Julia Stiles Pays Emotional Tribute to Late ’10 Things I Hate About You’ Co-Star Heath Ledger on ‘Dancing With the Stars’: Watch

Julia Stiles paid emotional tribute to her late 10 Things I Hate About You co-star on Tuesday’s (Oct.

20) Dancing With the Stars dedication night.

The now 45-year-old actress who was just 17 when she shared the screen with Heath Ledger in the teen classic twist on Shakespeare’s beloved comedy The Taming of the Shrew took to the floor with partner Ezra Sosa for a contemporary routine to Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Related Here's How to Watch the 2026-27 NBA Season Live Online for Free Julia Stiles Pays Glittery Tribute to Dolly Parton With ‘9 to 5’ Quickstep on ‘Dancing With the Stars’: Watch Adam Levine Shares Sage Advice For 'The Voice' Contestants With Story About Cringe Moment With Pop Hero: 'He Wasn't Happy' Ledger’s character, Patrick Verona, famously serenaded Stiles’ Kat Stratford with the kicky Billboard Hot 100 No.

2 pop classic during her high school soccer practice in the film in an instantly iconic bit in which he danced his way across the bleachers in a bid to win her heart.

Wearing a blue, floor-length shimmery dress that hinted at an outfit she wore in the movie, Stiles took to the dance floor barefoot and placed both of her hands over her heart as the announcer introduced her.

She and Sosa blazed across the floor during their routine, smiling and running through lifts and spins during the uptempo bits that paid tribute to some of Ledger’s moves in the film.

They then slowing things down as the song’s tempo dropped to allow Stiles a quiet moment to honor Ledger, who died at 28 in 2008 from an accidental prescription drug overdose.

Sosa handed the actress a single red rose and then stepped back as Stiles’ weepy poem from the film played over images of the co-stars as she laid the flower down.

“I hate it when you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call.

But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close.

Not even a little bit,” her character emotes.

After slowly stepping away, Stiles joined her fellow co-stars from the film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, Gabrielle Union and Susan May Pratt, as they wrapped their arms around each other and stared up at the screen.

After Tuesday’s performance, Stiles told People that she and Sosa “both felt a responsibility to be respectful, to honor him in a way that felt authentic and sincere.

And we wanted to handle it delicately.” She called the emotional dance a “labor of love from all parties,” who were all “super close” to Ledger.