Hayden Panettiere Discusses Her Character On ABC’s ‘Nashville’

Actress Hayden Panettiere recently took a moment to discuss her character on the ABC drama Nashville with Access Hollywood.

The country music-oriented drama follows the exploits of a “fading Nashville superstar (Connie Britton)” who is “forced to team up with a teen sensation (Panettiere) or face the loss of her tour and promotion of her latest records.”

Hayden Panettiere explained that, while her character Juliette Barnes is not exactly the most likable character on the show, it’s hard not to feel sorry for the girl.

“You’ve gotta have a little bit of empathy for this girl. She’s a train wreck for sure, but you like her and you understand,” the actress explained. “And you get to see the inner-workings of the fact that she’s just this damaged little girl who’s seeking love in all the wrong places. [She] has no idea how to show affection because she never got any – she has no father.”

Nashville gave Panettiere an opportunity to reunite with her Friday Night Lights co-star Connie Britton.

“[Connie] was one of the big reasons why I even wanted to do the show,” she said. “I loved the script and I loved the idea of it, then as soon as I heard she was doing it, I just was jumping for joy.”

Portraying Juliette Barnes also gave the actress a chance to return to her musical roots. After balancing her time between recording songs and acting, Panettiere opted for follow her dreams to the big and small screens.

“I quit after about four or five years of recording,” she explained in a recent interview with Women’s Health. “I said this is not me. But I said that if I was ever going to do music again, I would do country music, and for this to come along and to get both of the things I love combined in one show, it’s a dream come true.”

Are you a fan of Hayden Panettiere? What do you think about her character on ABC’s Nashville?