United Kingdom, May 2 -- Hayden Panettiere has admitted her unplanned four-year hiatus from acting was "desperately needed".

The 35-year-old actress took a well-earned rest following the conclusion of her ABC series 'Nashville' in 2018, before reprising her role as Kirby Reed in 2023 slasher movie 'Scream VI'.

And she has revealed it was an unexpected break but she benefited massively from stepping back, and as a result, feels "much more solid and grounded" in "this crazy world".

She reflected in an interview with Us Weekly: "I had taken four years off. Didn't know or plan to, but that's just the way it panned out.

"And I desperately needed it."

"The things that I've done before . it was just different enough that I felt like it was ...