"Heroes" Creator Tim Kring Bids Farewell to Hayden Panettiere: "She Was a Uniquely Talented Performer"

Hayden Panettiere was already a seasoned professional by the time she auditioned for "Heroes" at 16.

Unlike so many actors who start working as kids, Hayden never had that worn-out "child actor" quality. She was confident in her abilities, yet remained pure, sweet, and open to every suggestion. From the moment we met her, it was clear she'd be playing Claire Bennet — "the Cheerleader."

Hayden was a true team player, which mattered enormously on a show with such a large ensemble cast. As a person she was remarkably composed beyond her years, and as an actor she was uniquely gifted — there was an almost prodigy-like quality to her work. It wasn't just that she learned her lines easily — it was her ability to find and mine the nuances of drama, comedy, and heartbreak in every scene she stepped into.

Looking back, her performance on "Heroes" is astonishing. She was playing her actual age, which added a meta layer to the role, because to reach those emotions she had to understand her own teenage feelings.

Most 16-year-olds don't know how to interpret or express those emotions, let alone embody them. But she had a grasp of human nature that belied her age. That's why she could find moments within a scene that were deeper, funnier, or more powerful than what was written on the page. As a writer, you dream of working with an actor who elevates everything you write and finds nuances you didn't even realize were there. With her, that happened again and again.

I clearly remember all of us marveling at how, whenever a scene called for crying, she could cry with the same intensity take after take, twelve times in a row. The moment the director called "cut," she'd turn to text her friends or joke around with her castmates — until the director called "action" again for the next take. Then the tears would return instantly.

Working with her was a joy: professional, cheerful, and always ready to take a risk and experiment with a scene. She had a fearless, break-things determination that genuinely shaped how we wrote her character. The best characters meet you somewhere between the actor and the page. On "Heroes," the line between where Claire Bennet ended and Hayden began became blurred. She never had to change the way she delivered a line to become Claire; the cadence we grew accustomed to writing was simply Hayden's own.

"Heroes" was a hit from day one, and there was no question Hayden's star was rising. Yet she always understood the ensemble spirit of the show and felt genuine gratitude toward everyone involved. I think she simply loved being part of that community. She enjoyed her sudden success but never seemed swept up by it. She wanted to represent the show itself. The cast, in turn, was very protective of her. We all knew she was a singular talent, and during the brief time she was with us on the show, we considered it our responsibility to look out for that talent.

After the show ended in 2010, we didn't stay in close touch. But a few years later, when I reached out to her manager about her availability for another project, she called me right away and teasingly scolded me: "You don't need to call my manager. Don't go Hollywood on me. Pick up the phone and call me yourself," she said.

As a showrunner, I understand now more than ever how rare it is for your path to cross with a talent like Hayden's. But more importantly, I'll always remember her as a kind, warm-hearted person whose company was, without fail, a joy and an inspiration.

Writer-producer Tim Kring is the creator of the NBC series "Heroes" and served as its showrunner and executive producer from 2006 to 2010. Pictured: Hayden Panettiere in "Heroes" Season 3 (2009).