Julia Stiles Teases “Really Special” Tribute to Heath Ledger for DWTS’ Dedication Night

“It was really, really, really special, and we’re going to capture that in our performance,” Stiles recalled in a recent livestream reshared on TikTok. “It’s gonna be a lot. It’s a great song, and he was amazing in that scene. So, we’re gonna bring it for you guys.”

The Save the Last Dance actress—mom to kids Strummer, 8, Arlo, 4, and a 2-year-old with husband Preston Cook—emphasized that she and Sosa will be balancing the grief of Ledger’s 2008 death at age 28 with the beauty of that dance scene.

“It was important to me that, in the music and in the dance, that we have a somber tribute to him because obviously he’s passed away and he’s no longer with us,” she explained, “but also that scene brings so much joy to people.”

“His energy in it,” she continued, “I wanted to have musically and in terms of the choreography. We want to have the joyful celebration of when he was around.”