Co-Star Justin Chatwin Recalls Hayden Panettiere's Loneliness and Struggles on Her Final Film

Justin Chatwin, who starred alongside Hayden Panettiere in her final film Sleepwalker, has spoken about what he observed of the actress during production, saying she appeared to be "struggling" and was "really lonely" in her personal life.

Chatwin, 43, made the comments in an exclusive interview with People (People). His account was subsequently reported by The Hollywood Reporter on 18 August 2026 (The Hollywood Reporter).

Sleepwalker, a horror-thriller shot in 2025 and released in January 2026, cast Panettiere as a woman who loses her daughter in a car crash. Chatwin told People that the film dealt with domestic abuse, subject matter he believed may have hit close to home for the actress. Panettiere had spoken publicly about her experiences with trauma and addiction, including in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, published in May.

Chatwin, who has been sober for 15 years, said he recognised signs of addiction in Panettiere while they worked together. He said she confided in him about the struggles she had been facing with trauma and addiction during the making of the film.

Panettiere died at the age of 36. The Greenville County Coroner's Office said she was found unresponsive, and that her cause and manner of death remain pending further investigation. Her death is being investigated as a suspected overdose, according to the New York Post (New York Post).

Her former fiancé, the retired boxer Wladimir Klitschko, posted on Instagram that she was an important part of his life and the mother of their daughter, Kaya.

Panettiere's career began in childhood, with roles in Remember the Titans and the television series Heroes. She later starred as country singer Juliette Barnes in the drama Nashville and appeared in the revived Scream franchise. Sleepwalker stands as her final screen credit.

For those who followed her work from Heroes to Nashville, Chatwin's words add a sobering layer to a career that had already been openly marked by its off-screen battles. Panettiere wrote about postpartum depression and addiction in her memoir, published just three months before her death.