'10 Things I Hate About You' cast joins Julia Stiles for Heath Ledger tribute

The 10 Things I Hate About You cast came together to help Julia Stiles honour Heath Ledger on Dancing With The Stars.

For DWTS’ Dedication Night on Tuesday, October 20, Stiles performed a contemporary routine with her pro partner, Ezra Sosa, to Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You. The song famously featured in the 1999 romcom when Ledger’s character, Patrick Verona, serenaded Stiles’ Kat Stratford.

As the performance came to an end, a still of Stiles and Ledger from the film appeared on a screen along with an audio of Kat’s iconic “I Hate” poem: “I hate it when you’re not around and the fact that you didn’t call / But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you, not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.”

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Stiles placed a rose in front of the image before walking backwards to meet her former castmates, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Andrew Keegan, Susan May Pratt and Larisa Oleynik. The group then stood hand-in-hand, looking at the picture in a moving tribute to Ledger.

The film marked Ledger’s breakthrough role. The Australian actor died aged 28 on January 22, 2008, from an accidental overdose.

Speaking to People after the performance, Stiles, 45, said she and Sosa wanted to approach the tribute with care. “I think we both felt a responsibility to be respectful, to honour him in a way that felt authentic and sincere. And we wanted to handle it delicately.”

She also told Variety about the cast reunion, “I begged them — each and every one of them, and they rallied.” Recalling rehearsals, she added, “We were watching a lot of clips and listening to audio for the rehearsals, and I was bawling. I mean it just brought back a ton of great memories.”

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