Julia Stiles honours Heath Ledger with emotional 'Dancing with the Stars' tribute as '10 Things I Hate About You' cast reunite

Julia Stiles paid tribute to her late “10 Things I Hate About You” co-star Heath Ledger during “Dancing with the Stars” Season 35’s Week 6 “Dedication Night”, which aired on Tuesday October 21.

Stiles and her professional partner Ezra Sosa performed a contemporary routine to Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” — the song Ledger’s character, Patrick Verona, famously serenades Stiles’ Kat Stratford with in the 1999 film. The dance incorporated several of Ledger’s moves from the movie and ended with Stiles placing a rose on the steps before a film still, as Ledger’s character did with a rose at the prom.

Afterwards, Stiles was joined on stage by five of her co-stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan and Susan May Pratt. In her pre-dance package, she said she had “learned a lot from Heath” because “he was so authentic”, and told viewers her goal was “to recreate the lust for life that [Ledger] had in that scene”. Ledger died in January 2008 aged 28.

The couple received four 9s from the judges. There were no eliminations on the night; scores carry over to Week 7’s “Horror Movie Night”, a double elimination.

Sources: Philstar.com — https://www.philstar.com/entertainment/2026/10/21/2564802/julia-stiles-honors-heath-ledger-dancing-stars-reunites-10-things-i-hate-about-you-cast ; BuzzFeed — https://www.buzzfeed.com/remytepner/julia-stiles-dedicated-performance-to-heath-ledger-dwts ; LADbible — https://www.ladbible.com/entertainment/tv/julia-stiles-tribute-heath-ledger-dancing-with-the-stars-746787-20261021