Julia Stiles left Dancing With The Stars viewers in tears with her Heath Ledger tribute and an emotional cast reunion.
“Crying the entire dance, lost it with the rose and the cast coming out. The loss of Heath hit so hard and this just brought back all the feels,” one person wrote on YouTube.
Her tribute to Heath Ledger closed Dedication Night on October 20, with Ezra Sosa dancing alongside her.
Julia Stiles reunites with 10 Things I Hate About You cast
Julia and Ezra performed a contemporary routine to Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.
The song carried a special connection to their 1999 film, 10 Things I Hate About You. Heath’s character, Patrick Verona, sang it to Julia’s Kat Stratford in the romantic comedy.
After the dance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union and Larisa Oleynik joined Julia on the ballroom floor. Fellow castmates Andrew Keegan and Susan May Pratt were also there.
Together, they looked towards an image of Heath before sharing a group hug.
Julia and Ezra received four nines, giving them a total of 36 out of 40.
Before taking to the floor, Julia reflected on their friendship in a rehearsal video.
“I learned a lot from Heath. He was so authentic,” she said.
Heath died in 2008, aged 28.
Julia had already spoken about the unexpected emotion of preparing the dedication. Speaking to Variety before the episode, she said rehearsals had left her crying.
Rewatching clips and hearing Heath’s voice had brought back memories of their time together.
During a TikTok livestream with Ezra, she explained her wish to balance sadness with celebration. She wanted the music and choreography to reflect the joy Heath brought to that film scene.
The dance left viewers in tears and they shared their emotions on social media. One wrote on X: “JULIA STILES DEDICATING HER DANCE HEATH LEDGER AND THE 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT U CAST IS THERE I’M STILL CRYING.”
Someone else said: “I literally have no words, only tears, a lot of grow up with this movie and after 27 years of it’s released all the cast of ’10 things I hate about you’ got together and did a tribute to Heath Ledger is beautiful! We miss you Heath you’re still one of the greatest!”
Another person added: “When I say I literally cried…. I MEAN IT! at the beautiful touchy poem and the whole cast gathered together to honour Heath Ledger. OH BEAUTIFUL! JULIA STILES LOVE YOU #DWTS.”
Dancing With The Stars announces no eliminations
The night ended without an elimination, meaning all 10 remaining couples will return for the next round.
Kym Johnson joined Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel.
Elsewhere, Amber Glenn dedicated a contemporary routine to her sister Brooke, who also appeared during the performance. Amber and Pasha Pashkov scored 38 out of 40, the highest total of the season so far.
Maura Higgins honoured Ireland with a paso doble alongside Mark Ballas, earning 35 out of 40. A professional Irish dancer joined them, while Maura wore green with an Irish flag-coloured train.
Jenna Dewan danced a Viennese waltz with Alan Bersten, with her mother Nancy joining the opening. The pair received 37 out of 40.
The next episode airs on October 27, when the theme will be Horror Movie Night.
So what do you think of this story? You can leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.