Actress Julia Stiles, currently competing on the U.S. version of "Dancing with the Stars," dedicated her performance on Tuesday night's show to Heath Ledger, who starred alongside her in the classic teen romantic comedy "10 Things I Hate About You" and died in 2008.
Stiles and her professional dance partner, Ezra Sosa, performed a contemporary routine to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" during the show's Dedication Night. In the 1999 film, Ledger's character, Patrick, famously serenades Stiles' character, Kat Stratford, with the song from the bleachers during soccer practice.
After the performance, Stiles told Variety that she had wanted the entire cast of the film to join her onstage to honor Ledger's legacy and the movie. "I said, if we had to have someone with us on stage representing Heath’s legacy or the film, I said it had to be the whole cast. I begged them, each and every one of them, and they all rallied. They really did," she said.
The actress added that it felt "really trippy" to see herself wearing a blue dress similar to the one she wore in the film, with her hair styled much the same way. "At 17 years old, I never would have thought that I’d be here at 45, celebrating my body, dancing on the show that I absolutely love and that fans are still interested in this movie and still moved and touched by this movie."
Earlier this week, Stiles told Variety that rehearsals had stirred up intense emotions. "I know that Dedication Night is emotional, but I thought I was distanced from it enough. Like, oh, it was so many years ago. Something about seeing clips from that movie and images and hearing my voice and hearing his voice is bringing back so many memories. It’s a lot," she said.
Stiles revealed that she had begun crying during rehearsals, adding, "One of the things that we really hope to do as performers is to make people feel something and have people care about the work that you do, and his memory lives on because it was such an incredible performance."
From 'Dancing with the Stars'
(Screenshot)
Released in 1999, "10 Things I Hate About You" was a major box office success, but its impact extended far beyond its commercial performance. The film became one of the defining teen movies of the 1990s and has since earned cult classic status. It grossed approximately $53.5 million worldwide.
Ledger died on January 22, 2008, at his New York City apartment at the age of 28, just as his career was poised for another major breakthrough with "The Dark Knight," which was released several months later. The New York City medical examiner determined that his death was caused by acute intoxication from the combined effects of several prescription medications, including painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills. His death was ruled accidental.