Hayden Panettiere Opens Up About First On-Screen Kiss Filmed at Age 13

Hayden Panettiere is revisiting a formative moment from her early years in Hollywood. The 36-year-old Scream actress recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly to discuss her forthcoming memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, and shared candid recollections about her time on the 2004 film Raising Helen.

In the movie, Panettiere played Audrey, the teenage niece of Kate Hudson's character Helen. Her character's aunt becomes guardian to three children following a devastating car accident that claims their mother's life.

Panettiere was only 13 when the film was shot, something she notes continues to catch people off guard. Looking back at photos from the production, she marvels at how different she appeared compared to her current self.

"Can you believe I was 13 in that movie? At certain points, they had me dressed up like you would've thought [I was way older]," she explained. "I look back at pictures, people tell me how young I look now, but it's crazy because when I was 13, I almost looked like I was a teenager — the tummy out, the smokey eyes."

One particularly notable element of filming Raising Helen was Panettiere's first-ever kissing scene on camera, which featured her opposite a co-star in his twenties. The actor who played her love interest, the character BZ, was Michael Esparza.

Panettiere recalled the moment with surprise, noting her mother was present during filming. "My mom [was] watching me with a 20-something-year-old guy while I was 13. I was shocked that he used his tongue! I couldn't believe it, and I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I was like, 'Oh, that's how it's done. Got it.'"

Despite the unexpected nature of the experience, Panettiere has maintained positive feelings about her time on the project. "I've got a lot of very great memories, funny memories from that, for sure," she said.