Anton Yelchin is ready for 'Fright Night'

As Chekhov in "Star Trek" and Kyle Reese in "Terminator Salvation," Anton Yelchin has had featured roles in two of the movies' biggest franchises. And what with voicing Clumsy Smurf in the surprise hit "The Smurfs," he seems primed for a third. Following "Fright Night," a major-studio remake of the 1985 vampire-next-door flick, opening Aug. 19, he'll appear in the latest of his string of indie movies: "Like Crazy," a largely improv drama that won special and grand jury prizes at Sundance.

In "Fright Night," Yelchin, 22, who emigrated with his professional ice-skater parents from the Soviet Union as a child, plays Charley Brewster, a teen who finds that neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) is a vampire -- and not a soulful, glittering one but rather, as one character says, "the shark from 'Jaws.' "

Yelchin, who grew up in Southern California, spoke with Newsday frequent contributor Frank Lovece by phone from Albuquerque, where the actor is filming the title role in "Odd Thomas," based on the Dean Koontz novel.

In the "Twilight" films and TV shows like "True Blood," vampires are now good-guy romantic leads. But Jerry's predatory not just in the way of traditional vampires, but also like modern, sociopathic serial killers. Do you think "Fright Night" may start to steer vampires back toward being seen as evil?

I don't know if it will steer the whole current back that way, but I'm very glad that I'm part of this film because most of the vampires I prefer don't appear in suburban melodramas. I prefer monster films. He's a monster and I appreciate the fact that brings back to its original connotation as a dark force, as opposed to this suburban-melodrama bull you see everywhere.

Like the first "Fright Night," this isn't purely a horror film. Maybe a little like "Scream," it's self-aware about vampire pop mythology. There are a lot of ironically amusing and ruefully amusing bits.

The script is a lot of fun, but at the same time it had a very relatable story arc for my character -- the idea of losing sight of your values for a period of time, and trying to figure out what is valuable to you versus something else. It doesn't have to be specifically Charley's story, but it's a very common theme.

Could you relate to it yourself, as a coming-of-age story?

Well, I never had a vampire move in next door.

Nor a Smurf, I imagine. How's that for a segue? You do the voice of Clumsy Smurf in "The Smurfs," so I can't help wondering: How would he take on Jerry?

Considering he's, like, three inches tall and Jerry's a vicious, destructive vampire, I'm sure you can imagine it for yourself. I'm sure he would slip and that would be the end of it.

Chris Sarandon, the vampire in the original "Fright Night," has a cameo. Did you or the other cast members speak with him, maybe get insights or some great war stories?

He was on set and he spoke briefly then . I know him from [the 1975 film] "Dog Day Afternoon" , so I really appreciated being able to see him because of that. I've been a big fan for a long time of "Dog Day Afternoon."

How about when you played Chekhov in "Star Trek" -- did you get a chance to speak with Walter Koenig?

Yeah. We didn't trade stories, but we met on set and I really enjoyed speaking with him, and he has such a legacy and he's a very nice man. And I think he enjoyed the work that we did.

The character has a comically exaggerated Russian accent. Did you use your own accent to build on it?

I don't have an accent.

Yeah, not now. But growing up?

I came here when I was, like, 2!

OK, you're not going to believe this, but so did I, from Argentina. And come to think, I don't have an accent, either. But, y'know, we could've. Any word on the next "Star Trek"?

No idea. We're going to make the film at a certain point and when we do, I'll be there and look forward to it.