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Zachary Quinto Pays Tribute to ‘Star Trek’ Costar Anton Yelchin: ‘He Was a Beautiful, Beautiful Guy’

The Star Trek family is in mourning. Zachary Quinto paid tribute to his late friend and Star Trek costar, Anton Yelchin, during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Friday, July 1.

The 39-year-old actor appeared emotional when the late-night host offered his condolences over Yelchin’s tragic death at the age of 27 just last month after a freak car accident.

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“Beautiful, beautiful guy,” Quinto said, shaking his head. “I don’t even know how to talk about it. We already knew this was going to be a bittersweet experience as a result of the loss of Leonard [Nimoy, who died in February 2015]. But this has been absolutely devastating for all of us. I think our goal just has to be to celebrate his incredible life and honor him. It was a terrible loss, not only to us but to audiences and the industry.”

Yeltsin died on June 19 after his car rolled down his sloped driveway while set in neutral, pinning him between his security gate and a brick mailbox.

Assistant chief coroner Ed Winter told Us Weekly that the Like Crazy actor died of blunt traumatic asphyxia.

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“Due to his injuries he most likely died within a minute or so,” a rep for the coroner told TheWrap.

Quinto, who plays Spock in the reprise of the beloved sci-fi series, added that the loss was especially tough because he and the rest of the cast were all so tight-knit.

Anton Yelchin, Zachary Quinto
Anton Yeltsin and Zachary Quinto at the ‘Cloverfield’ premiere in 2008. John Sciulli/BEImages/AP Images

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“We are truly and inextricably entwined and I think we always will be,” he said, noting that the cast had worked together for almost a decade. “Our goal has to be to celebrate his incredible life and honor him as much as we can.”

Star Trek Beyond opens in theaters on July 22.

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