Hayden Panettiere's Final Film Director Reveals She Was 'Fighting to Stay Sober' Before Her Death

Hayden Panettiere struggled with sobriety while filming one of her final movies, director Griff Furst revealed after her death at 36.

"I wasn’t in South Carolina, I don’t know what happened, but what I will say is my opinion, and it’s about what I saw on my own set, somebody fighting to stay sober and who deserved better company around them than what I observed … I was very lucky to work with Hayden. I wish she was still here," Furst said in an Instagram video.

The director recalled what he and his team saw while Panettiere was on set.

"All I know about that is what we observed and wrote down at the time that it happened, with her boyfriend Brian Hickerson," Furst said.

Furst, who directed A Breed Apart, which was released in May 2025, said he remained "rooting" for Panettiere as she dealt with the addiction she had discussed publicly throughout her life.

"A producer or director, no matter how certain you are that an actor or crew member is in a bad situation, you don’t have the proof, or the benefit of the time to verify it," he added.

Furst continued, "You can adjust the schedule, you can collect internal reporting and you can assign a handler to make sure that that individual is being taken care of as best as they can."

In a previous video shared on Instagram, Furst recalled learning from the movie’s security team that something seemed off after Panettiere arrived on set.

"I had met Hayden about 10 years before that and I knew that she was insanely talented, so when she signed on to do this picture that we were shooting, I was psyched. I really wanted to work with her," Furst said.

"I didn’t think much about it, and so I left set and I walked over to greet her and her boyfriend Brian," he revealed.

"He opened the door. Hayden was incredibly sweet and gracious and excited to work, but she was not okay," Furst added.

Furst said his experience in the film industry made the situation particularly noticeable to him.

"I’m not going to get into the details of why that was, but having worked on over 100 movies and seeing just about everything, it was pretty clear that she wasn’t okay and the energy in her room was pretty dark," he continued.

Panettiere revealed that her first interaction with drugs came when she was 16.

In a 2022 interview with People, she also reflected on her relationship with Hickerson and her decision to forgive him despite his past behavior.

"None of it is okay, and I want to make sure that everybody knows that," she said.

"But I am open to people who are willing to get help and make amends. He’s gone to treatment and done his time. And I’m trying to live in a place of forgiveness," she continued.

Panettiere also described how addiction affected her life and career.

"As I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without," she said.

"I was on top of the world and I ruined it," she added.