THERE'S NO FEAR IN THIS 'HEROES' STAR.

Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ

Hayden Panettiere will turn 19 this week but she already seems so mature beyond her years. I found her to be anything but a typical TV star when we spoke recently about the new season of "Heroes" and about her activism.

She went to Japan last year to expose the slaughter of dolphins and whales by fishermen there. A warrant for her arrest was issued after she and a convoy of U.S. and Australian activists paddled out on surfboards to demonstrate.

Hayden said she has no regrets.

"I'm a Leo," she explained. "I'm feisty and opinionated, God knows."

But couldn't she have just written a check or held some kind of fundraiser to help out?

Not a chance.

"I'm a hands-on kinda gal, not much of a sit-back-and-watch (person)," Hayden said. "I like to be involved in everything. I was the same way when I was in school. I enjoy adrenaline, I enjoy having an opinion and standing up for something that I believe in. Putting myself sometimes in the line of danger."

So was she scared during that dramatic protest in Japan?

"No. No! It rocks my world (laughs)."

These days, there's not as much time for activism since Hayden and the rest of the cast of NBC's "Heroes" are busy shooting episodes of the show's third season. A ratings and critical sensation during its first year, the show suffered a bit of a sophomore slump and lost some buzz and some viewers.

But when the show returns to the air with new episodes on Sept. 22, things are supposedly back on track.

"It is the same action, high-energy, adventure and cliff-hangers that it was in the first season," Hayden promised.

"A lot of the core characters are working together and crossing paths again so it's so much fun for us to film. It's incredible. It's just coming out wonderfully and I think the audience will be very excited."

Hayden is also happy with the direction of her character, Claire, a high-school cheerleader who has a regenerative ability. She is among the show's core characters who are ordinary people who discover that they have superhuman abilities. They then must navigate the difficulties and responsibilities that come with that discovery.

"We bounce back and forth a little bit from present to future, and my future character is very different from my present character. So it's very cool to have the ability to stretch my wings a little bit."

Despite her youth, Hayden is a very experienced actress who started on the ABC soap "One Life to Live" at just 4 1/2 years old.

After several years, she segued over to the CBS soap "The Guiding Light." Her character, Lizzie Spaulding, did not have an easy life as she battled leukemia, got kidnapped, and had also shot and killed her mother's abuser.

But it is "Heroes" that is responsible for her ascent to major stardom and with that has come intense media scrutiny over her reported romance with co-star Milo Ventimiglia and, most recently, an incident last week involving her parents that resulted in her father being arrested on suspicion of felony spousal abuse against her mother.

A spokesman for Alan and Lesley Panettiere recently told the TV show "Extra" that the incident "was all a big misunderstanding."

"They love each other very much and want everyone to know that the matter was completely blown out of proportion," the spokesman said.

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(color) Hayden Panettiere went to Japan last year to expose the slaughter of dolphins and whales. "I'm a Leo," she says. "I'm feisty and opinionated."

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images