Julia Stiles didn’t expect what came after the dance.
On October 20, during Dancing with the Stars’ Dedication Night, the actress took to the floor with Ezra Sosa and performed a contemporary routine to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, the same song Heath Ledger, as Patrick Verona, sang to his Kat in the stands in 10 Things I Hate About You. She wore a blue dress similar to the one in the movie and a ’90s hairstyle.
When it ended, a photo of the two appeared onscreen. Julia laid a rose as her character’s speech from the film played.
And then, one by one, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, and Susan May Pratt walked onto the dance floor. They stood in front of Ledger’s image, their arms around each other’s shoulders.
Before leaving, Julia had said she’d like to be able to call him and tell him that, so many years later, people still love that movie. Ledger died in 2008, at the age of 28.
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