Julia Stiles Remembers What It Was Like Working With Heath Ledger

Julia Stiles he sings his praises 10 Things I Hate About You the costar Heath Ledger years after his unexpected death.

“He was amazing,” Stiles, 43, said to himself E! News in an interview published on Tuesday, January 14. “He was a bright light.”

While Stiles said that he and all of his co-stars had “such a great time and were so close on that set” of the 1998 film, he recalled that there was something special about Ledger’s collaboration. “He just walked into the room and turned on the light,” she said.

Stiles, who first appeared in the popular romantic drama, said Ledger was “very kind and generous to me.”

“You know, when you’re an actor in your first leading role in a major studio movie, you need to feel comfortable with someone else,” Stiles said. “And he was very generous that way.”

Stiles and Ledger played high school love interests in the film, which also starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Cameron James), Gabrielle Union (Innocence), Allison Janney (Ms. Perky), David Krumholtz (Michael Eckman), Larisa Oleynik (Bianca Stratford), Andrew Keegan (Joey Donner) and Susan May Pratt (Mandela).

Ledger died at the age of 28 in 2008 following an accidental drug overdose. A toxicology report released at the time indicated that Ledger died of “massive intoxication due to the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine.”

While reminiscing about filming with Ledger, Stiles said his character Kat Strafford’s date with Heath’s Patrick Verona was “really fun.” Stiles also noted that the scene where Kat read her poem aloud to the class evoked an emotional response.

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The beloved 10 Things I Hate About You premiered on March 31, 1999, and more than two decades later, fans are still talking about the romantic comedy. Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger played star-crossed couples Kat Stratford and Patrick Verona, respectively. The two fall in love against each other amid the background circumstances […]

“The place I read the poem, I didn’t expect to start crying or sad or choked up,” Stiles recalled. “But it just happened because the film was about to end, the production was about to end. And I think I was very affected by the whole experience. “

In the years following the release of 10 Things I Hate About YouStiles revealed to Us Weekly in 2019 that his memories from the movie are fading.

“I have a lot of great memories from that movie that’s gone because it’s been 20 years,” Stiles said. “But it was a special moment when we were all very happy.”

He added, “It was my first big job and I really loved that industry because I had never seen a girl eat so badly and she just felt refreshing and I was really happy to be a part of it. .”