Yelchin And Cho On 'Star Trek XI'

Anton Yelchin and John Cho were interviewed recently and discussed their roles in Star Trek XI and the need to be respectful of Star Trek's past, while creating a new interesting story.

As seen on Reelzchannel.com in an interview with Leonard Maltin, Anton Yelchin described coming in to play Chekov and how it was different from his usual experience with a new role.

"I was told to come in and read," said Yelchin. "...I couldn't read the sides. Like usually I get sides in my house...but here I had to just come in and read them and go in and audition with them. So I got these sides and I got some sides...from some of the old Treks and I went in and I read them and that was that. I didn't know anything about Chekov either at that point."

Yelchin went on to explain how he prepared to play Chekov. "I watched the old shows and got really into the character and I talked to J.J. and asked him...sort of what he wanted to keep and what he wanted to get rid of."

Playing a known character can be a tricky business. "It's really interesting inhabiting this person because there's this legacy before him," explained Yelchin. "You have to do your own thing and remain respectful at the same time. I think that's the goal of the film, is to be its own Trek film and not just a repeat of what you've already seen, but remain respectful to the old show and remain entertaining to people who have been fans of this for forty years."

To see the video, head to the link located here.

John Cho was interviewed recently as seen on IESB.net, where he discussed working on Star Trek XI and another project, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. He talked about working on established franchises. "Everyone knows what you're doing immediately," he said, "and has a whole lot of questions. You're playing a character that's been played before so it's a lot of intensity. You have to have reverence for the past with Star Trek."

To see the interview, head to the video located here.

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