Ethan Suplee is reflecting on his past addiction struggles following the apparent overdose of his late “Remember the Titans” co star Hayden Panettiere.
In a vulnerable Substack essay published Monday, the actor revisited the night of the film’s premiere in 2000, as reported by Page Six.
Suplee, 50, revealed that he smoked heroin during the premiere and went to bed believing he “wouldn’t wake up.” His account detailed the pain and shame he experienced throughout the evening.
Actor Ethan Suplee recalls smoking heroin after meeting Hayden Panettiere at movie premiere pic.twitter.com/XLep8HPng2
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) August 19, 2026
“I went from the press line to the bathroom and smoked heroin,” he wrote. Suplee explained that his emotions intensified after he met Louie Lastik, the person he portrayed in the film.
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“He wasn’t fat. Not like I was. I imagined his disappointment at seeing who they’d gotten to play him. So I went back to the bathroom and smoked heroin,” Suplee recalled.
The evening became more painful when the cast was expected to ride around the stadium in golf carts. Suplee said his cart broke after he sat down, leaving him overwhelmed during the screening.
“Then we were all supposed to take laps around the stadium in golf carts,” he continued.
“When I sat on our cart, it broke, I crushed one of the rear wheels … While the movie played, I sat in the bathroom, cried, and smoked heroin.”
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Suplee also described going to sleep that night with little concern about whether he would survive.
“I didn’t die of an accidental overdose that night. But I went to bed believing I wouldn’t wake up, and that didn’t seem so bad. Better than whatever a new day offered.”
Amid those memories, the “My Name Is Earl” alum recalled Panettiere bringing him brief moments of comfort. Her warmth on the red carpet temporarily lifted some of the anguish he was carrying.
“On the red carpet … [she] ran up to me, leapt into my arms and gave me a big hug. Holding her, I was lighter, some of her energy and innocence washed over me, and for a moment my smile was genuine,” he remembered.
Ethan Suplee revealed on Substack that he was high on heroin at the film’s 2000 premiere at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, smoking drugs in a bathroom just moments after sharing a sweet moment with Hayden. pic.twitter.com/U2784yTe9q
— TMZ (@TMZ) August 18, 2026
Suplee encountered the Golden Globe nominee again later that night. He wrote, “Once again, she leapt into my arms, and once again I felt some relief.”
Panettiere died in South Carolina over the weekend of an apparent overdose, though the 36 year old actress’ cause of death is not yet known. Suplee also reflected on young actors Christopher Pettiet and Harold Pruett, who met similar fates.
Pettiet died at age 24 in 2000, while Pruett was 32 when he died two years later. Their deaths, along with Panettiere’s, weighed heavily on Suplee as he considered the battles they may have faced.
“I feel a tremendous sense of loss today. I don’t know what they were going through at the end,” Suplee wrote. “I only know that for them, the battle is over. And I’m sad.”
After “Remember the Titans,” Suplee got sober and lost more than 250 pounds. He concluded his reflection by emphasizing that accepting assistance was as important as finding the strength to seek it.
“The miracle of my life wasn’t just asking for help; it was finding the courage to accept it. Something that seemed impossible,” he wrote.
Panettiere publicly discussed her own struggles with alcohol and opioid addiction in a 2022 interview with People. She confessed that the substances “became something [she] almost couldn’t live without.”
The “Nashville” alum shared more about her life in her May memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” While promoting the memoir, Panettiere told “CBS Mornings” host Gayle King that she was in a “good place.”
King said Monday that Panettiere was “clearly still struggling” during that appearance.
Justin Chatwin, Panettiere’s “Sleepwalker” co-star, similarly claimed the “lonely” actress was “struggling” while filming the movie in 2025.
Chatwin said Panettiere seemed “different” from when he had first met her years earlier. Suplee’s tribute ultimately centered on grief, the devastation of addiction, and the courage he found to accept help.
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