Troubled actress Hayden Panettiere was “struggling” and “really lonely” while making her final movie before her death from a suspected overdose, according to co-star Justin Chatwin.
Panettiere, whose weekend death was just days before her 37th birthday, filmed the psychological thriller “Sleepwalker” last February, playing a troubled mom grappling with the loss of her daughter who was killed in a car accident.
Panettiere — who gave up custody of her own daughter — also played a character who suffered domestic abuse, something the actress also suffered at the hands of on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson.
“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, who played the character of Panettiere’s abusive husband, told People on Monday.
“Shameless” star Chatwin knew Panettiere before the shoot — and noticed how she “seemed different” while filming what would turn out to be her final movie before her death from a suspected overdose this weekend.
“I could tell she was struggling, and I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s this movie,” he said of likely troubles off the set.
“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.”
Canadian-born Chatwin, 43, said Panettiere “was authentic… about her life and she opened up about her struggles with addiction” while on set of the movie, which was released in January, Chatwin said.
“She was delightful and super open and we had a great time together and I’m just saddened that another one got taken down,” he said.
The actress’ shocking death came just three months after she published her deeply candid memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” in which the former child star opened up about her harrowing battles with alcohol and opioid addiction, postpartum depression, domestic abuse and the pressures of growing up in Hollywood. Hickerson has also admitted being abusive toward her.
Brandon Auman, the movie’s writer and director, described Panettiere as a “bright, open, [and] numinous spirit.”
“She was open and honest about the last few years of her life and how it related to her character,” he told People.
“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.”
Panettiere, who shared daughter Kyla with ex-boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko, was found unresponsive by an unidentified acquaintance inside a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment on Sunday having suffered a cardiac arrest following a suspected overdose.
She flew out of Los Angeles with Hickerson the previous day — though it’s not clear if he placed the call.
Panettiere died five days before her 37th birthday.
