Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Russian Dressing

JJ Abrams finds another actor to wear a Starfleet uniform for his Star Trek reboot...

Tatiana Siegel of The Hollywood Reporter:



J.J. Abrams is putting together his bridge crew for Paramount Pictures' 11th film in the "Star Trek" franchise. Russian-born Anton Yelchin [pictured] is in negotiations to play Pavel Chekov, the Russian-born navigator of the USS Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk.

Yelchin will join Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy, who will both play the role of Mr. Spock. Casting is under way in New York and London for Kirk, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, the film's villain and the Federation captain. Abrams, who will helm the untitled film, is expected to sign bigger name actors for the latter two parts.

Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the story line is believed to chronicle the early days of the Enterprise crew during their time at Starfleet Academy.

Chekov was played by Walter Koenig [pictured] on the original "Star Trek" TV series, and he is a key member of the Enterprise crew.

...Yelchin, whose recent credits include "Alpha Dog," next appears in "Charlie Bartlett" and "Finding t.A.T.u."


I guess this explains why Chekov's name was missing from a recently leaked casting breakdown for the flick...

As for Yelchin, he's quite the rising star--building a diverse resume of roles, doing solid work in Alpha Dog....

Russian pride is a key component of the character...With his own Russian heritage a part of his personal backstory--Yelchin seems like a perfect choice...

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