Julia Stiles reveals which “10 Things I Hate About You” costar she called first for Heath Ledger tribute on “DWTS”
Julia Stiles reveals which “10 Things I Hate About You” costar she called first for Heath Ledger tribute on “DWTS”
Wesley StenzelWed, October 21, 2026 at 7:02 PM UTC
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Julia Stiles in New York City on July 11, 2025; Heath Ledger in ‘10 Things I Hate About You’Credit: John Nacion/FilmMagic; TouchstoneKey Points -
Julia Stiles assembled a 10 Things I Hate About You reunion on the Oct. 20 episode of Dancing With the Stars.
The actress revealed which former costar she contacted first as the reunion came together.
The cast reunion came as part of a tribute to Heath Ledger.
Julia Stiles is sharing more key info about how her Heath Ledger tribute came together on Dancing With the Stars.
At the end of her dance with pro partner Ezra Sosa on the Oct. 20 episode, which she dedicated to her late 10 Things I Hate About You costar, the actress was joined on stage by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, and Susan May Pratt, who all starred in the beloved 1999 teen comedy with her and Ledger.
Stiles revealed how she assembled the 10 Things I Hate About You reunion in a conversation with Entertainment Tonight, and revealed which of her costars she contacted first.
Gabrielle Union, Larisa Oleynik, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julia Stiles, Andrew Keegan, and Susan May Pratt at ‘Dancing With the Stars’ in Los Angeles on Oct. 20, 2026Credit: Disney/Ser Baffo
“I called Joey [Gordon-Levitt] first,” she said. “And Larisa. Larisa and I have kept in touch really in a nice way. And then Gabby, Susan, Keegan.”
She added, “Everybody was kind of like, ‘I’ll do it if everybody else does it!’ So it just took one. And it was so special to have them here.”
Julia Stiles, Larisa Oleynik, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in ‘10 Things I Hate About You’Credit: Everett
One notable cast member from 10 Things I Hate About You didn’t join the group, however: David Krumholtz, who played the geeky Michael Eckman in the film.
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“For the record, very important PSA: David Krumholtz, we wanted him here, he wanted to be here,” Stiles clarified during her conversation with ET. “But he’s working on an HBO show in New York, so there was no way he could fly to Los Angeles.”
Stiles also told Entertainment Weekly about how she brought the cast back together. “It was a group conversation with the producers when we talked about dedicating it to Heath, we needed to find somebody to represent the movie to join us on stage,” she recalled. “And I was like, well, it has to be the whole cast, can’t just be one person, ‘cause we were a pack.”
Stiles starred as the standoffish Kat Stratford opposite Ledger’s charismatic bad boy Patrick Verona in 10 Things I Hate About You. In perhaps the most memorable scene in the film, Patrick serenades Kat with a rendition of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” — which inspired Stiles to dance to that same song for her tribute to Ledger.
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“I learned a lot from Heath. He was so authentic,” Stiles told Sosa during rehearsals in the episode. “I was so charmed by him. I see pictures from that time like, ‘Wow, it was so easy with him.’ 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.’”
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
