Dancing With the Stars‘ Julia Stiles got emotional while reflecting on her bond with the late Heath Ledger on Dedication Night.
“We made 10 Things I Hate About You together. I learned a lot from Heath. He was so authentic,” Stiles recalled in her intro package on Tuesday, October 20, holding back tears. “I see pictures from that time and I’m like, ‘Wow.’ It was so easy with him.”
Stiles noted to the cameras, “I have so many great memories, but I’m also sad because I really wish that I could pick up the phone and be like, ‘Hey dude, people really care about that movie. We did something special.’ And I can’t do that.”
Stiles and Ledger starred as love interests in the hit 1999 movie. Ahead of Tuesday’s episode, it was revealed that Stiles and her partner, Ezra Sosa, were performing a contemporary dance to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” by Frankie Valli, which Ledger’s character sings in an iconic scene from the rom-com.
“When we filmed that scene, the reaction on my face was totally genuine because I was so charmed by him,” the actress recalled on Tuesday.
When the pair hit the ballroom floor on Tuesday night, Stiles wore a blue dress reminiscent of the one she wore to the prom in the movie. At the end of the routine, her character’s memorable (and poetic) monologue from the end of the film played as Stiles was joined by Joseph Gordon Levitt, Gabrielle Union and more costars on stage.
The routine ultimately earned a 36 out of 40 — Stiles’ best scores of the season so far.
Ledger was found dead in his New York City loft in January 2008 following an accidental overdose. He was 28. (The late actor had one child, daughter Matilda, shared with ex Michelle Williams.)
As DWTS fans prepared to reach for their tissues, Stiles opened up about the inspiration behind her Dedication Night routine.
“It was important to me that, in the music and in the dance, that we have the somber tribute to him because, obviously, he’s passed away and he’s no longer with us,” she said in a recent livestream. “But also that scene brings so much joy to people. And his energy in it, I wanted to have musically and in terms of the choreography. We want to have the joyful celebration of when he was around.”
Stiles added that working with Ledger was “a really special moment in time,” noting how she hoped the performance would bring on “tears of joy.”
The actress has been candid through the years about her connection with Ledger, previously referring to him as “a bright light.”
“He was amazing,” she told E! News in 2025. “We all had such a good time and were close on that set, and he just walked into the room and lit it up.”
Stiles recalled Ledger being “very kind and generous” to her during filming. “Which, you know, when you’re an actress in your first leading role in a big studio movie, you need to feel comfortable with the other person. And he was very generous that way,” she said.
Years earlier, Stiles admitted she and Ledger fell out of touch. “When I heard about his death, I was incredibly sad, I was very shocked,” she told Australia’s ABC in 2016. “He was such a force, such a vibrant person, right at the really exciting time of his life.”
In a separate interview with HuffPost, Stiles recalled a special message the actor left for her when 10 Things I Hate About You wrapped.
“He had written on this hotel stationery because we were all staying at the Sheraton in Tacoma, Washington, and it said — I forget the beginning of the quote, but it’s like, ‘Dance like you’ve never heard the music and love like you’ve never been hurt,'” she recalled in 2016. “It was so sweet. I almost cried. That was his goodbye note to me.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
