Filmmaker Griff Furst revealed that Brian Hickerson boasted he could get actress Hayden Panettiere to do anything while filming the motion picture A Breed Apart.
Furst, 44, shared details of the troubling interaction on Instagram on Monday, describing Hickerson's conduct on set as a direct attempt to control the late star.
The remarks came more than a week after the former Heroes actress was found dead at age 36 of a suspected overdose on August 16 at an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, where she had traveled with Hickerson, her on-off boyfriend and South Carolina native.
Hickerson, who had a turbulent relationship with Panettiere and served jail time for abusing her, was present at the scene alongside his brother Zachary when she was pronounced dead, according to a police report. An autopsy found no signs of trauma that would have contributed to her death.
Furst recalled that during a camera rehearsal for Panettiere's first scene in A Breed Apart, he was standing at the monitor about 15 feet away when Hickerson hovered over his shoulder.
Hickerson leaned in and said, "You let me know what you need her to do, I can get her to do anything," according to Furst.
Furst said his immediate internal reaction was "What the f***?" but he answered "alright" because he was in the middle of directing a rehearsal and was confronted by someone he had not hired.
In his video on Monday, Furst described Hickerson's comment as "a direct attempt to control" and "presented like this bizarre power flex."
"We could all see it, and we all wanted to help, but spotting a red flag, and then physically pulling somebody out of a toxic situation, are very different things," Furst said.
Furst noted that he does not believe Hickerson wanted the tragedy to happen, but stated that the dynamic between them was noticeably destructive. He added that Hickerson is not the kind of person anyone would want directing the life of a coworker, friend, mother, or daughter.
The Daily Mail contacted representatives for Furst and attorneys for Hickerson for comment.
Parallels to Brittany Murphy
Furst drew direct comparisons between Panettiere and late actress Brittany Murphy, whom he directed in the 2009 movie Tribute prior to her death at age 32 in December 2009.
"It made me think of the similarities to Brittany Murphy just in the sense that I made a movie with her about a year before she passed," Furst said.
He called Murphy a "brilliant, incredibly gifted woman who got sucked into a dark place alongside the partner that she chose," referring to Simon Monjack, who died at age 40 about five months after Murphy passed away.
Furst stated that he has seen scores of people lost to substance abuse whose decline was amplified by the company they kept.
"These tragedies seem to always be preceded by an identifiable pattern which is the reason that I'm talking about this right now, because it's in the spotlight," Furst said.
He added that Panettiere's passing marks a moment where people should take an honest assessment of loved ones and try to help someone who feels trapped.
Unrealized intervention and onset concerns
Furst previously disclosed last week that Panettiere's team had asked him to participate in an intervention for the actress, which ultimately failed to materialize.
Furst, who directed A Breed Apart alongside his brother Nathan Furst, said Panettiere was fighting to stay sober while working on the film.
In an Instagram video posted Wednesday, Furst explained that as a director or producer, even when certain an actor is in a bad situation, there is no proof or time to verify it. He noted that leaders can only adjust schedules, gather internal reports, or assign a handler.
Furst remained in contact with her team after filming wrapped, and when they determined she might need an intervention, he agreed to participate.
"And that intervention did not happen, at least not that I'm aware of," Furst said, adding that he was not leading the effort and that it would not have been appropriate for him to do so.
Furst recalled meeting Panettiere about 10 years before making A Breed Apart and said he was thrilled when she signed on because of her immense talent.
However, when Panettiere arrived for production, members of the security team who picked her up from the airport reported that something seemed off.
Furst walked over to greet her and Hickerson, who opened the room door. Furst said Panettiere was sweet, gracious, and excited to work, but was clearly not okay.
Having worked on over 100 movies, Furst said the energy in her room was pretty dark, describing her as someone fighting to stay sober who deserved better company than what he observed.
Furst emphasized that he was not in South Carolina and had no direct knowledge of the events surrounding her death beyond what was observed and recorded on set.
Substance struggles and custody decisions
Panettiere's death followed a long struggle with alcohol and opiates, including an eight-month stay in rehab in 2020 after contracting jaundice.
In her memoir, Panettiere wrote that her doctor warned her that she would be dead within five years if she did not stop drinking.
In 2018, Panettiere voluntarily gave up custody of her daughter Kaya, now 11 years old, to focus on her addiction recovery.
Kaya was placed in the care of her father, Ukrainian boxing star Wladimir Klitschko, with whom Panettiere maintained an amicable co-parenting bond.
Panettiere first began dating Hickerson in 2018 during her struggles with alcohol and opioids after splitting from Klitschko.
Over the course of their relationship, Hickerson faced multiple domestic violence charges, and in 2021 he served 13 days in custody for injuring her.
According to the police report from the scene of her death, Hickerson handed authorities a bag of medication she had been taking.
The police report noted that while Hickerson's brother Zachary was very emotional during attempts to revive Panettiere, Hickerson remained impassive until she was declared dead.
The Daily Mail previously reported that Panettiere was also the subject of romance rumors with Zachary, a pastor, during a brief period in 2019 when they were seen walking hand in hand in New York.
Family rift and memoir details
Panettiere's memoir offered a candid account of her past with Hickerson and detailed her fraught relationship with her mother, Lesley Vogel.
Vogel acted as Panettiere's manager during her career as a child star, but the pair eventually became estranged.
Speaking to the Daily Mail in May, Vogel characterized their rift as a recent occurrence dating back to around mid-September of the previous year.
"We each are entitled to choose our path in life," Vogel said at the time, adding that after 20 years of trauma, chaos, addictions, and accusations, she felt she had no option but to choose no contact.
Co-star reflections on final film
Justin Chatwin, Panettiere's co-star on her final movie Sleepwalker, recently reflected on how lonely she appeared during filming last year.
Chatwin had previously met Panettiere during the height of her fame on Heroes, which she starred on from 2006 to 2010, but noticed a marked difference in her state of mind on Sleepwalker.
"We hit it off great and it was an awesome shoot, but it was about domestic abuse and it was subject matter that may have hit close to home, because she did mention it," Chatwin told People magazine. "She opened up to me about a lot of things."
Chatwin, who has been sober for 15 years, noted that while actors are trained to be on set, Panettiere was authentic with him about her struggles with addiction.
"I could tell she was struggling, and I was like: 'I don't think it's this movie.' There's a handful of women that I've worked with that I really liked, and I really loved working with her, but I also know that she was really lonely," Chatwin said.
Chatwin reflected on whether her struggles originated from Hollywood or home, concluding that a lot of times it is both.
The Daily Mail contacted Chatwin's representatives for further comment.
