Hayden Panettiere’s co-star claims she was ‘struggling’ and seemed ‘different’ before her death

One of Hayden Panettiere’s co-stars has spoken out after her tragic death and claimed she seemed “really lonely” and was “struggling”.

Jonathan Chatwin first met Panettiere when she was in Heroes. They then starred together in Sleepwalker, the 2026 psychological thriller film which was the actress’ final project. 

“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. She opened up to me about a lot of things,” he told PEOPLE.

Credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

“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. I could tell she was struggling, and I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s this movie. There are 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.”

Chatwin claimed that while on set, Panettiere opened up about going to rehab and the trauma she has experienced over the years. 

“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 said. “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. 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.”

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He continued: “I felt sad this morning, but I feel angry. Because I want to point a finger at something for this, and it keeps happening. She was delightful and super open and we had a great time together and I’m just saddened that another one got taken down. It’s not the first, you know, and it’s yearly, dude, and it’s like no one’s really addressing it.”

Authorities responded to a 911 call about an “unresponsive female” at a property in South Carolina on 16th August, made by her boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson. Paramedics “located a female in cardiac arrest” and “initiated advanced cardiac life support measures” but were unsuccessful, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said, and she was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. 

Panettiere’s cause of death has not been released, and the police investigation remains ongoing. 

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Featured image credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock and Startraks/Shutterstock