Filmmaker Griff Furst, who directed Hayden Panettiere in her final film, "A Breed Apart," has revealed that the actress's team discussed staging an intervention before her death.
Furst claimed that Panettiere was actively trying to maintain sobriety while working on the movie, which is set for a 2025 release. He noted that she brought her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, to the set during filming.
"When we wrapped, I stayed in touch with her team, and what eventually got determined was that she might need an intervention, and I was asked to participate. I said yes," Furst stated on Instagram. He added that, to his knowledge, the intervention did not take place.
Furst, who directed Panettiere in the film where she portrayed a fictionalized version of herself in a survival scenario, expressed his admiration for the actress. "I was very lucky to work with Hayden. I wish she was still here," he said.
Panettiere was pronounced dead at 36 years old on Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina. Emergency responders had responded to a call regarding a victim in cardiac arrest and performed CPR for an overdose. Despite resuscitation efforts, she was declared deceased at 2:32 p.m. local time.
A police report indicated that Brian Hickerson, who was accompanied by his brother Zach Hickerson, showed officers a bag of medication Panettiere had been taking. The specific substances were not identified.
Panettiere's hairdresser and friend, Erick Orellana, told Page Six that the actress had been experiencing significant back pain in the months leading up to her death. She had previously been open about her struggles with addiction, telling People in 2022 that she once "couldn't live without" alcohol and opioids.
The cause of Panettiere's death has not yet been publicly disclosed. Her autopsy reportedly showed no signs of trauma.
Panettiere and Hickerson had flown from California to South Carolina the day before her death. The couple had been in an on-and-off relationship since 2018 and had reconnected weeks prior to her passing. An insider described Hickerson, who has faced multiple domestic violence arrests related to Panettiere, as someone who "would always find a way to work his way back into Hayden’s life as ‘a friend.’"
Resources for those affected by domestic violence and substance abuse are available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline.