Hayden Panettiere ‘groomed’ to be a child star: ‘I was like a little soldier’

By Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association Entertainment Reporter

US actress Hayden Panettiere has said she was “groomed” like a “little soldier” to be a child star.

The 36-year-old, best known for starring in TV shows Heroes and Nashville, was a star by age 11 after roles in soap operas and Remember The Titans.

Following her rapid rise to fame, the pressure of the industry began to weigh on Panettiere – with the actress previously revealing that she had struggled with addiction throughout her 20s.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter about dealing with the workload and pressures of the industry, she said: “I think it’s the way I was raised. I was groomed. I was like a little soldier and I always have been.

“No was never an option. It was just, here are your scenes, here’s your dialogue, memorise it, hit the marks, do what your director tells you to do. I took my marching orders.”

When asked at what point she realised that being groomed in that way was abnormal, she replied: “When I started self-harming in the form of substance abuse.

“My people pleasing had built up and up, it was anger and anxiety and frustration.

“My life revolved around other people, and I lived to make other people happy and I was the last one on the list. The pressure of that built and built and just exploded. I started figuring out any way I could get through it.

“Sometimes they’ll say in treatment that, believe it or not, our addictions probably saved us at a certain point.”

Her comments come days after she revealed on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose Podcast that she was told to get into bed with an undressed older man at the age of 18.

Panettiere is known for starring in a number of films, including 2006’s Bring It On: All Or Nothing alongside Solange Knowles as well as the Scream franchise.