Julia Stiles honored Heath Ledger during an emotional night on Dancing with the Stars. However, her performance ended with another surprise for fans of 10 Things I Hate About You. The Julia Stiles Heath Ledger DWTS tribute brought several stars from the 1999 movie back together. Stiles used the Dedication Night routine to remember Ledger and the impact he had on those around him.
The ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ cast joins Julia Stiles on DWTS Dedication Night
Stiles reunited with Gabrielle Union, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Keegan, Susan May Pratt, and Larisa Oleynik during the Oct. 20 episode. The surprise 10 Things I Hate About You cast reunion came at the end of her contemporary routine with pro partner Ezra Sosa, according to People.
Stiles and Sosa danced to Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Ledger famously performed the song as Patrick Verona in the movie while trying to win over Stiles’ character, Kat Stratford.
The routine included several callbacks to the memorable scene. Stiles also wore a blue dress that appeared to reference one of Kat’s looks from the film. At the end of the performance, she approached a photo of herself and Ledger and placed a rose nearby.
She then stepped back as her former co-stars appeared behind her. Stiles reflected on Ledger after the dance and said he had a way of lifting up the people around him. “He made everybody else shine,” she said.
The actress had already admitted that preparing for the tribute was more emotional than she expected. Revisiting footage from the film and hearing Ledger’s voice again brought back memories, and Stiles said rehearsals left her in tears.
Stiles and Sosa also stressed how carefully they approached the performance. In a joint Instagram post, they said they wanted to treat Ledger’s memory with “care, sensitivity, and intention.”
Ledger died in 2008 at age 28. More than 25 years after 10 Things I Hate About You premiered, the reunion showed how closely the movie and his performance remain connected to its cast.
