utah – Anton Yelchin was one of Hollywood’s most promising and beloved young actors.
It’s obvious not only from his robust body of work, but from the sheer number of people who gather to pay tribute to him in “Love, Antosha,” a moving new documentary about the late “Star Trek” star that premiered Monday at Sundance Film Festival.
Chris Pine, Jennifer Lawrence, Jodie Foster, J.J. Abrams and Kristen Stewart are among the big names who share stories about Yelchin, 27, who was killed in a freak accident in 2016. After not showing up to set one day, the actor was found pinned between the gate of his Los Angeles home and his 2015 Jeep Cherokee, which had been recalled for a possible gear defect.
Pine recalls how the two used to have jam sessions in their trailers on the “Star Trek” set, while Lawrence gets teary-eyed remembering her “Like Crazy” co-star’s immensely close relationship with his mom, former Russian figure skater Irina Korina.
But it’s Stewart who has the most amusing remembrance. The actors starred together in 2005 thriller “Fierce People,” when she was 14 and he was 15, and dated on set.
“He kind of broke my heart,” Stewart says in the documentary. “I was so baffled by how good he was and then I couldn’t be around him.”
Much of their teenage romance was rooted in Stewart’s admiration for Yelchin, who consumed everything from Federico Fellini films to Bob Dylan to Russian novels.
“It’s weird to talk about with anyone,” Stewart continues. “He intimidated me because he was so voracious and I wanted to absorb all his interests. I wanted to be better, smoother, cooler, but couldn’t even hang with him.”
Given their young age, there were no hard feelings after they broke up. (“Literally, we were tiny children,” Stewart laughs.) Yelchin even called her years later after he experienced his first heartbreak.
“He was like, ‘You know that thing you went through? I get it now and I am so sorry,’ ” Stewart remembers. “I was like, ‘Dude, it’s fine.’ “
“Loving, Antosha” tracks Yelchin’s remarkable career trajectory, appearing in 69 movies and TV shows including “Green Room,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Alpha Dog” and the “Star Trek” franchise. It also details his private struggle with cystic fibrosis, which he hid from the public but which became an increasing concern toward the end of his life.
