Julia Stiles Praises Heath Ledger’s “Fearlessness”

Beloved performer Julia Stiles is still keeping busy with romance projects in Hollywood, but this latest one sees her behind the camera as screenwriter and feature film director for the first time. Fans know Stiles from great titles like Save the Last Dance, the Jason Bourne franchise, State and Main, Dexter, and Hustlers, but the public might know her best from the 1999 classic, 10 Things I Hate About You. Yes, it’s hard to believe that it’s been more than 25 years since that rom-rom was released, just like it’s hard to believe that it’s been 17 years since the death of Stiles’ co-star in that film, Heath Ledger. The late Oscar-winner starred as her bad-boy love interest, a budding romance we all rooted for.

MovieWeb recently caught up with Stiles while she was promoting her directorial debut Wish You Were Here, and she generously reflected on her time with him and what she admired most about Ledger’s work as a performer. “Probably his fearlessness,” she told us. “He just poured himself into that role in particular — I mean, all of his roles, but that role in particular because it was the first time I had seen him.” She continued:

“I just remember that stadium scene being like — the reaction that you see on my face is like a genuine reaction because I didn’t expect this. Like, he was just so gung-ho about that spectacle in that song. He was such a force, you know? He was very, very, very magnetic, and walked into a room and just drew everybody in.”

Related: Julia Stiles Reconnected with Her Bourne Identity Director for Her Own Feature Debut

Where Would Kat Stratford Be Today?

Stiles also weighed in on where she could see her beloved 10 Things I Hate About You character, Kat Stratford, if she were still strutting the streets all these years later. “I hope she’s a lot happier and kind of chilled since she got out of high school,” said Stiles. “She’d either be on a beach in Costa Rica, and she’d own a taco stand and go surfing every day — no screens and no social media, no phones — or, I don’t know, touring with a rock band.”

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And out of all the romance films she has starred in over her decorated career, Stiles still maintains that 10 Things is her all-time favorite: “The fact that people still watch it and talk about it now means so much to me, because that’s what you want as a performer.” Stiles elaborated:

“It was also a role that spoke to me and I was dying to do, because as a 17-year-old auditioning actress, I was a teenager trying to find myself and, you know, facing a lot of criticism, like any actor does. But it was particularly vulnerable because I was so young that finally, when I read 10 Things I Hate About You and the role of Kat, this feisty, outspoken girl that doesn’t care what people think about her, it was so freeing. And I was happy to be a part of it. So the fact that it still has a life is really, really meaningful to me.”

From Lionsgate, Wish You Were Here is now in theaters, just beginning its own life in the world.

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