We Heart Hayden

And Hayden Panettiere is among them! =) Former teen stars from an earlier time like Britney Spears, the Olsen twins, Lindsay Lohan and Drew Barrymore have all been wild children who got into sex, drugs and party life well before they were full fledged majors. But now, it seems that the present group of teen stars seems to be more level-headed. And that’s good news! Aside from Hayden Panettiere, there’s also Miley Cyrus. Though she’s been scandalized with her racy photos recently, she’s still as clean as teen stars can get =)

There’s also Amanda Bynes — she is not seen in the tabloids nor does her name spurn the gossip mills. Ashley Tisdale too falls in that category of young actress who have their head in the right place. As for Hayden Panettiere, she is not the kind of girl who you’d see sleeping with a hundred guys before she turned 18 or partying all night long. Rather you’d see her saving whales in Japan, putting her life on the line. Now that’s a good girl! =)

The new TV Guide, which came in last Monday (watch for it on newsstands!), has Jennifer Love Hewitt on the cover as “the sexiest woman on TV.” And even if Hayden Panettiere didn’t win that title, she still was in the sexiest list! The Heroes babe was previously acknowledged as one of FHM’s sexiest (#5) and was in the semifinals of HDTV’s hottest stars. Anyway, along with Hayden Panettiere in the women’s list are Vanessa Williams, Katee Sackhoff, Eva Longoria, Julianne Hough, Yunjin Kim and Mary Louise Parker. Many members of the cast of “Gossip Girl” also make an appearance. “Sexiest men” include Patrick Dempsey, Justin Chambers (both from Grey’s Anatomy), Peter Krause, Taye Diggs, Josh Holloway, Jared Padalecki and Alex O’Loughlin.

She may be currently filming on the Vancouver set of her new comedy film “I Love You Beth Cooper”, but the 18-year old actress is not at all focused on the movie. Hayden Panettiere, all glammed up for a party scene in a curve-hugging strapless dress, put on a parka and braved a cold Vancouver rainstorm at North Shore studios to run across the lot and gave the press some tidbits on the new “Heroes” season. Hayden gushes,

“I’m very excited to get back to “Heroes” in May and see all my castmates. Oh my gosh! I just read the first episode. It is phenomenal. It is so good. I think it’s better than the pilot of the first season. It’s back to that action. It’s action, action, action. It’s crazy. I can’t say that much about it but it’s really exciting.”

Hehe! As I said, she’s pretty psyched about it! Hayden Panettiere also shared what the Heroes‘ first episode is all about. She reveals,

“The first episode is packed with cliff hangers and cool stuff! You read it and you go, ‘they’ve figured out how to do it! They’ve figured out how to go back to the first season to make it even more exciting and entertaining. They’ve learned the concoction to make it great! … All the writers write it and give revisions, but I’m sure Tim Krane wrote the majority of the first one.”

She’s 18 years old and has been in the Hollywood business for more than a decade. But unlike other child stars (think Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan), Hayden Panettiere managed to stay squeaky clean. Her secret? I personally feel it’s because of her love for sports. You know what they say– if you’re an athlete, you are more likely to love your body and say no to partying, drugs and drinking. Hayden Panettiere revealed,

“I was a big athlete when I was younger. I was a gymnast and a swimmer for years - softball, volleyball, basketball.”

And so despite being in Hollywood for the longest time, Hayden Panettiere was able to say no to the bad lifestyle that goes with it. She’s not into sports much these days but the discipline she got with it remained — she parties hard but never to the point of unhealthiness. Hayden shares,

“Of course, I like to go out and have fun but I would never go out and do something stupid. I’m a safe person. There are certain things I would never do to put myself in jeopardy as I don’t think it’s worth risking my life and not being able to have any of the other amazing experiences you’re supposed to have. A lot of the times, people just want to try this or that and do it once. But one time you don’t make it then you won’t be able to experience any of the really important things in life. So, frankly, it’s not worth it.”

That’s how it usually goes.. An artist gets known for a TV or movie role but s/he eventually wants to dissociate him/herself from it. And Hayden Panettiere is no different. The 18-year old actress who plays the indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennet in hit US TV show ‘Heroes’ - hopes that her new film ‘Fireflies In The Garden’ will help people see beyond her cheerleader role. Hayden Panettiere stars opposite Julia Roberts in the movie and has said:

“I wanted to kill the cheerleader image, so I changed my hair colour and didn’t wear make-up. It’s been very hard for me in the past to get people to see me in a different way. They can be very narrow-minded.”

‘Fireflies in the Garden’ is a story of a family torn apart by an unexpected tragedy and boasts of a star-studded cast which also includes Ryan Reynolds, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson and Ioan Gruffudd. Yup, Hayden Panettiere is sooo lucky to be working with them! I’m sure she learned a lot =) ‘Fireflies in the Garden’ is directed by Dennis Lee, and is due to hit cinema screens later this year.

Aside from liking bad boys, the petite Heroes actress confessed another boy problem — difficulty in keeping one! LOL! Hayden Panettiere revealed,

“I used to have a problem with keeping one boy. It’s hard and I feel bad. I usually say, ‘I can’t guarantee anything, I don’t know how long I’ll be here.’ I’m just having fun.”

Is Hayden a commitment-phobe or what?? And I wonder what Milo Ventimiglia has to say about it! Maybe he “reformed” the 18-year old actress eh? =) Anyway, the “I Love You, Beth Cooper” star further confessed,

“I almost try to save them [guys wooing her] from themselves. But I give a warning, I say, ‘going out with me will be really bad.’ I do have a boyfriend though so I’m not looking, and I’m trying not to talk about him.”

She’s been bullied in high school, did not fit in with her same age friends, and through it all, the Heroes actress remained strong. Hayden Panettiere shared that her life was like an episode of Dawson’s Creek (and those other teen shows). She says,

“They [other girls in her school] all went through the ‘you stole my boyfriend,’ and ‘you shouldn’t like this guy’.”

Whoa! That really sounds like your typical teen show indeed. Hehe! Hayden further ranted,

“Their worlds are tiny. They don’t see the big picture and I’m thankful I just sat back and watched. But I did go through a very hard three years which wasn’t fun. It was always the popular group. I did sit with them at lunch and I hung out with them sometimes but I never really got along with them. I just didn’t fit in. Eighth grade was the worst. I preferred to float around, having friends here and there.”

But despite all these teenage angst, Hayden Panettiere is not bitter. In fact she’s glad that it happened because it helped her be the person that she is today — strong and mature =)

Despite being bullied in school, the Heroes babe never became a loner. Instead Hayden Panettiere found friends in the older age group. She relates,

“I’ve grown up in this business. And being exposed to a lot of adults and people older than me makes you an adult before your time. I hang out with a lot of older people. I do feel older. I always felt that way. I’d see a lot of kids would be my age and I couldn’t hang out with them, when I was about 15, because I felt I’d be hanging out with younger people.”

Hmm, maybe that’s why she and Milo Ventimiglia gets along fine despite their huge 12-year gap. And instead of being a follower of her older friends, the blonde cheerleader says,

“Peer pressure has never affected me. I’m a strong enough person to do my own thing.”

So how’s our fave Heroes actress? You need not buy tabloids and read gossip columns to know coz Hayden just posted an entry in her MySpace blog =) First she wrote about filming with director Chris Columbus in Vancouver, Canada. Here’s what Hayden said,

“Hey everyone! I’m in Vancouver right now filming a movie for Fox called, I Love You Beth Cooper. I’m having a blast filming and everyone is so nice. Chris Columbus is a wonderful director and one of my favorites so far. It’s very cool because I get to work with a lot of young people in this film and because it’s a comedy we get to be goofy all the time!”

Hehe! That’s so nice to hear that you’re enjoying over there Hayden! =) The 18-year old actress then posted about Heroes, how she can’t wait to be back in the set with her fellow castmates. Hayden Panettiere blogged,

“I’m very excited to get back to Heroes in May and see all my cast mates. I also just received the script for episode one and let me tell you, it’s great! Heroes is back to the action and adventure that went on in the first season and even the first episode is packed with cliff hangers and lots of cool stuff! Hope all is well, thanks for checking out the site!”

She plays a cheerleader hero in the hit TV show Heroes, and is surrounded by normal people with superhero powers in the said show, but Hayden Panettiere doesn’t have to look at them or too far for her own hero — coz she got it right in her own home. And it’s none other than her retired Manhattan firefighter dad! The “I Love You, Beth Cooper” actress reveals,

“He was a lieutenant in the fire department in NYC and he retired six months before 9/11, so he’s a big hero to me. He did that for 21 years. They are the heroes - normal people who save the world every day.”

Wow! Imagine that! If Hayden’s father didn’t retire, he could have been killed in 9/11 too! Gahh.. Anyway, the 18-year old actress added,

“I’m from New York and my father retired from working with the first fire unit to go into the Twin Towers. He lost a lot of friends that day so the events stay very close to me.”