Jack Coleman, who co‑starred with Hayden Panettiere in the sci‑fi series Heroes, expressed profound grief over the actress’s death at age 36.
Panettiere passed away on Sunday, and her death is currently under investigation following an apparent overdose.
“I am heartbroken,” Coleman wrote on social media. “I could not find adequate words until now. I have loved Hayden since the very first day of Heroes’ pilot, 20 years ago, when she shouted ‘daddy’ and embraced me. From that moment she called me ‘daddio,’ and I affectionately referred to her as ‘Haydini’—a nod to her magical presence.”
Coleman praised Panettiere, a prodigious talent who began acting in the early 1990s, recalling a scene where a single tear rolled down her cheek repeatedly. Though he admired her technique, the 16‑year‑old actress corrected him, saying, “It’s not technique. I’m not a trained seal; I feel it, and the tears simply come.”
By age 17, Coleman noted she topped IMDbPro. As her fame grew, Panettiere faced repeatedly intrusive questions, often asking, “When will you go off the rails?”
Coleman added, “Today we would recognize those inquiries as misogynistic provocations.” He continued, “She was hunted. Paparazzi equipped with 300‑millimeter lenses turned ordinary moments into something sinister. I recall a time when they lurked behind our garden, trespassing onto neighbors’ property. Such predatory behavior is unacceptable, especially toward a teenager.”
Before concluding his tribute, Coleman remembered how Panettiere “brought joy to the set, a tiny colossus who loved to laugh.” He added, “Her radiant face, that megawatt smile, wasn’t just for the camera—it was authentically her. She truly glowed.”
‘Today I am filled with sorrow and regret, and anger, but that is for another time,’ he said. ‘Right now I want to remember an extraordinary young woman who was both blessed and cursed—vulnerable, feeling everything, which made her a remarkable actress and prone to the thousand natural strokes of fate that flesh endures.’
Coleman is among the wave of co‑stars, celebrities, and fans paying tribute to Panettiere after her death. “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” said her father, Skip Panettiere, in a statement to Rolling Stone provided by the actress’s rep. “She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen.”
