The filmmaker — who directed ‘A Breed Apart,’ one of Panetierre’s final films — insisted the late actress “deserved better company” around her

NEED TO KNOW

• Filmmaker Griff Furst, who directed Hayden Panettiere in one of her final films, has said the actress was “fighting to stay sober” while filming A Breed Apart
• Furst also said hat her team discussed an intervention, but he doesn’t believe it ever took place
• Panettiere died on Aug. 16 at the age of 36

The director of one of Hayden Panettiere’s final films has said that the late actress was “fighting to stay sober” during their time working together. 

Griff Furst worked with Panettiere, who died at the age of 36 on Sunday, Aug. 16, on the movie A Breed Apart, which was released in May 2025. 

On Wednesday, three days after her death, the filmmaker shared a video on Instagram discussing his experience on the set of the movie with the late actress, insisting he was “rooting” for the Nashville star to “beat the addiction that she spoke about openly and publicly herself.” 

Panettiere was found dead from an apparent overdose inside a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday. She discussed her years-long struggles with drugs and alcohol in her memoir and interviews over the years, sharing that her first interaction with drugs came when she was 16 years old and her addiction started in her teens. 

“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,” Furst said in his video. “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.”

Furst went on to say that when they wrapped on A Breed Apart, however, he stayed in touch with Panetierre’s team and “what eventually got determined was that she might need an intervention and I got asked to participate.”

“I said yes, and that intervention did not happen, at least not that I’m aware of, and  I wasn’t leading the charge on that and it wouldn’t have been appropriate for me,” Furst added. 

The director then commented that people had been asking him about Panetierre’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, who joined her 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. “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.”

In a previous Instagram video shared on Monday, Furst recalled Hickerson joining Panetierre on the film’s set and noted that there was a “dark” energy.

“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. So I’m on set, and I get word from the movie’s security team who picked her up from the airport that something was off,” 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,” Furst continued. “He opened the door. Hayden was incredibly sweet and gracious and excited to work, but she was not okay.”

“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 added.

Panettiere was first linked to Hickerson romantically in 2018 and they had an on-and-off relationship. Hickerson was arrested multiple times during their time together, including on domestic violence charges in 2019 and 2020. 

In 2021, Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a partner, related to the 2020 arrest. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years of formal probation, 52 domestic violence classes, $500 in restitution and a five-year protective order. Hickerson spent 13 days in jail. The other charges were dropped, and a 2019 criminal case against him was dismissed.

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In a report from the Greenville Police Department, Hickerson and his brother Zach were identified as being at the Greenville residence when Panettiere went into cardiac arrest. Brian also allegedly showed responding officers a “bag of medication” Panettiere had been taking, according to the report.

On Wednesday, Hickerson was pictured for the first time since Panetierre’s death as he was spotted leaving a Burger King in Greenville, before later being seen in a car at his family’s home.

In a 2022 cover story, Panettiere told PEOPLE that she and Hickerson had reconnected as friends.

“None of it is okay, and I want to make sure that everybody knows that,” she said of Hickerson’s behavior. “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.”

In that same interview, the Heroes star opened up about her addiction, sharing, “As I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”

“I was on top of the world and I ruined it,” she added of how her dependence affected her career. “I’d think I hit rock bottom, but then there’s that trap door that opens.”

The actress’ official cause of death has not been released. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.

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