Julia Stiles honors Heath Ledger in emotional DWTS tribute performance

Julia Stiles honoured her late 10 Things I Hate About You co-star, Heath Ledger, on Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday night.

For Dedication Night, the actress and her professional dance partner, Ezra Sosa, performed a contemporary routine to Frankie Valli's Can't Take My Eyes Off You.

In the 1999 movie, Ledger's character, Patrick Verona, famously serenaded Stiles's Kat Stratford with the 1967 song.

The routine concluded with audio of Stiles reciting the poem she read to Ledger in the teen rom-com. The 45-year-old then gazed at a still of herself and the Australian actor on the set of the film before placing a single rose on a set of steps.

And in a surprise moment, Stiles was joined on the dance floor by her 10 Things I Hate About You co-stars - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, and Susan May Pratt - and they held hands as they emotionally gazed at the image.

"I think what came up for me a lot in this dance was remembering who I was at 17 years old and who I am now," she told the crowd. "And with Ezra's choreography, I remember that Heath just brought out the light in everybody. He was the leader of the pack at the time. And he just made everybody else shine and feel he was always about play. He made us we were we were so playful back then."

The Save the Last Dance actress scored four nines for the heartfelt routine.

Prior to the performance, Sosa reflected on how he and Stiles wanted to honour The Dark Knight star's legacy.

"This isn't about defining a relationship or telling a story that isn't ours to tell. It's about honouring a beautiful moment in time, a film that changed so many lives, and someone whose impact continues to be felt by generations," he mused. "We've poured so much love into this piece, and we're incredibly grateful for the trust placed in us to bring it to life. Our only hope is that it honours his memory with the dignity, love, and respect it deserves."

Ledger died of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 28 in January 2008.