Anton Yelchin was born to a Russian Jewish family in 1989.
Anton Viktorovich Yelchin ( Анто́н Ви́кторович Ельчи́н March 11 , 1989 -- June 19 , 2016 ) was an American actor . Born to a Russian Jewish family in Leningrad , Yelchin relocated to the United States , where he began performing in the late 1990s , appearing in several television and film roles , and received recognition in Hearts in Atlantis ( 2001 ) .