Julia Stiles is paying tribute to her late "10 Things I Hate About You" costar Heath Ledger.
The "Save the Last Dance" alum honored the late actor, who died in 2008, during her performance on "Dancing with the Stars" for Dedication Night on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
"I learned so much from Heath. He was so authentic," Stiles said, recalling their time making the beloved film. "It was so easy with him."
Stiles and partner Ezra Sosa performed a contemporary routine to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli, dedicated to Ledger. The performance was stripped down, with a barefoot Stiles on a stage surrounded by candles. Wearing a flowing blue dress, Stiles was swept and spun around the dance floor before taking a rose and watching the famed climactic
scene from "10 Things I Hate About You." In the film, Stiles' Kat reads an emotional poem aloud, listing things she pretends to hate about Ledger's character, Patrick.
Cast members from the movie, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan and Susan May Pratt, reunited on center stage for the tribute. Stiles grew emotional.
"A wonderful tribute. Well done," judge Bruno Tonioli said.
Carrie Ann Inaba cried as well, calling the dance an "expression of the soul" and saying, "That was so healing."
"This performance will last forever," Derek Hough said.
"This was so nostalgic," guest judge and dancer Kym Johnson added. "It was a gorgeous dedication to him."
The pair received a score of 36 out of 40, their best scores yet.
The 1999 teen rom-com was Stiles, Ledger and Gordon-Levitt's breakthrough roles. Stiles went on to star in "Save the Last Dance," which received its own mini-reunion the week prior, "Dexter" and the Bourne franchise. Ledger went on to star in "Brokeback Mountain," "I'm Not There" and "The Dark Knight," for which he won an Oscar posthumously.
Ledger died from an accidental drug overdose. He was 28.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Julia Stiles pays tribute to Heath Ledger on 'Dancing with the Stars'
