'She was really lonely': Justin Chatwin on Hayden Panettiere's struggles
What's the story
Justin Chatwin, who co-starred with Hayden Panettiere in her final film Sleepwalker, has opened up about the actor's state of mind during the shoot. Speaking to PEOPLE, he said she seemed "really lonely" and was struggling with personal issues. The film, which also starred Mischa Barton and Beverly D'Angelo, featured Panettiere as a woman grappling with her daughter's death in a car accident.
Observations
'Hayden seemed different when I met her'
Chatwin said, "We hit it off great and it was an awesome shoot, but it was about domestic abuse and it was subject matter that may have hit close to home."
"Hayden seemed different when I met her this time than when I met her in the early years."
"I've been sober for 15 years, so I know this world of addiction, and Hollywood, it takes, and it takes from youth."
Personal battles
'I could tell she was struggling...'
Chatwin revealed that Panettiere opened up to him about her rehab experience and "struggles that she's had with trauma" while making Sleepwalker.
He said, "I could tell she was struggling, and I was like, 'I don't think it's this movie.'"
"There's a handful of women that I've worked with that I really liked, and I really loved working with her, but I also know that she was really lonely."
Director's tribute
Director mourns her death
Brandon Auman, the director of Sleepwalker, also expressed his grief over Panettiere's sudden demise.
In a statement to PEOPLE, he wrote, "She was such a bright, open, numinous spirit. I keep thinking back to our time on set and how much she taught me."
"She was open and honest about the last few years of her life and how it related to her character."
Final years
More on Panettiere and her career
Panettiere, who was a mother to 11-year-old daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, had given full custody of her to ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko in 2018 while battling addiction and postpartum depression.
She made a big-screen comeback in 2023 with Scream VI after taking a break from acting since Nashville ended in 2018.
This May, she released her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, where she came out as bisexual and spoke about addiction and trauma during her teenage years.