Justin Chatwin Says Hayden Panettiere Was Really Lonely on Set of Final Film Sleepwalker

Justin Chatwin is speaking out for the first time about working with Hayden Panettiere on what turned out to be her final movie. One day after the actress died suddenly at 36, Chatwin told PEOPLE about the time they spent together filming the psychological thriller Sleepwalker.

The two first crossed paths years earlier while she was starring in Heroes. They reconnected much later for the film, which was shot in the winter of 2025 and released in January. In Sleepwalker, Panettiere played a woman grappling with the devastating loss of her daughter after a car crash. Chatwin says they hit it off right away and had a great experience on set, though the heavy subject matter of domestic abuse seemed to touch something personal for her. She opened up to him about a lot during filming.

Chatwin noticed she seemed different from the young woman he remembered. He has been sober for 15 years himself and understands the realities of addiction and how Hollywood can take so much from people who start young. “I could tell she was struggling,” he said, “and I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s this movie.’ 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.”

She told him early on about her time in rehab and the struggles she had carried with trauma. Chatwin remembered her as someone with a beautiful heart who was genuinely sweet. At the same time he appreciated that she could drop the performance once the cameras stopped rolling. She was authentic with him about her life and her battles with addiction. He wondered aloud where those struggles come from, whether Hollywood or home, and noted that often it is both.

Director Brandon Auman also shared his grief in a statement, calling Panettiere a bright and open spirit who taught him a great deal. He said she was honest about the last few years of her life and how they connected to her character, though he is keeping those private conversations private. “She lived a dozen lives in one short beautiful life,” he wrote. “I’ll miss her forever.”

Chatwin felt a mix of sadness and anger when he heard the news. He wanted to point a finger at something because these losses keep happening. Panettiere was delightful and open, and they had a real connection on set. He is simply heartbroken that another one was taken down. It is not the first time, he said, and it feels like it happens every year without anyone fully addressing it.

In real life Panettiere was mother to her 11-year-old daughter Kaya, whom she shared with her ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko. She had given him full custody years earlier while dealing with addiction and postpartum depression. After a long break from the screen she returned in Scream VI, then made a few more films including Sleepwalker, and even lent her voice to a video game. Just months before her death she published a memoir in which she spoke openly about her past, her recovery, and who she had become.