Former creative collaborators continue to react to the sudden death of Hayden Panettiere at 36, with Tim Fywell (Happy Valley, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency), the British director of the 2005 Disney movie Ice Princess, on Tuesday paying tribute to her.
“It was really upsetting to hear yesterday of the death of Hayden Panettiere at the age of 36,” the director shared in a statement received by The Hollywood Reporter. “I worked with her 21 years ago when she played Kim Cattrall’s daughter in the Disney movie Ice Princess, which I directed. I remember a brave, sparky, dedicated young actress who lit up the set in rehearsals and then the screen with her vibrant talent.”
The movie, also featuring Joan Cusack, of course, starred Panettiere opposite Michelle Trachtenberg, who died last year at age 39. Video compilations of Trachtenberg and Panettiere’s characters, Casey Carlyle and Gen Harwood, respectively, started circulating on social media on Monday, with fans noting the film’s comforting feel of nostalgia amid the tragic deaths of its stars.
Ice Princess follows Casey (Trachtenberg), a brainy high school student, who gives up her path to Harvard to pursue her dream of becoming a professional figure skater. Panettiere plays Casey’s main rival-turned-supportive ally.
In his statement following Panettiere’s death, Fywell lauded the young duo. “Michelle Trachtenberg, Hayden’s co-star in the movie, and she were an amazing pair. Two very different personalities,” he emphasized. “Michelle – kooky, fun, with an infectious laugh and her brilliant sad-funny comic timing. Hayden – plucky and determined and perfectionist, spending hours practicing her skating and utterly focused on getting every acting take spot-on and truthful. Which she did.”
Concluded Fywell: “In what was often a tough and technically complicated shoot, and my first Hollywood movie, they were delightful to work with and great to have around. I remember them both with huge affection, how they were 20-odd years ago, at that relatively uncomplicated time of their lives, two shining talents, gone far too soon.”
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