Hayden Panettiere Reveals Her Inner High School Outcast

Hayden Panettiere stopped by Ryan's radio show Friday to talk about her role in her new movie I Love You Beth Cooper, her inner activist, and her former life as a high school student.

Panettiere assured Ryan that she wasn't always her character in I Love You Beth Cooper.  In fact, she admitted that she "actually wasn't popular in school at all."  She also shared that she "would have rather gone to real school" than have had a tutor on set at all times.  Understandable.  

She enjoyed playing Beth Cooper in her new film and told Ryan, "she's a great character to play.  I really wanted people to dislike her in the beginning," but "she goes from this really unlikable girl...she thinks high school is the only place that's her shining moment and she's going to amount to nothing, but then she meets this guy Dennis" and everything changes.

When Ryan asked her if she planned to head off to college in the future she quickly explained that she didn't plan plan on it because, "the thing about college, to me, is it's not only a learning experience, but it's a social experience...[but] when I want to learn about something I really do."  She elaborated, "the thought of change has always been very nerve racking."

Hayden does enjoy fighting for a change, however.  As an activist for the proper treatment of dolphins and whales, she's traveled as far as Japan to make a difference. "We did a peaceful protest and showed the world what was going on there because it's footage that many people don't get and we were met with very disgruntled fishermen." Yikes!

She explained that "the thought of being helpless in that way" is the driving force behind her activism.  She even wrote a song about it!  "No one has even heard it.  There's a line in it where I talk about "wearing invisible chains" as a metaphor.

The nineteen-year-old is no stranger to show business. "I did my first commercial at eleven-months-old and then I started on a soap opera at four," she told Ryan.  Her mom is an actress and her father is a lieutenant fireman.  What a combo!  Maybe that's where she gets inspiration from for her role as Claire Bennet on the show Heroes which she has done for four years.

To catch Panettiere on the big screen, I Love You Beth Cooper hits theaters July 10.