Tim Kring Opens up About Casting Hayden Panettiere in ‘Heroes’

Tim Kring has revealed why Hayden Panettiere was his one and only choice to play Claire Bennet on "Heroes." The late actress once credited the show's cast with keeping her grounded during a turbulent time in her life.

Hayden Panettiere had already been appearing on screen for years when she landed the role of Claire Bennet in the NBC superhero drama "Heroes," but it wasn't until the show premiered in 2006 that she became a household name.

Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet in "Heroes" (2006) | Source: Getty Images

Then just 16, the actress portrayed a seemingly ordinary cheerleader who soon discovers she has superpowers, specifically the ability to spontaneously regenerate.

Twenty years later, creator Tim Kring is reflecting on the casting process and what made Panettiere stand out during her audition.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Kring shared that with such a sprawling ensemble, the production didn't have the budget to hire a slew of "really known actors."

Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet in "Heroes" (2007) | Source: Getty Images

Instead, he and his team set out to cast performers who "felt like they were ordinary people." He explained, "Yes, they might be a little better looking than you or me, but I was going for that relatability of the everyman quality."

Kring shared he had envisioned Panettiere's character "as the cheerleader who you had the crush on, not the one that everybody else had the crush on. So not the golden girl, but slightly quirky, with something offbeat about her."

Even so, the screenwriter said that finding the perfect actress to bring Claire to life required very little searching. "We did not look very far; we saw [Panettiere], and that was it," he said.

Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet in "Heroes" (2008) | Source: Getty Images

According to Kring, Panettiere possessed a rare blend of qualities that made her ideal for Claire, a character whose everyday persona was central to her appeal. "First of all, she was an extraordinary actress," Kring said.

He continued, "She just embodied that girl-next-door quality, and then her range was exceptional. So it was just pure talent that walked in the door. There's nobody in my head that we saw other than her."

"For some of the other parts, I can remember other actors from casting, but no, she was it," he added.

Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennett in "Heroes" (2009) | Source: Getty Images

Panettiere, who remained with the series through its final season, tragically passed away on August 16, 2026. She was 36. The Greenville County Coroner's Office later ruled her death an accidental overdose, citing the toxic effects of fentanyl and several other substances.

One of the show's earliest marketing campaigns, along with its first season, was built around the simple tagline "Save the cheerleader, save the world," which helped turn "Heroes" into a major ratings hit. The series ran for four seasons before concluding in 2010.

(L-R) Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh, Ali Larter as Niki Sanders, Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet, Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman, Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura, Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli in "Heroes" (2006) | Source: Getty Images

Yet even as "Heroes" soared, Panettiere, who began working in commercials as a baby before joining the soap operas "One Life to Live" and "Guiding Light," was privately struggling with opioid and alcohol use.

"My saving grace is that I couldn't be messy while on-set and working," Panettiere told People in 2022. "But things just kept getting out of control [off-set]. And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn't live without."

Earlier this year, she released her memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," in which she reflected on some of her most famous roles. She described playing Claire in "Heroes" as "liberating, like a full body release."

Hayden Panettiere attends Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's New Film "Blonde" at TCL Chinese Theatre on September 13, 2022 in Hollywood, California. | Source: Getty Images

"I grew up on that set, and I was so lucky to have those people around me," she told BuzzFeed in an interview published May 19. "Outside of work, I was dealing with paparazzi for the first time and my freedom being taken away, basically overnight."

"The cast of 'Heroes' really kept me grounded at a very pivotal time in my life," she said. "I'm not saying I didn't do some bad things — I definitely was a rebel — but they saved me from getting sucked into all sorts of trouble."