Actors Anton Yelchin (L) and Zachary Quinto arrive at the premiere of Paramount Picture's 'Cloverfield' at the Paramount Pictures Lot on January 16, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Kevin Winter)
Zachary Quinto mourned the loss of his late friend and "Star Trek" co-star Anton Yelchin weeks after the 27-year-old was killed in a freak accident.
Quinto, 39, got emotional as he remembered Yelchin as a "beautiful guy" on Friday night's episode of Stephen Colbert's "The Late Show" where he dropped by to promote his upcoming film, "Star Trek Beyond," one of the many unreleased films Yelchin will be featuring in.
"Beautiful, beautiful guy. I don't even know how to talk about it," Quinto told Colbert, according to Entertainment Tonight.
He added that the "Star Trek" cast and crew was mentally prepared for a bittersweet experience on set of the upcoming film after the death of Leonard Nimoy last year but they were absolutely devastated when they heard the news about Yelchin's passing.
He said that the "Star Trek" team's aspiration is to celebrate Yelchin's life and do as much as they can in honor of the late actor, whose loss was not only a personal one but also a major setback for Hollywood, said Quinto.
The actor noted that he and Yelchin became extremely close over the course of seven years, ever since they started filming the "Star Trek" series in 2009 and shares the same relationship with his other co-stars, who he considers as "family," Entertainment Weekly reported.
Quinto further added that because of the tight-knit relationship between castmembers of the sci-fi franchise, they sometimes take it for granted because of the love and affection they have for each other. He said that the family is and always will continue to share the same rapport with each other.
Yelchin died on June 19 after being pinned between his security gate and a brick mailbox by his Fiat Chrysler Jeep in the driveway of his Los Angeles home, as we previously reported.
Following Yelchin's tragic death, several members of the "Star Trek" family offered their condolences to the late actor, including actress Zoe Saldana and directors Justin Lin and J.J. Abrams.
Watch Quinto's touching tribute in the video below:
