For millions who grew up watching late-1990s and early-2000s movies, seeing Julia Stiles walk onto the Dancing with the Stars ballroom felt like watching a familiar face from another era suddenly step into an entirely new chapter.
At 45, the actress best remembered by many viewers as Kat Stratford in 10 Things I Hate About You and Sara Johnson in Save the Last Dance made her Season 35 debut on September 16. Beside her was professional partner Ezra Sosa, and waiting for them was a song carrying far more emotion than either had initially expected: Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” (ABC News)
The performance earned Stiles and Sosa an 18 out of 30 from the judges. Online, however, some viewers were already looking much further ahead, talking excitedly about Stiles as someone they wanted to see continue deep into the competition.
The Song Became Much More Emotional Than Originally Planned
The premise of premiere week sounded simple: contestants would dance to a No. 1 song from the year they were born.
Stiles was born in 1981, which gave her a particularly memorable choice — Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5.” (People.com)
But what began as a nostalgic song selection changed after Parton’s death on August 25.
During her rehearsal package, Stiles revealed an extraordinary detail: Parton had personally approved the use of the song only weeks before her death.
“It was only a couple weeks before Dolly passed that she approved this song specifically for me,” Stiles said. (Rolling Stone Australia)
Suddenly, Stiles wasn’t merely dancing to one of the biggest songs from her birth year. Her first ballroom performance had become a tribute to the woman who had personally given her blessing for it.
For Stiles, that made getting the dance right even more meaningful.
Then Julia and Ezra Stepped Onto the Ballroom Floor
Stiles and Sosa performed a quickstep, with the actress exchanging her familiar movie-set environment for the unforgiving immediacy of live ballroom television.
There were no second takes.
No editing.
No chance to stop and begin again.
And when it ended, the judges saw plenty to encourage.
Derek Hough praised Stiles’ debut, while the panel also pointed toward areas where she could become stronger as the competition progresses, particularly by bringing even more energy into future routines. The three judges ultimately each awarded the couple a six, producing a total score of 18/30. (People.com)
It wasn’t the highest score of the evening.
But for Stiles, it was a beginning.
Afterward, She Barely Remembered What Had Happened
Once Stiles left the ballroom, she admitted that the experience had been almost surreal.
Speaking to E! News after the September 16 episode, she described performing live as “a little bit of an out of body experience.”
She had spent so much time rehearsing and concentrating on remaining present that once the dance was finished, she found herself wondering what had just happened. (E! Online)
It was a surprisingly vulnerable admission from someone who has spent most of her life performing.
But ballroom dancing is different.
Stiles may have decades of experience acting in front of cameras, yet DWTS asks contestants to master a technical skill while millions of people watch them perform it live.
And there is another reason viewers already associate Stiles with dancing.
For a Generation, Julia Stiles Will Always Be the Girl From ‘Save the Last Dance’
Long before Dancing with the Stars, Stiles was already connected to one of the most recognizable dance movies of her generation.
In 2001’s Save the Last Dance, she played Sara, an aspiring ballet dancer whose life changes after she moves to Chicago and becomes immersed in a different world of dance.
The movie became a major box-office success and cemented Stiles as one of the defining young actresses of the era.
But performing choreography for a movie and competing in ballroom dancing are very different experiences.
Stiles herself has pushed back against the assumption that her movie background automatically makes her an experienced ballroom dancer. On DWTS, she is learning technique from the beginning alongside Sosa. (The US Sun)
Still, seeing her dancing again inevitably created a wave of nostalgia.
From Kat Stratford to the Ballroom
Stiles’ career stretches far beyond Save the Last Dance.
Her breakout role came as Kat Stratford opposite Heath Ledger in the 1999 romantic comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. She followed it with movies including Down to You, Mona Lisa Smile and the Bourne franchise, eventually moving into television, directing and producing as well. (ABC News)
In 2025, she made her feature directorial debut with Wish You Were Here.
That makes her appearance on Dancing with the Stars particularly unexpected.
She isn’t returning to recreate a movie role.
She’s putting herself in the uncomfortable position of being a beginner again.
One Old Comment About Her Dancing Had Stayed With Her
There was also another little piece of motivation lurking behind Stiles’ first performance.
During her premiere package, Stiles addressed an old remark from Andy Cohen, who had previously said she was “not the greatest dancer.”
Apparently, she remembered it.
After her quickstep, Derek Hough even referenced Cohen’s remark while praising her performance. Cohen subsequently responded and acknowledged that he wasn’t exactly qualified to be judging anyone’s dancing. (The US Sun)
It added another layer to Stiles’ debut.
The actress who had spent years being associated with a famous dance movie was now getting the opportunity to show audiences what she could actually do in a live dance competition.
Fans Are Already Looking Toward the Mirrorball
One performance obviously cannot determine an entire season.
Stiles and Sosa’s 18/30 also showed that the judges believe there is room for the partnership to develop. The technical demands will increase, the routines will change, and viewer voting will become increasingly important as the field gets smaller. (People.com)
But that hasn’t stopped enthusiastic viewers from imagining Stiles and Sosa holding the Mirrorball Trophy at the end.
For longtime fans, there is something irresistibly nostalgic about it.
The actress they watched dancing across movie screens more than two decades ago is now standing under the ballroom lights, learning new choreography in real time.
And this time, there is no script telling anyone how the story ends.
Dolly Parton Had Given Her Blessing
That may ultimately be the detail that makes Stiles’ first dance particularly memorable.
Weeks before her death, Dolly Parton had personally approved “9 to 5” for the performance. (People.com)
Stiles entered rehearsals expecting to dance to an iconic song from the year she was born.
By the time she stepped onto the ballroom floor, she was carrying something much more meaningful.
Her score was 18.
The judges saw areas to improve.
Fans saw potential.
But underneath all of that was a tribute Stiles never expected her first DWTS performance to become.
For one night, the ballroom brought together two different pieces of Julia Stiles’ story: the young actress remembered for a generation of nostalgic movies and the 45-year-old woman willing to stand beneath live television lights and learn something completely new.
Whether a Mirrorball eventually enters that story remains unknown.
But her first dance already gave longtime fans something they hadn’t seen in years: Julia Stiles back on a dance floor — this time as herself.
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