As fans continue to mourn the tragic loss of Hayden Panettiere at age 36, more details are beginning to emerge about her state of mind in the months leading to her sad passing.
Justin Chatwin, who starred alongside the late actress in what would be her final film — the 2026 film “Sleepwalker” — is coming forward to reveal that she didn’t seem to be in a good place while they worked together.
She Opened Up to Her Co-Star
Chatwin, best known for his role on Showtime’s “Shameless,” told People that they first met when he guest-starred on “Heroes,” which propelled Panetierre to stardom via her role as a super-powered indestructible high school cheerleader.
They hadn’t seen each other since they subsequently worked together in “Sleepwalker.”
Shot in 2025 and released in early 2026, the film starred Pannettiere as a woman coping with the loss of her young daughter in a car accident.
“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, because she did mention it,” Chatwin recalled. “She opened up to me about a lot of things.”
They’d First Met on ‘Heroes’
According to Chatwin, the person he encountered on the set of “Sleepwalkers” was very different than the one he’d first met on “Heroes.”
While that’s not surprising, given that Panettiere was in her late teens and early 20s throughout the run of “Heroes,” the changes that Chatwin observed reflected more than just the passage of time.
“Hayden seemed different when I met her this time than when I met her in the early years,” Chatwin said.
“I’ve been sober for 15 years, so I know this world of addiction, and Hollywood — it takes, and it takes from youth,” he observed.
‘I Could Tell She Was Struggling’
GettyLooking back at their time together in light of what’s taken place, Chatwin can now their conversations from a different perspective.
“I could tell she was struggling, and I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s this movie,’” Chatwin said.
“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,” he added.
In fact, Chatwin also revealed that Panettiere had opened up to him about the “struggles that she’s had with trauma” while they were working together.
“I’m sure that everyone else is going to say ‘Oh, she’s amazing. She’s such a sweet person on set,’ because she was,” he explained.
“But we’re trained to be actors, so we’re acting on set, you know? And she is sweet. She had a beautiful heart. But we’re trained to be on, and I really liked spending time with her because she took that off, and she was authentic with me about her life and she opened up about her struggles with addiction,” he continued.
“And who knows where it comes from? Does it come from Hollywood? Does it come from home? And a lot of times, it’s both,” Chatwin mused.
‘Completely Gutted’
“Sleepwalker” writer and director Brandon Auman issued a statement to People admitting that he’s “completely gutted over Hayden’s passing.”
His statement added, “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. I’m keeping those conversations private, but I was struck by how complex and deeply introspective she was. She lived a dozen lives in one short beautiful life. I’ll miss her forever.”
