Hayden Panettiere Explains Why Filming 'Nashville' was a 'Traumatizing' Experience For Her

Hayden Panettiere opened up about her experience on the set of Nashville.

The 34-year-old actress starred on the country music-inspired show for six years starting in 2012.

While the role led to a lot of exposure, it wasn’t without its challenges. In fact, she even described the experience as “traumatizing” for a variety of reasons.

Read more about Hayden Panettiere’s Nashville experience…

Hayden told The Messenger that she is left with a lot of “curiosity” about her time committed to Nashville, explaining, “Because it took six years of my career when I was at my physical prime, my mental, my everything, that I just wonder what it would have been like in the hiatuses, [if I] did one project or film, or was encouraged to do that. Where would I be today?”

Despite landing a lead role, she also explained that the series was “traumatizing” for her, as it seemed to pull inspiration from her personal life.

The actress pointed out that both she and her character dated football players and struggled with substance abuse. The resemblance to her life was uncanny.

“They weren’t doing their homework. They weren’t creating new storylines. They were just looking at my life and going, ‘Oh, let’s just take what she’s going through and put our little spin on it.’ And then, ta-da! It’s done and done,” she said.

Citing the long work days and the stress of playing a role with such a connection to her personal life, Hayden felt that she “didn’t have time to take care of myself.”

“I just wanted to drum it out and watch mindless television and great shows. Anything to keep my mind off of that because I knew that next day I was going to be back at it again. I was like, tear central. I don’t even think on a soap opera that I cried as much [as I did] on Nashville,” she admitted.

Hayden added that she felt “very, very alone” during her early days filming the show.

“My family didn’t visit a whole lot. And the team of people that I was working with at the time were not the best influence on me,” she said. “And these people — some had represented me since I was 13 years old — were the kind [that] when they said, ‘Jump!,’ I jumped. If they said, ‘Wear this,’ I wore that. [It] was [to] the point where I couldn’t [and] never trusted my own opinion. That’s how it led me to make a lot of errors.”

The actress also recently revealed if she wants her daughter to follow her into Hollywood. She also responded to the controversial firing of Melissa Barrera from the Scream franchise.