By Page Six | Created at 2026-10-14 15:16:11 | Updated at 2026-10-14 21:10:50
7 hours ago
Julia Stiles’ “Save the Last Dance” co-star Sean Patrick Thomas supported the actress as she honored their 2001 movie on “Dancing with the Stars” Tuesday.
For “Super Bowl Night,” Stiles, 45, and her pro partner, Ezra Sosa, performed a hip-hip inspired jazz routine to Jennifer Lopez’s song “Jenny from the Block,” with some callbacks to Stiles’ moves from the beloved film.
During Stiles’ epic solo part of the dance, Thomas, 55, could be seen in the background over Sosa’s shoulder, holding his jacket just like his character, Derek, does in the movie.
In a clip shared by the ABC show’s Instagram account, Thomas explained he “was over the moon” to be in the audience supporting Stiles.
“We had a great time doing ‘Save the Last Dance’ back in the day, and she brought it all the way back here tonight,” he said.
Stiles and Sosa’s performance got rave reviews from the judges, with Bruno Tonioli declaring it was the pair’s best dance yet.
“That was so great,” said Carrie Ann Inaba. “It’s so wonderful to see you dancing like that with that confidence and that kind of grit, girl.”
Derek Hough invited Stiles over for a hug, before he told the actress, “We all were waiting for that. Were we not?”
“And you did not disappoint,” Hough added. “Your charisma. Your performance. All of it. Wonderful.”
Up in the skybox, Stiles gushed to co-host Juliane Hough that she’s “been wanting to do that for 25 years.”
The judges then gave Stiles and Sosa a 33 out of 40.
Stiles said she was feeling “so good” about the score, while Sosa explained that the actress has “worked so hard” on the dance show.
“I’m just seeing someone live out their dream,” he added, “and it means the world to me.”
Stiles famously played aspiring ballet dancer Sara Johnson in “Save the Last Dance.” Thomas played her on-screen romantic partner.
After the “DWTS” cast was announced last month, Stiles denied that her experience working on the dance film would give her a leg up in the competition.
“I think it’s a bit of a disadvantage,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “To be honest, I stopped taking dance classes after that movie because people expected me to be a great dancer.”
Instead, the “10 Things I Hate About You” star said she’s more of a “home dancer.”
“I love dancing at home, and part of my reason for coming on this show was to find the joy in dance again … find my confidence in dance again,” Stiles explained.
“Making that movie, yeah, it was great training and it was a wonderful opportunity, but I felt very, very self-conscious and kind of tense,” she added. “And I want to let that go.”
“Dancing with the Stars” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams on Disney+.
Welcome to the Page Six Community!
Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas in a safe space.
In order to do so, we've created a simple set of rules that will improve your experience.
Simply put, keep it civil.
Your post will/might be rejected if it contains:
- Spam
- Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language and threats of any kind
- Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
User accounts will/might be blocked if we notice:
- Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
- Racist, sexist, or homophobic comments
- Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
So, how can you be a power user?
- Stay on topic and share your passion. Feel free to elaborate to get your point across.
- 'Like' or 'Dislike' when you are filled with emotions!
- Protect your community. Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.
Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Don't forget, freedom of speech is not the freedom of reach!
