Hayden Panettiere Reveals Filming ‘Nashville’ Was "Traumatizing"

Hayden Panettiere has recently opened up about how filming Nashville was "very traumatising because I felt like I was acting out my own life.” 

In the show, she portrayed country pop star Juliette Barnes, for six seasons. The show had 124 episodes between 2012 and 2018. 

She suggested the writers often pulled from her real life while creating Juliette's storylines, which became emotionally traumatising for her. This was because, in her life, she has struggled with alcoholism. 

“Straight from the beginning, it was like, I’m dating a football player, [and then] Juliette dates a football player. And then they turned her into an alcoholic. Then they turned to her leaving her daughter and going to this crazy [place] in Europe, and it was very obvious…They weren’t doing their homework. They weren’t creating new storylines. They were just looking at my life and going, ‘Oh, let’s just take what she’s going through and put our little spin on it.’ And then, ta-da! It’s done and done.”

Over the last few years, Hayden has opened up about her struggles with alcohol and drug addiction, explaining that that's why it was hard for her.

She explained working 12 to 20 hours days on set took a toll on her well-being. 

“I didn’t have time to take care of myself [and] to think about and go through the pain I was experiencing physically [and] emotionally. I just wanted to drum it out and watch mindless television and great shows. Anything to keep my mind off of that because I knew that next day I was going to be back at it again. I was like, tear central. I don’t even think on a soap opera that I cried as much [as I did] on ‘Nashville.'”

In 2022, she got candid about her years-long addiction to opioids and alcohol. She revealed a member of her team provided her with "happy pills" before red carpets when she was 15 years old. 

“They were to make me peppy during interviews. I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”

She rose to success as a child with her roles in soap operas and the Disney film Remember the Titans. 

At 16, she was the leading actress in the NBC drama Heroes. She then portrayed Kirby in Scream 4, reprising the role in Scream VI.

“I was on top of the world and I ruined it. I’d think I hit rock bottom, but then there’s that trap door that opens…This hasn’t been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs. But I don’t regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me. I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance.”