Having a conversation with Anton Yelchin, it doesn’t take longer than a couple minutes to realize he’s no ordinary 17-year-old actor.

Yelchin, part of the all-star cast of “Huff” (Showtime, Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/PT), doesn’t give me a clich? answer when I ask him what he enjoys most about being an actor. In fact, his answer may have been the most discerning response I have ever received to this question.

“Acting opens your eyes to so many things, to people, to ideas. It places things on certain levels, levels of importance,” Yelchin says, speaking to andPOP over the phone from his home in Los Angeles.

“A lot of people, if they just do one thing their entire life, they’re very closed minded. But acting is one of those things you could do you entire life, and sure you’ll be closed minded to a certain extent, but you’ll be seeing so much.”

The response says a lot about Yelchin, who moved to the U.S. from Russia with his parents when he was six months old. He’s not looking for fame; he’s looking for an experience. He’s not hoping to become an overnight sensation; he’s hoping for a long acting career.

Relative to other child actors, Yelchin was a late bloomer. He didn’t take acting classes until he was eight years old.

His first acting job was appearing for a few seconds in a Chuck E. Cheese commercial. His role: a kid who laughed at another kid, whose pants fell down.

“It was like a two-second clip of me going, ‘woa!’”

But it was an “awesome” and “perfect” first role for the young Yelchin.

“They gave us a bunch of coins to play all the games,” he recalls. “But they took away the tickets that we won so we couldn?t get any prizes, which was bizarre and somewhat astounding how they could do something like that.”

Since then, he’s come a long way. Yelchin had starring roles in “Hearts in Atlantis,” opposite Anthony Hopkins, and in “House of D,” with David Duchovny and Robin Williams. He’s also appeared in episodes of “ER,” “The Practice,” and a memorable role in “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” where played Larry David’s nephew who wouldn’t reveal the secret to his magic trick.

“I cracked Larry David up like three times,” he says. “You’re supposed to get a plot breakdown of what each scene is about, but they didn?t give me one so I ended up doing and saying whatever I wanted. That stuff about the magician was something I came up with at the audition.”

He can be seen every Sunday in the Showtime hit “Huff,” with Hank Azaria, now in its second season.

Yelchin plays Byrd, the son of Huff (Azaria), who gets into some trouble this ? its second ? season.

“The role has gone through a metamorphosis from the first season to the second season,” he says. “I’m breaking into people’s houses. This guy I get into a fight with, I end up tying him up and trying to burn him. Then he pisses me off so I brutalize him.”

Yelchin read the first episode’s script about two years ago and loved the role of Byrd. He had to go through four auditions before he was given the role.

“It was so intense. It’s not like movies. You have to go through way too many auditions.”

He can be seen in the upcoming feature film “Fierce People” with Dianne Lane, and the much-anticipated film “Alpha Dog,” with Justin Timberlake, Sharon Stone and Bruce Willis. Both films are expected to be released in the coming weeks.

Yelchin confesses that he becomes emotionally invested in the scripts he enjoys. If he falls in love with the project and doesn’t get the role, it is “painful,” he says.

Having a list of over 20 projects under his belt before the age of 20 is quite impressive, and means he often gets recognized. He even has web pages devoted to him created by fans. But fame is a bonus and not something he particularly covets.

“I don’t care about fame,” he says.”I want to be able to look back when I’m old and look at the movies I’ve worked on and be proud of them.”

Quick facts on Anton Yelchin

Favourite artists: The Beatles, Howlin’ Wolf, The Libertines

Favourite movies: Taxi Driver, Amarcord, Scarecrow

Favourite television shows: The Simpsons , Family Guy and Curb Your Enthusiasm

Things you may not know about Anton: His father was Sasha Cohen’s first skating coach; he admits that he “sucks” at playing basketball, but has a collection of 30 Michael Jordan cards; he cried the first time he met his idol Robert De Niro.






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