Julia Stiles paid tribute to the late Heath Ledger on Tuesday night’s episode of “Dancing With the Stars.”
During Dedication Night, she performed a contemporary routine with her partner Ezra Sosa to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”; in the 1999 film “10 Things I Hate About You,” Ledger’s character, Patrick, sang the Frankie Valli number to Stiles’ Kat Stratford from the bleachers while she was at soccer practice.
The routine ended with the audio of Stiles reciting the poem she read to him in the movie, as her costars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, Gabrielle Union and Susan May Pratt joined her on the ballroom floor.
In the video package before her dance, she got choked up telling Sousa, “I learned a lot from Heath… It was so easy with him. I have so many great memories. I really wish I could pick up the phone, and be like, ‘Hey dude.'” She added that her response in that scene was real, and she hopes to “recreate the musk for life he had” in that scene.
She scored four nines for the routine.
Hours before the live show, Sousa shared a statement about the routine on Instagram.
“I don’t think we’ve ever approached a performance with more care, sensitivity, and intention than this one. From the very beginning, it was incredibly important to both Julia and I that this tribute be created with the utmost respect, thoughtfulness, and close guidance from those who hold Heath and his memory closest,” he wrote. “This isn’t about defining a relationship or telling a story that isn’t ours to tell. It’s about honoring a beautiful moment in time, a film that changed so many lives, and someone whose impact continues to be felt by generations. We’ve poured so much love into this piece, and we’re incredibly grateful for the trust placed in us to bring it to life. Our only hope is that it honors his memory with the dignity, love, and respect it deserves.”
Earlier in the week, Stiles opened up to Variety about the emotional rehearsals.
“I know that Dedication Night is emotional, but I thought I was distanced from it enough. Like, oh, it was so many years ago. Something about seeing clips from that movie and images and hearing my voice and hearing his voice is bringing back so many memories. It’s a lot,” she said, noting that she started crying while practicing. “One of the things that we really hope to do as performers is to make people feel something and have people care about the work that you do, and his memory lives on because it was such an incredible performance.”
Ledger died in January 2008 at the age of 28.