Hanging out with Hayden
Hayden Panettiere is only 18 years old, but she's already displayed her talents in over 40 films and TV shows, has done voices for video-games and, of course, plays the indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennet on Heroes
We talked to the popular actress about her experiences on the show so far...
Q:: Did you ever give any thought to any other profession besides acting?
Hayden Panettiere: No, I've been acting since I was eight months old (laughs). I was on a soap opera [One Life to Live] when I was four. I love acting. It's something I grew up doing, but if I didn't like doing it, I definitely wouldn't be here. I just did it and it eventually got to a point where I couldn't see myself doing anything else.
Q: Before Heroes, it doesn't seem as though you performed in many supernatural/science-fiction genre pieces.
Hayden Panettiere: Yeah. I think the thing about [Heroes] that's really good is that it's a happy balance of making it not cheesy. It's more about the evolution of man. It's more how man is evolving, as opposed to these random people who just have these superpowers.
I think it's different [from other superhero stories], because it's a lot more [set] in reality, a very reality-based show. It's human issues, which is, I think, partially why it's appealing to people. People can relate to it - there's this huge conflict, huge issues going on in everyone's lives, but they've got huge issues of their own too that are normal.
Q: Did you have any interest in superhero stories before you got involved in Heroes?
Hayden Panettiere: No, actually. I mean, I've always been a fan of Spider-Man and Superman and Batman. I have an 11-year-old brother who's into all that, and I have a cousin, actually, who does comic book designs, and he's amazing, so I grew up with him having the huge collection of comic books and action figures.
Q: When you auditioned for Claire, what did they tell you they were looking for, as far as what she was like?
Hayden Panettiere: Well, she was a normal teenage girl. She was a cheerleader. What makes her interesting is that she is a normal teenage girl going through normal teenage things, going through what every girl goes through in high school, but she has these powers that makes it even harder to grow up - it makes it scary and of course she thinks something's wrong with her.
And it's what every teenage girl can relate to - up to the fact of being able to heal herself (laughs). I describe it as tissue regeneration.
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