Julia Stiles exclusively told E! News what it was like working with the late Heath Ledger while filming 10 Things I Hate About You, saying he was “such a bright light” on set of the 1998 teen comedy. 

Julia Stiles is sharing 10 things she loves about the late Heath Ledger. 

The Save the Last Dance star detailed why she got along so well with her 10 Things I Hate About You costar 26 years after the film’s release.

“He was amazing,” Julia exclusively told E! News’ Francesca Amiker. “He was such a bright light.”

The 43-year-old went on to note that she and all her costars on the 1998 film—including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Andrew Keegan and Larisa Oleynik—had “such a good time and were close on that set,” but she recalled Heath having a particularly special presence. As Julia put it, “He just walked into the room and lit it up.”

And considering 10 Things I Hate About You was Julia’s first-ever starring role in a feature film, she was especially grateful for her close connection with the Dark Knight actor, who died in 2008 at the age of 28. 

“He was very kind and generous to me,” the Bourne Ultimatum actress explained, “which you know, when you’re an actress in your first leading role in a big studio movie, you need to feel comfortable with the other person. And he was very generous that way.”

“The scene where I read the poem, I did not expect to start crying or tearing up or choking up, whatever,” Julia recalled. “But it just happened because it was the movie was coming to an end, the production was coming to an end. And I think I was just so moved by the whole experience.” 

And time has only shown Julia that audiences agree. In fact, the Wish You Were Here director is constantly amazed at how many people from younger generations have seen the ’90s classic. 

“I’m so happy and thrilled that people are still talking about that movie,” Julia previously told E! News. “It was really important to me as my first big role as an actress. It was a part that really spoke to me. And so, to know that audiences are still talking about it 25 years later is what you dream of as a performer.”

Julia’s directorial debut Wish You Were Here, starring Isabelle Fuhrman and Mena Massoud, is set to be released in select theaters on Jan. 17. 

Source: www.eonline.com