Julia Stiles has reopened a two-decade-old debate about how much of her own dancing actually made it into “Save the Last Dance,” revealing in a viral TikTok that a body double handled most of the film’s more demanding sequences.
The admission surfaced during a social media trend Stiles filmed with her “Dancing with the Stars” Season 35 partner, Ezra Sosa, ahead of their competition debut. As questions flashed on screen, Stiles answered honestly, first clearing up whether she actually attended Juilliard — she did not; that was only true of her character, Sara Johnson. Asked next whether she was a trained dancer, her answer was a flat “Nope,” and when asked if she “only danced for a role,” she agreed. The most striking exchange came when she was asked if the film was “mostly a body double,” to which Stiles simply replied, “Yep.” Dancing with the Stars’ Julia Stiles Reveals She Had a Body Double … +2
The claim marks a notable shift from how Stiles has described her preparation in the past. In an interview with Hollywood.com shortly after the film’s 2001 release, she said she “had to constantly prove” herself as a dancer because she didn’t want to be doubled, explaining that she accepted a double only for pointe ballet work but insisted everything else, including the hip-hop numbers, be performed by her. She has also spoken about the physical toll of that preparation, describing a month and a half of roughly four hours of daily dance training that left her feet blistered, calloused and bruised. Stiles was cast as Sara Johnson after director Thomas Carter saw her dance in a scene from “10 Things I Hate About You,” despite having no formal dance background, and she reportedly trained intensively for the ballet sequences while also rehearsing the film’s hip-hop choreography. All the Secrets You Forgot About Save the Last Dance +3
The discrepancy between her earlier account and the new TikTok claim hasn’t dampened fan reaction. Commenters largely rallied behind the actress, with one writing that there was “no need to explain,” while others called her “iconic” and joked that the backlash over a stand-in only underscores how convincing her original performance was. yahoo
Stiles, now 45, has not danced professionally since the film’s release, according to the TikTok exchange, but is set to compete on Season 35 of “Dancing with the Stars” alongside pro partner Ezra Sosa.