Julia Stiles and the '10 Things I Hate About You' Cast Reunite on DWTS to Honour Heath Ledger

Few moments from late-1990s cinema are as instantly recognisable as Heath Ledger's Patrick Verona sprinting across the concrete bleachers of Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington, microphone in hand, serenading Julia Stiles's Kat Stratford with Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" backed by a marching band. On 20 October 2026, that signature piece of film history took centre stage on ABC and Disney+'s Dancing with the Stars during the series' annual Dedication Night, bringing together Stiles and her original 10 Things I Hate About You castmates for an emotional tribute to Ledger, who died in January 2008 aged 28.

Inside the Dancing with the Stars Dedication Night Reunion

As reported by Variety, Deadline, and Radio Times, the tribute brought together six principal members of Gil Junger's 1999 romantic comedy:

• Julia Stiles (Kat Stratford), who performed on the ballroom floor and visibly fought back tears as the routine concluded.
• Larisa Oleynik (Bianca Stratford), Andrew Keegan (Joey Donner), and Susan May Pratt (Mandella), who joined Stiles in the ballroom to celebrate the film's legacy and remember Ledger.
• Gabrielle Union (Chastity Church) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Cameron James), who participated in the reunion tribute honouring their former co-star.

Choreographed to "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", the performance deliberately echoed Ledger's fearless, charismatic screen presence—the very quality that turned what could have been a disposable teen comedy beat into one of the most rewatched romantic scenes of its era. During the rehearsal package and post-dance reflections, Stiles spoke candidly about Ledger's generosity as a scene partner when both actors were still teenagers at the beginning of their Hollywood careers.

Why 10 Things I Hate About You Still Resonates 27 Years Later

Released in March 1999 at the height of Hollywood's cycle of classic-literature teen adaptations—alongside Clueless (1995, adapting Jane Austen's Emma) and Cruel Intentions (1999, adapting Les Liaisons dangereuses)—10 Things I Hate About You transposed William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew to a Pacific Northwest secondary school. Written by Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith, the screenplay avoided the misogynistic pitfalls of its Elizabethan source material by giving Kat Stratford the film's moral and emotional centre.

Two performances in particular ensured the film's longevity across DVD, broadcast repeats, and modern streaming on Disney+ UK:

1. Heath Ledger's Breakout Turn: Before Brokeback Mountain (2005) and his Academy Award-winning performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008), 10 Things I Hate About You was Ledger's first major American studio lead. Rather than playing Patrick Verona as a one-note rebellious cliché, Ledger brought warmth, self-effacing humour, and genuine vulnerability to the role.

2. Julia Stiles's Sonnet Scene: Stiles's tearful classroom reading of Kat's "10 Things" poem—an unscripted emotional take captured on the first roll of the camera—gave the film an emotional honesty that continues to connect with new generations discovering the film on streaming platforms.

How Nostalgia Events Connect Linear Television and Streaming Libraries

From an industry perspective, the Dancing with the Stars reunion illustrates how live network entertainment shows use shared film nostalgia to create cross-generational appointment moments. For Disney—which distributes Dancing with the Stars across ABC and Disney+ while also holding the studio library rights to Touchstone Pictures' 10 Things I Hate About You on Disney+ worldwide—a viral reunion tribute serves a dual purpose: it delivers an emotional live television highlight for weeknight viewers while driving immediate catalogue rediscovery of the 1999 film across global streaming queues.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which 10 Things I Hate About You cast members took part in the reunion?

Julia Stiles was joined by co-stars Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, Susan May Pratt, Gabrielle Union, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to honour the late Heath Ledger during Dancing with the Stars Dedication Night, as confirmed by Deadline and Variety.

What song was used for the Heath Ledger tribute dance?

The routine was performed to Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", the song Heath Ledger's character Patrick Verona famously sang in the school stadium bleachers in the 1999 film.

Where can UK viewers watch 10 Things I Hate About You?

In the UK, the original 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You is available to stream on Disney+ and to rent or purchase across major digital storefronts including Apple TV and Prime Video.

Why was the 10 Things I Hate About You stadium scene so famous?

In Gil Junger's 1999 film, Heath Ledger's character Patrick Verona bribes the high-school marching band to accompany him as he sings Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" across the stadium bleachers of Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington—a sequence that became the defining romantic gesture of late-1990s teen cinema.

Key Takeaways

• Full Cast Tribute: Julia Stiles reunited with Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, Susan May Pratt, Gabrielle Union, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Dancing with the Stars Dedication Night (October 2026).
• Honouring Heath Ledger: The ballroom performance was set to Frankie Valli's "Can't Take My Eyes Off You", paying direct homage to Ledger's iconic 1999 bleachers serenade.
• Enduring Streaming Legacy: Available on Disney+ in the UK, 10 Things I Hate About You remains a benchmark of 1990s literary teen adaptations twenty-seven years after its theatrical release.