The Unique Quality That Made Hayden Panettiere Unforgettable on 'Heroes'

Heroes creator Tim Kring has reflected on casting the late Hayden Panettiere in her now-iconic role as superpowered cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC series.

“We did not look very far; we saw her, and that was it. First of all, she was an extraordinary actress,” Kring, 69, told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on Friday, September 25, in honor of Heroes’ 20th anniversary. “[Hayden] just embodied that girl-next-door quality, and then her range was exceptional.”

Panettiere was an entertainment industry veteran by the time she landed a starring role in Heroes in 2006, as her mom Lesley Vogel booked her daughter’s first commercial acting job when she was just 11 months old.