Hayden Panettiere sat down with “Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi to dish on her new movie “Sleepwalker.”
Hayden told Mona, “It is a psychological thriller about this woman, Sarah, who tragically loses her daughter in a car accident, which also leaves her abusive husband in a coma. And throughout the film, we watch her basically descend into darkness as she grapples between the blurred lines of when she’s in reality and when she’s living in this nightmare world.”
She added, “I got to actually executive produce as well, which was super fun and something I haven’t gotten to do a lot of, but want to continue doing. I would love to direct at some point. I’d love to be behind the camera as much as in the front.”
After taking a break from Hollywood, it’s going to be a big year for Hayden, who is also releasing a memoir. She shared, “I will say, it’s it was a very therapeutic experience. I’ve been writing it for about two years and it’s terrifying all at the same time. I mean it, I put it all out there. I was like, if I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna go for it. I’m not gonna hold back.“ She continued, “I just hope that by sharing my experiences, it can inspire and help other people going through whatever, you know, they’re going through in their lives.“
As for how her perspective has shifted, Hayden admitted she grew up “being a perfectionist and holding myself to a very high standard.”
She said, “Nobody wants to mess up and be flawed, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that those flaws are beautiful and they make people all the more interesting and relatable and human. It’s a terrifying experience, but I have been able to see myself from a different perspective, you know, growing up as a child and finding forgiveness for myself.”
Panettiere said of who she hopes to reach, “I hope it connects to everyone. I mean, even if we haven’t gone through the exact same thing, human emotions are so layered. We’ve all been through traumatic experiences and we’ve all, you know, we’ve lost people, and we’ve, you know, we’ve fallen on our faces. I mean, I have fallen on my face many, many, many times, but it’s about, you know, what you do after you fall on your face, you know, picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and figuring out how to keep on keeping on.”
She added, “I had to go all in and that’s what I do and I’m not going to apologize for it. And it’s me.. warts and all.”
Plus, with her hit series “Nashville” now streaming on Netflix, she said, “I love that people are getting to rewatch it. People are getting to watch it for the first time, people who were too young to maybe watch it at the time are now old enough to watch it. I’ve had a lot of family members and friends who are rewatching it and are very complimentary and kind, and it makes me feel very proud.“ She added, “If it ever came up that they wanted to do a reboot… I’d be like, ‘Heck yeah.’“ Hayden also revealed she’d “absolutely” be down to reboot “Heroes,” saying, “We got it right for, especially that first big season, was pretty amazing. It’d be hard not to do it with the same cast, but it was a really powerful show, and it was just, you know, it was a phenomenon. It was something, it was one of a kind that I got a chance to be a part of, even just once. Even just once is good enough for me, but you never know. You never know.“
She emphasized, “I’m down for it all.”
The star said of rewatching her old projects, “I’ve finally gotten to the point where I have been able to go back and watch and watch from a completely different perspective, where I’m not critiquing myself and picking myself apart in the same way I did when I was younger.”
“Sleepwalker” is out now.
HOME > SCREEN CAPTURES > INTERVIEWS > 2026
