Hayden Panettiere has revealed the real reason she was replaced by Kristen Stewart in the 2002 thriller Panic Room, attributing her exit to a disagreement over her hair.
In her new memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, the actress writes that the film, directed by David Fincher, was originally set to star Nicole Kidman, with Panettiere playing her daughter. However, Kidman was forced to drop out due to injury, throwing the production into chaos.
Panettiere, then 12, was initially overjoyed when Jodie Foster stepped in. She writes: “I was overjoyed—even as happy as I’d been about Nicole Kidman. Jodie Foster was one of my favorite actors, and I could relate to her because she’d been working since she was a kid, just like me.” But before filming resumed, she was told producers did not believe she resembled Foster closely enough to play her daughter.
Panettiere says she was speechless, feeling she had earned the part and did look like Foster. The role went to Stewart, who later became famous for Twilight. Years later, she learned the real reason: “The director spoke to Mom about cutting my hair so I would look more like Jodie Foster, who’s always rocked a great bob. Mom said no. It was a deal-breaker.”
Despite the disappointment, Panettiere says she accepted the decision at the time, telling herself that “parts are like trains, and there will always be another one coming down the tracks.”
