WHO: Hayden Panettiere, 15 years old
CLAIM TO FAME: She has appeared in many movies, including Raising Helen and Joe Somebody. In the new movie Racing Stripes, she plays Channing, a young jockey. Channing helps Stripes, a zebra voiced by Frankie Muniz, chase his dream of running in the Kentucky Derby.
Q How would you describe Channing?
A Channing wants to race horses, but her dad won't let her because he thinks it's too dangerous. But she's very outgoing. She's a little spitfire.
Q Did you know how to ride horses before landing the role?
A No, I didn't. They put me through training in South Africa, where we filmed the movie.
Q What was it like to work with real animals?
A You need more patience working with animals than you do with babies. But they were amazingly trained!
Q In the film, Stripes doesn't get along with the horses. How about in real life?
A There were 13 zebras that played Stripes, and the horses were petrified of the zebras. I thought that zebras were just horses with stripes, but they're far from that.