Julia Stiles just warmed our hearts all over again 26 years later.
The Save The Last Dance star has appeared in all kinds of memorable movies over her three full decades in the spotlight. But arguably none of ’em have had quite the lasting impression like her role as the leading lady in 10 Things I Hate About You, which hit theaters 26 years ago.
Hard to believe it’s been that long since we saw Julia lead the memorable rom-com opposite Heath Ledger. And it’s even harder to believe that Ledger will have been dead for exactly 17 years as of next Wednesday. That is still so, so sad…
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In a new interview published by E! News on Thursday night, Stiles opened up about her experiences on set with the late hunky Hollywood star. Even so many years after the movie was filmed, Julia can still recall just how electric Heath was on set:
“He was amazing. He was such a bright light.”
The 43-year-old told the outlet that she “such a good time and [was] close on that set” with all of her co-stars in the 1998 film — including Gabrielle Union, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, and Andrew Keegan. But it was Heath more than anyone else who had a special aura:
“He just walked into the room and lit it up.”
Wow.
The admiration Stiles had for Ledger went much deeper than just marveling at his presence, though. Specifically, the Dark Knight actor — who died back in 2008 at just 28 years old — made Julia feel safe and comfortable on the set of what was her first leading role in a major motion picture. The Bourne Ultimatum actress recalled:
“He was very kind and generous to me. Which you know, when you’re an actress in your first leading role in a big studio movie, you need to feel comfortable with the other person. And he was very generous that way.”
So touching…
Julia also recalled which scenes were the most memorable to film during the movie’s production up in Seattle. The most enjoyable outing, by far, was the “really, really fun” paintball date that her character Kat Stratford had with Heath’s character Patrick Verona.
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And the most emotional scene was that iconic moment when Kat read the movie’s titular poem aloud in class (as pictured above) because it made Stiles unexpectedly cry! She remembered:
“The scene where I read the poem, I did not expect to start crying or tearing up or choking up, whatever. But it just happened because it was the movie was coming to an end, the production was coming to an end. And I think I was just so moved by the whole experience.”
Wow. Clearly, that was a very formative experience for the actress in several different ways.
And we are so heartened to hear that she still holds Heath’s memory so close and dear from their time on set together. Even after all these years…
[Image via Touchstone Pictures/YouTube]
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