‘DWTS’: Julia Stiles Got Michelle Williams’ Approval for Emotional Heath Ledger Tribute

That emotional tribute to Heath Ledger on Dancing with the Stars came with the blessing of someone who knew him best.

Julia Stiles revealed that she sought Michelle Williams‘ permission before dedicating her Dancing with the Stars performance to her late 10 Things I Hate About You costar Heath Ledger. During the October 20 Dedication Night episode, Stiles and partner Ezra Sosa performed a contemporary routine to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” recreating Ledger’s iconic moment from the 1999 film.

“I did ask Michelle if this was OK, and she said yes,” she told Extra, adding that she couldn’t speak on how Ledger’s family felt about the performance.

“This has been an incredible week. The whole experience has been incredible, but this particular week was very transformative for me,” explained Stiles. “Ezra was an amazing partner because he was very sensitive to what I was going through emotionally. I was bawling the first day of rehearsals because of all the nostalgia and the memories, but also because I…was just bumping up against something. I don’t know. And he saw that. 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.”

Stiles and her partner, Ezra Sosa, performed a contemporary routine to the Frankie Valli song in homage to Ledger’s iconic bleacher scene in the film where he serenades Stiles’ Kat Stratford in an effort to woo her.

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The tribute also featured a surprise reunion with original cast members Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Larisa Oleynik, and Andrew Keegan. Stiles explained that she wanted the entire cast involved rather than just one person representing Ledger and the film.

“When we decided we were going to do the dedication, we needed to have somebody here to sort of represent the movie or represent Heath, and I was like, it has to be the whole cast. Can’t just be one person,” explained Stiles. “It’s got to be everybody. So I called Joey and Lissa, and then Susan and Keegan and everybody, and also the writers — the two female writers of 10 Things were here tonight — so I reached out to them and the web got cast. Everybody said, ‘I’ll do it if everybody else does it.’ And that was it.”

Stiles also talked about Ledger, and what it meant to work with him. “He was just a beacon of light. He  was the leader of the pack of those of us kids, and he was always very playful and made it such a fun set to be on and brought out delight in everyone.”

Ledger died in 2008 at age 28 from an accidental drug overdose.

Next week, the couples face a double elimination as the remaining 10 couples take on Halloween with Horror Movie Night.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+