Hayden Panettiere pulled back the curtain on her “deeply uncomfortable” dynamic with Connie Britton on the “Nashville” set.
In her new “This Is Me: A Reckoning” memoir, Panettiere noted that her “character wasn’t intended to be the show’s star — not even close.”
The 36-year-old added, “That honor went to Connie, whose Rayna Jaymes was in the twilight of her career, facing a dramatic turning point thanks to yours truly.”
Panettiere played country star Juliette Barnes on the drama series, which ran from 2012 to 2018, while Britton, 59, played rival singer James.
“Unfortunately, after the pilot, it was clear that my billing had gone way up,” the “Heroes” alum recalled. “I went from maybe number five in terms of importance to nipping at Connie’s heels.
She recalled being “deeply uncomfortable with this development.”
Britton, her former co-star explained, was “in her 40s with three Emmy nominations under her belt” and “was also a new mom.”
Panettiere wrote, “I was 23 years old. … This should have been her time to shine, and while it was in many respects, I was terrified of making Connie worry that I — not my character — was trying to compete with her.”
She went on to describe once attempting to make it clear to Britton she had no plans to “step on her toes.”
The former soap star remembered, “We were directed to saunter toward the mic stand and—at the same time—reach to grab it. This would insinuate our characters’ rivalry.
“I always made sure to grab the mic under Connie’s hand, showing her I came in peace and with respect. I don’t know if she noticed, but I did.”
Britton’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Panettiere’s memoir, which also name-dropped ex-boyfriend Milo Ventimiglia and more A-listers, hit shelves nearly one year after she spoke to Entertainment Weekly about working with Britton.
When Panettiere’s character acted “so passive-aggressive” to Britton’s in their first scene together, she “kept apologizing.”
She recalled, “[I was] going, ‘I am so sorry!’ Because that was our first experience together, and I didn’t want to step on toes. Sometimes it gets real, very real, you know?’”
Clarifying that Britton was “amazing” and “so supportive,” Panettiere wrote, “It was difficult to play that sometimes, that competitiveness, where we were in opposition and against each other.”
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