Justin Chatwin, Hayden Panettiere’s co-star in her latest film, says the actress seemed “very alone”

Justin Chatwin had known her since the days of “Heroes”. When he shared a set with Hayden Panettiere again in the winter of 2025, something had changed.

In “Sleepwalker”, her latest film, she played a mother who loses her daughter. Chatwin, sober for 15 years, recognized the signs: he saw her “really very alone”, struggling with something she could not quite name. Panettiere opened up to him about her time in rehab and the trauma she had carried for years.

On August 16, the 36-year-old actress was found unconscious in a home in Greenville, South Carolina. The cause of death remains under investigation, although a 911 call suggests a possible overdose. ‘Hollywood takes from you, and it takes your youth,’ Chatwin said. She leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter, Kaya.