Julia Stiles is looking forward to taking on a new challenge on "Dancing with the Stars".
The actress, 45, will be competing with pro partner Ezra Sosa for the show's upcoming 35th season, which premieres Tuesday, Sept. 15. After the full cast announcement on the Sept. 2 episode
of "Good Morning America," Stiles opened up to USA TODAY about her decision to step into the ballroom and teased how rehearsals are going so far."I just can't resist a challenge," she says. "I like getting out of my comfort zone – it's how we grow. This is a dream come true. I absolutely love this show, and I can't believe I'm here."
Sosa, 25, notes he feels "so
lucky and honored to be able to give this experience to someone who's such a big fan of the show," especially because the "10 Things I Hate About You" star is someone he admires.
"Even today, there was a video of her seeing her intro to the show, and I'm just seeing someone's dream come true, and the fact that that some person is Julia Stiles, it's just unreal," he continues.
Stiles also says she's already making progress in rehearsals – during which their warm-up song of choice is Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell" – and jokes that "there's no injuries, other than occasionally for a minute to my heart when I mess up."
Her favorite part, she adds, is "when I just focus on the steps, and when I feel like 'Oh, now I'm kind of understanding the choreography and not trying to figure out what comes next, but I can feel it in my body.' I love it."
Stiles' casting sparked excitement among both fans and some of her famous friends – including Kerry Washington and Sean Patrick Thomas, her former costars from "Save the Last Dance," which marked its 25th anniversary this year.
"I have known since our days on set for 'Save the Last Dance' that you truly know your way around the dance floor, but now the whole world gets to see you in action," Washington, 49, said in a video message to Stiles played on "GMA."
"Honestly, the competition better watch out, because I know that you have some slammin' moves up your sleeves," the "Scandal" alum continued.
In Thomas' video, he congratulated Stiles with a reference to the 2001 film's storyline: "I had a front-row seat the last time you undertook a similar challenge in 'Save the Last Dance,' and from what I remember, you got into Juilliard, so I know you're gonna kill it."
Stiles later told the "GMA" hosts that she has been "truly obsessed" with the competition series "for over a decade."
"It's my Tuesday Night Football," she said, adding: "It's been a secret dream of mine to be here, and I was always just too scared to say yes, until now."
"Dancing with the Stars" premieres Tuesday, Sept. 15, on ABC and Disney+ at 8 p.m., and will be available to stream the next day on Hulu.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Julia Stiles was 'too scared' to join 'Dancing with the Stars.' Why she said yes
