Hayden Panettiere
Hayden Panettiere, best known as the indestructible "Heroes" cheerleader, takes a break from filming I Love You, Beth Cooper to chat with the press during a Vancouver set visit. She points to her sleeveless, burgundy party ensemble and says, "I wanna burn this dress now. I used to like it." For the past two months of filming, she's worn the same outfit because the movie's story takes place over the course of one night; it's like Superbad and Mean Girls, she says. We talked about her film choices, school experiences, love for sea animals and being a role model—this clear-headed 19-year-old is determined not to be another Lindsay or Paris.
Q: What made you put on the cheerleading outfit again?
Panettiere: I was like, “I’m not getting in that outfit!” [But] I really wanted to do a comedy, especially coming from a show like "Heroes." It’s just nice to spread your wings a little bit. This one has heart, which is nice.
Q: How is this teen comedy different from others?
Panettiere: It really is a sweet story as much as it’s a comedy.
The valedictorian of the school makes his speech at graduation, and he says, “Let us say the things that we never had the chance to say.” And he says, “I love you, Beth Cooper.” He thinks of her as perfect, flawless in every way. He learns that this girl is not perfect, but she’s pretty in a very human way. And you realize that she actually thinks she’s nothing. So she winds up looking at him almost like, “You’re incredible.”
Q: Were you able to have a regular high school experience yourself?
Panettiere: I homeschooled my freshman year because I went to South Africa to do a film, then I just decided to continue to do homeschooling. I was in the yearbook. I went to homecoming. I went to prom. I had all my friends. I just didn’t go to class with them.
Q: What is it like being in that “clique” sort of mindset?
Panettiere: I think it’s a lot of effort. I always thought the worst, worst, worst was middle school. In high school, you could walk away for lunch. In middle school, it was all about where you sat in the lunchroom. I was absolutely tortured. I remember going to sit with the popular kids for the first time, because one girl invited me over. I went and sat, and one of the guys pulled the chair out from underneath me before I sat down, and everyone started laughing. It’s like Mean Girls.
Q: How’s the experience of playing comedy been?
Panettiere: I’m kind of the “straight man.” It’s not as much pressure as really making a line funny all the time, so it’s been really great. I think comedy is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, form of acting. It always mind-boggles me to see the Academy Awards and the fact that comedies are never nominated, or actors. It’s like, “Yeah, you can cry. You could play mental, but I’d like to see you do comedy.”
Q: Chris Columbus has spent some time working with young actors. How is getting direction from him?
Panettiere: I think he’s one of my favorite directors. I’ve never seen him get upset about anything, which makes me feel bad because I’m like, “I can’t get upset about anything because he’s so nice and he doesn’t get upset about anything. I’m gonna feel like an ass.” One of the best things is that he’s open-minded. It’s a creative environment, which is really helpful.
Q: How have you and the cast bonded for the past two months?
Panettiere: We have Rock Band. Chris even has Rock Band. We tried to convince him to bring it to set and set it up. I do nothing but sing on it. Don’t even ask me to do any coordination. I’ve tried Guitar Hero—I’ll stick to the singing.
Q: You’ve been very passionate about whales and wildlife. Have you been able to enjoy any of that here?
Panettiere: I’ve spent quite a lot of time at the Vancouver aquarium, where all of their dolphins have been rescued. They actually let me play with the dolphins. They took this one sea lion out of the cage. She’s probably 1,000 pounds, but she was very aware of the fact that she was much bigger than me. She got on my lap with both of her front paws and she wrapped her head around my neck – she was huge. Yeah, that was really exciting.
Q: What is it like being a young female role model in Hollywood today, with all the stereotypes and gossip?
Panettiere: I think especially for someone like me, who came into it when Paris and Lindsay and all these girls were at their height of what they were doing, I always say it’s guilty by association. If you are a young female in Hollywood, you are guilty of everything that people say. I try to keep up on my game and have a body that girls can look at and go, “Oh, she’s not anorexically skinny. She looks healthy, and she’s got cellulite. Yes, I look great!" [Laughs] At the end of the day, the only person you can make happy is yourself, because no matter whether it’s wrong or right or looks good or looks bad, somebody will hate it. Somebody will.
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I Love You, Beth Cooper Free Download on iTunes
Hayden Panettiere Filmography
I Love You, Beth Cooper Showtimes
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