17-year-old actor Anton Yelchin has been cast as the lead role in “Charlie Bartlett,” scheduled to begin shooting in Toronto in June.

The film will be directed by Jon Poll, who produced “The 40 Year Old Virgin” and “Meet the Fockers.”

The comedy will be centered around Charlie, a high school student who sets up a psychiatric office at his school and begins prescribing drugs to his peers.

“It’s extraordinarily optimistic and that?s what I liked about it,” Yelchin told andPOP. “But it’s optimistic without being cheesy. He’s a character who combines so many different things. Seemingly nobody would do the kinds of things that he’s doing. Nobody’s going to take the time to help all these people. He’s got all these extraordinary motives but at the same time he’s very real. He still has problems- his father’s in prison and he doesn’t want to deal with that. Most people dwell on their problems and it makes them unhappy. He utilizes them to convince him that he should move past them and help others.”

In the film, Charlie reads up on psychiatry and helps unify the school.

“He breaks down the barriers between them and helps people realize they’re all going to school and they’re all the same age,” Yelchin said.

Yelchin stars as Byrd in Showtime’s “Huff.” He will star in the upcoming films “Alpha Dog,” with Justin Timberlake, and “Fierce People,” with Diane Lane.

Yelchin has also appeared in episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “ER” and “The Practice.”


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