Hayden Panettiere says he was forced into Hollywood and looks back on the dark days of his childhood.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 36-year-old “Scream VI” star detailed how her experience being groomed as a child actress influenced her later decisions as an adult. Panettiere chronicles her unconventional childhood and acting career in her new memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, scheduled for release on May 19th.
“I was groomed. I was like a little soldier and always have been. No was never an option. It was just, ‘Here’s your scene, here’s your line, memorize it, hit the mark, follow the director’s instructions.’ I was given my marching orders,” she told the news outlet.
She explained that she later turned to self-harm due to substance abuse and the pressure she faced took a toll on her. Panettiere said she began engaging in people-pleasing behavior and became consumed with anger, frustration and anxiety that continued to build up until she exploded.
“My life revolved around other people and I lived to make other people happy, and I was the last person on the list,” she said. “I started thinking about ways I could get through it. Believe it or not, sometimes people say in treatment, our addiction probably saved us at some point.”
Panettiere was virtually born into the entertainment industry, appearing in commercials at the age of one in 1990. She soon began acting on television, and by the age of four she began starring on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live from 1994 to 1997.
She later joined the cast of Guiding Light for four seasons, voiced Ari Dot in the 1998 Pixar film A Bug’s Life, and also appeared in the 2000 sports classic film Remember the Titans. Her acting career continued as a teenager on “Heroes” and into adulthood on “Nashville.”
Hayden Panettiere talks about the difficult decision to give up custody of his daughter
Panettile also opened up about her decision to relinquish full custody of her daughter Kaya to her father, Wladimir Klitschko, in 2018 after battling both postpartum depression and addiction.
On the May 11 episode of the “On Purpose” podcast, the “Ice Princess” actress told host Jay Shetty, “The idea that anyone would think I would give up my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking.”
“This couldn’t be further from the truth. Years of battling depression, anxiety, alcoholism, drug abuse, and just me trying to figure out how to get back together led to this horrible cycle.”
Panettile and his ex-fiancée, former Ukrainian professional boxer Klitschko, currently share custody of their 11-year-old daughter.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she revealed Kaya’s recent interest in acting and said she would support her interests when she goes to college. “And if you really love it, I wholeheartedly support you. And if she doesn’t like it, just leave. Her world doesn’t have to revolve around it.”
Contributor: Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY
