This past week, the world lost Hayden Panettiere. Only 36 years old, the former child actress established herself as a household name in numerous iconic roles in film and television. From Claire, the super-powered cheerleader from Heroes, to Kirby Reed, the horror know-it-all from the Scream franchise, Panettiere proved herself to be a highly versatile actress in an ever-evolving industry.
But perhaps some of her best acting work was found in video games, and we’re not talking enough about some of the fantastic performances she delivered in powerhouse games.
Early on in her career, Panettiere took on voice acting roles in films such as A Bug’s Life and Dinosaur for Walt Disney Pictures. This built up her reputation within the company and led to her being cast in a major role in what would ultimately be one of Disney’s most ambitious projects of all time: Kingdom Hearts.
A crossover between Square Enix’s Final Fantasy franchise and the world of Disney, Kingdom Hearts told the story of Sora searching for his lost friends through various Disney worlds. Panettiere voiced Kairi, one of Sora’s best friends and one of the secret Princesses of Heart that act as a driving force for the entire game’s narrative. Though early portrayals of Kairi have been critiqued for making her a damsel in distress, Panettiere’s performance brought a feeling of hope and optimism to the character that quickly established her character as the heart of the original game’s narrative.
Panettiere would return to voice Kairi in the sequel, Kingdom Hearts II, which saw her character become the driving force of the plot when Kairi is kidnapped by the villainous Organization XIII. With these appearances Panettiere cemented herself as one of the main players in the wildly popular franchise. Panettiere also lent her voice to Xion in Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days, a spin-off that focused on the villainous organization from the sequel and Chain of Memories. 358/2 Days allowed her to stretch her voice-acting chops and deliver a more emotional performance in line with that particular entry’s main tone and themes.
Panettiere challenged herself even further when she accepted the lead role in Supermassive’s hit horror game Until Dawn. In it, Panettiere plays Sam, a kind and intelligent young woman who serves as the game’s “final girl” after she and her friends are hunted down by supernatural forces during a strained trip to the mountains. An interactive title, the game used high tech motion capture technology to capture performances of real life Hollywood actors and implant them into a video game. This allowed Panettiere to not only voice Sam, but to physically portray her as well, more closely emulating her work in films and television.
Although Until Dawn is packed with well-known actors and solid performances, it’s easy to identify Panettiere’s performance as Sam as one of its strongest. Despite the game’s melodrama–and the fact that games were still fighting the battle to be seen as artistic and meaningful–Panettiere approached the role with the same verve as she approached her roles in film and television. Her attachment, and to a greater extent, her commitment, arguably leant a lot credibility to the title.
Her charming performance also offered a new spin on the “final girl” typically seen in horror films, as Sam doesn’t have any emotional baggage and tends to get along with every character in a relatively drama-free manner. Yet the biggest spin is that she can be killed in the story just as any other character can, and the narrative shifts to work around this major change. This means that, depending on your decisions, you may only see part of her performance, or only one version of it. Panettiere had to deliver multiple takes of the same material, which is probably best equated to an actor using every single take they film for a movie–it’s not an easy process.
The game was remade in 2024, and added an entirely new epilogue end scene that brought back Panettiere’s character. With the recent announcement of a sequel in full production, one can’t help but wonder if there were plans to somehow bring her character back into the fold.
Hayden Panettiere was a once in a lifetime talent. Though she got started at an early age as a child actor in various projects, she remained untethered to any one role, instead carving out a niche as a versatile actress. Though it could have been easy to stay in “girl next door” type roles, such as her work in I Love You Beth Cooper, she found ways to branch out into unconventional roles for “pretty” girls–her career in video games is but one example of this.
Panettiere’s work in video games gave the titles emotional weight, and a level of professionalism that was carried over from her work on the big and small screens. She also carried with her a deep sense of empathy that was reflected in her activism for marine life, her campaigns against domestic violence, and her willingness to discuss mental health struggles, such as post-partum depression. In an industry where authenticity is a rarity, she remained vulnerable. Her passing is a great loss not only to films and television, but to video games as well, as she leaves behind a legacy of roles that will live on and be cherished for generations to come.
