Hayden Panettiere Reveals Why She ‘Kept Apologizing’ to Connie Britton After Filming First Scene for ‘Nashville’

Hayden Panettiere’s first scene with Connie Britton on Nashville is one she won’t ever forget — although, she wishes she could.

The 36-year-old star, who played Juliette Barnes on the popular drama series, reflected on her time on the show in honor of it now streaming on Netflix. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she explained that she and Britton, 58, didn’t meet until they filmed the pilot episode in 2012, which wasn’t a very pleasant one.

“I remember the first scene that I ever did with her. It was in [Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium], the backstage of the Ryman, and [Britton’s] Rayna comes in and says something nice to me, and I am just so passive-aggressive to her,” Panettiere recalled.

Afterwards, she said she felt bad that the Friday Night Lights alum’s only impression of her was from that interaction.

“[I] kept apologizing to her, going, ‘I am so sorry!'” Panettiere added. “Because that was our first experience together, and I didn’t want to step on toes. Sometimes it gets real, very real, you know?”

The fan-favorite went on for six seasons, coming to an end in 2018. Britton played Rayna James, a famous country singer, while Panettiere’s Juliette was an aspiring artist.

Panettiere revealed that the series was originally focused primarily on Rayna, but producers reworked it to also be centered around Juliette after seeing viewers’ reactions to the character.

“It was difficult to play that sometimes, that competitiveness, where we were in opposition and against each other,” Panettiere admitted. “And it’s not what we thought it was going to be, so it was very difficult to step in.” 

Still, she described Britton, whose character was killed off in season 5, as “amazing” and “so supportive” during their time working together, despite their on-screen’ rivalry.

“Connie is just a class act,” she gushed. “She is so smart and so wise, and just being able to be on screen with her, I was honored. I think we kept each other grounded throughout the whole thing.”

“She’s fantastic. She’s so smart and so savvy. She plays that character so well, and she’s so likable, and I’m so unlikable in moments,” Panettiere continued. “But I feel like we were able to infiltrate that with portions where you can feel for [Juliette], you understand her, and see where her pain is coming from.”

In September 2024, Britton told PEOPLE that while she hadn’t talked to Panettiere “in a while,” she wanted to “really applaud how she has gone through a really difficult time and done a lot of work and has come out on the other side.”

“And so I only wish her just peace in her heart, and I can’t wait to see the movie,” the actress said of Panettiere’s new film at the time, Amber Alert. “I’m so happy that she is in that place, and I hope she’s in a great place.”

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Nashville is currently streaming on Netflix.