Julia Stiles Reveals She Contacted Michelle Williams Before Dedicating ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Tribute Dance to Heath Ledger

October 22, 2026, 10:05am

Before performing her emotional dance for 10 Things I Hate About You co-star Heath Ledger on Dancing With the Stars, Julia Stiles said she reached out to the late actor’s ex-partner, Michelle Williams.

While speaking to Extra about the dance, Stiles said she asked Williams if it was OK for her to dedicate the performance to Ledger.

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“And she said, yes,” Stiles stated. “I was like bawling the first day of rehearsals because of all the nostalgia and the memories. But also because I was… bumping up against something.”

Williams and Ledger were together from 2004 to 2007 and share daughter Matilda. Less than six months after their breakup, Ledger died from an accidental prescription drug overdose. He was 28 years old.

The actress further praised her dance pro partner, Ezra Sosa, for being emotionally sensitive while working on the dance’s choreography, which she described as a “transformative” moment.

“He clocked it, and he changed the concept or the way that we thought about the dance in a way that really opened me up, and I’m forever grateful,” she shared.

During the performance, Stiles and Sosa danced to Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” a song Ledger’s 10 Things I Hate About You character, Patrick Verona, famously performed for Stiles’ Kat Stratford while she was at soccer practice.

Close to the end of the dance, Stiles and Ledger’s 10 Things I Hate About You castmates Joseph Gordon Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Gabrielle Union, Susan May Pratt, and Andrew Keegan appeared on stage.

The ballroom gets personal as the 10 remaining couples take to the dance floor to deliver heartfelt performances honoring the influential people and places that have shaped their lives. Guest judge Kym Johnson returns to offer her expert insights. TUESDAY, OCT. 20 (8:00-10:01 p.m. EDT) on ABC. (Disney/Ser Baffo) ANDREW KEEGAN, SUSAN MAY PRATT, JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT, JULIA STILES, LARISA OLEYNIK, GABRIELLE UNION (Photo by Ser Baffo/Disney via Getty Images)

Just before the performance, Stiles opened up to PEOPLE about what the show’s Dedication Night meant to her.

“I know from watching the show how emotional Dedication Night is. It’s always very personal stories. But I thought, ‘Oh, I’m distanced enough from it. The movie was so many years ago,’” she explained. “But something about watching clips from that movie, seeing our pictures, hearing our voices is bringing up a lot.”