'Sleepwalker' Exclusive Interview: Hayden Panettiere

Moviefone speaks with Hayden Panettiere about 'Sleepwalker'. "I look for interesting stories that keep the audience on the edge of their seats," she said.

Hayden Panettiere in 'Sleepwalker'. Photo: Brainstorm Media.

Opening in theaters and VOD on January 9th is the new psychological thriller 'Sleepwalker', which was directed by Brandon Auman (‘Star Wars: Resistance’) and stars Hayden Panettiere ('Heroes' and 'Scream 4'), Beverly D'Angelo ('National Lampoon's Vacation'), Justin Chatwin ('War of the Worlds'), and Mischa Barton ('The Sixth Sense').

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Hayden Panettiere about her work on 'Sleepwalker', her first reaction to the screenplay, her approach to her character, working with the rest of the cast, director Brandon Auman’s vision for the project, her role as a producer, and if it’s fun making a scary movie.

Hayden Panettiere stars in 'Sleepwalker'.

Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay, what spoke to you about the material and why you wanted to be part of this project?

Hayden Panettiere: It was a combination of things. When I read scripts, I look for interesting plot lines, and stories that keep the audience invested and on the edge of their seats. That's how films like this work, and I look for characters that have lots of layers to them. I'm really drawn to characters that have been through trauma. It's something that I relate to, I think a lot of people relate to, and just characters that give me something to really sink my teeth into as an actor. It was also combined with the fact that it had an amazing cast attached to it. Beverly D'Angelo, Justin Chatwin, Mischa Barton, Lori Tan Chinn, and our two kids, Corinne Sweeney and Laird LaCoste. I love working with kids. So that was a big pull for me, and then getting to work with Appian Way and Verdi Productions and getting to executive produce, too. So, it was a combination of a lot of good stuff.

MF: Can you talk about your approach to playing this character and the loss and guilt that she is dealing with?

HP: Guilt and loss, they're topics that I'm familiar with, so I had a lot to pull from my real life. I mean, we did this film in 15 days, which was a breakneck pace. We had a lot to get done, and it was very dark. But I was surrounded by such a great team of people that we were able to pull each other in and out of those dark scenes and those dark moments and have light moments. Beverly D'Angelo and I became very close, and I knew her growing up. She was my neighbor down the street when she lived with Al Pacino when I was a kid. So, we got to finally run into each other, and we look so much alike. It's crazy that we have not played mother and daughter before.

Beverly D'Angelo in 'Sleepwalker'. Photo: Brainstorm Media.

MF: To follow up, what was it like to work with Beverly D'Angelo after all these years later?

HP: I mean, you never know. You never know until you're on set and you have been around somebody, but we have such similar personalities. She's so spunky and so funny. We kept each other laughing, and that chemistry just came like that. It was just that easy. It made my job incredibly easy and fun. I couldn't have asked for anybody better to play my mom and to play across from. She's a legend. She's a legend, and she's just a character, a firecracker, and somebody that you just want to hear all her stories. I hope to work with her again for sure.

MF: The film also stars Mischa Barton and Justin Chatwin, who both began their careers around the same time you did in the early 2000s. Had you met either of them over the years and what was it like working with them on this project?

HP: I don't know that Mischa remembered this, but I used to be in the same audition rooms as her and her sister growing up in New York. So, I knew her in passing for a long time. Justin, we had met in passing, but I wasn't as familiar with him as I was with Mischa. I didn't have as much of a personal relationship with him.

(L to R) Hayden Panettiere and Beverly D'Angelo in 'Sleepwalker'. Photo: Brainstorm Media.

MF: You mentioned working with the kids in the cast, and since you began your career as a child actor, do you feel a close connection to kids working on a set now that you are an adult?

HP: Absolutely. Having been one myself, I'm very, very protective of them. Especially with a dark subject matter like this, I was trying to be protective of them, their emotions, and them mentally, as well, and being able to pull them in and out of these dark, intense scenes. Knowing when to shake it off, lighten up, crack some jokes, and say, "Okay. Now, let's get back into it." So, we don't have to spend all day feeling this heavy, dark weight following us around. I love them. They're just so pure. They're so energetic. They're so honest. They're so real and untainted, and they're beautiful.

MF: What was it like working with Brandon Auman, and what are you looking from a director when you’re on set?

HP: Brandon was so passionate. He also wrote this. This was his first time directing a live-action piece, so I wanted to be as present for him as I could. I got to executive produce on this, which is something that I don't always get to do. It was exciting for me. I feel like I got to use more than just my acting skills. I got to use all my experience that I've learned over the past 35 years in this industry, whether it be blocking, or how to speak to other actors, or how to make a scene move as quickly as possible without rushing and covering all the grounds. How to do blocking, and make it a dance, and make it interesting for the camera, all those little things. So, I just wanted him to be as excited about it as I was, and he was, even more so. This was his baby. So, I was excited to be able to be there and just watch him and help him through it.

Hayden Panettiere in 'Sleepwalker'. Photo: Brainstorm Media.

MF: Is it challenging for you splitting your time between acting and your producing duties while you were on set?

HP: No. I found it constantly kept my mind moving. A lot of the times, I'm sitting there and in this dark emotional state, and it allowed me to jump out of those dark moments and focus on something else so that every time I reentered into the scenes, it was fresh. It wasn't stale. It helped that.

MF: Finally, with a film like this that covers such dark subject material, is it still fun making the movie or is it hard because you are jumping through so many emotional hoops as an actress?

HP: It is fun but in different ways. It's very rewarding when you feel very accomplished. When it's dark subject matter like this, I feel very accomplished when I know that we got it, that we hit the nail on the head, and that I did my job to the best of my ability. I just feel it gives me deep pride in what I do.