At the LA press day for the teen comedy, Panettiere - one of TV's most popular cheerleaders - joked that she's going to start putting a clause in her contracts. But that aspect of the character aside, she found Beth Cooper to be someone she could really relate to. "It's kind of like a metaphor, even though specifically I haven't gone through exactly what she’s going through, it still stems from these insecurities and not believing in yourself and I think we all have our own insecurities. I know I have plenty," admitted Panettiere.
So what sort of insecurities does Panettiere have? "Like body image insecurities. The older I get, the more comfortable I get with it. But I still have my days where I don’t feel great, and I don’t like this outfit or that outfit and I’m having my fat day where I have to put something baggy on and sweatpants. Or just with the way that people perceive me, I have plenty of insecurities. I can go on and on."
As attractive as the 19 year old actress is, it's hard to believe she's insecure about her body. "You know I’ve never been one of those people who's been obsessed with working out or being super skinny because I’m just not that," said Panettiere. "I have the body that I have and that’s not going to change as long as I try to stay as healthy as I can, and all that stuff. It’s a little hard when someone is standing behind you with a camera on the beach, takes a picture of your rear end, and points out all your bumps or whatever. I mean it’s tough when you’re… You become much more critical of yourself because you’re in the position of just such extreme judgment and scrutiny. And, you know, people love to point out flaws and love to build people up and let them down again."
Although she admits to not working out much, Panettiere does keep in shape by doing stunts on Heroes. She even did a few in I Love You, Beth Cooper. "I did as many as they would allow me to do. I was always an athlete growing up and I love sports but now I can’t participate on a team like I could in high school, so stunts are kind of my sport. I do it as often as I can, as many as they’ll let me. It was fun though. It was a great experience, it was a fun film. It's full of action and it's funny, and Chris Columbus is the nicest man I’ve ever worked with," said Panettiere.
In addition to doing some of the stunts, Panettiere reveals some skin in Beth Cooper. As Beth, Panettiere takes it all off in a locker room - much to the surprise of the geeky male admirer who has her cheerleader poster on the ceiling over his bed. Panettiere didn't use a body double and instead just went for it.
"Yeah, it didn’t bother me. It didn’t bother me. I think when the person who is doing it gets all uncomfortable and shy, then it's other people around who get more uncomfortable because they’re uncomfortable," explained Panettiere. "But I was fine. Everyone was really professional."
The Future of Heroes
Heroes is in its fourth season and Panettiere says she's signed on for a total six as of right now. And this coming season will introduce a brand new organization for Claire and the heroes to deal with. "[Claire's] in college and she’s got a great roommate, who's…. I really don’t know about her in the beginning. There’s this new group of people called The Carnival, and they are kind of the opposite of The Company."Panettiere's played Claire the cheerleader for four years, but she's not tired of her yet. She's happy to be able to mix TV, movies, and theater work, and that helps keep things fresh. "I’ve gotten to spend almost four years in a character and really gotten to know her and develop her myself, and grew up with her in the beginning. And, yeah, I’m excited to do other things but I also do love what I do. And then theatre is great because you have the same layout every single night doing it, but you get to perfect and live with it every single time, and try to make it fresh and new every time."
So does Panettiere want life to imitate art? Is she going to be heading off to college any time soon? "I do very much believe in education," said Panettiere. "I’ve got 15 alumni on my mother’s side from Duke University and my grandpa was valedictorian, and grandparents met there. My great uncle was the Dean of the Law school. Yeah, I have a huge side of my family that is very well educated. So genetically I’m well educated, but my thought of college has always been that it’s not only continuing your education, but it’s also a social experience. It’s your first time on your own. It’s your first time not having someone sit there and go, 'You need to go to bed at this time. You need to do your homework. You need to get up at this time to go to class.' You’re on your own terms and most of what I saw from my friends that came back from their freshman year, they’re all hanging from their fingernails, going, 'I almost just failed out of school. I almost just flunked.' They have to juggle these new responsibilities that they didn’t have before, and you generally learn the hard way. You learn from mistakes and doing it over and over again."
