Julia Stiles surprised the “SNL” audience Saturday night when she joined the show’s Chloe Fineman in a “Save the Last Dance”-themed “Weekend Update” desk piece just in time for the holidays. After Fineman told anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che that Stiles’ film-closing dance is the perfect “sexy gift idea” for the holidays this year, the film’s star popped into the frame to perform the last part of the dance together.
Fineman recounted the plot of the movie to Che and Jost, who asked, “So, does she get into Juilliard?” Stiles then ran onstage and said, “Yes!” to a lengthy round of applause, adding, “Sara did get into Juilliard.” When an incredulous Jost asked, “How?!” she added, “Well, you didn’t see the end of the dance.”
Stiles and Fineman then pulled out two folding chairs and demonstrated the final seconds of the dance that supposedly landed her character a coveted spot in the exclusive performing arts school of her dreams.
The 2001 film was a major hit for Stiles, who had filmed her fan favorite “10 Things I Hate About You” two years prior. While speaking about the movie’s 20th anniversary in 2021, Stiles revealed that learning to dance was “really challenging and really daunting because I’m not a professional dancer.”
“So there was a lot of playing catch-up,” she added. “But it was so fun. And such an awesome opportunity to get to do that kind of rigorous training, and choreography rehearsals.”
Stiles said her character’s physical prowess meant she had to work hard. “I had to bust my butt to get in shape,” she said. “And also, you know, catch up to the level that Sara — or, at least, look like I could catch up to — I could be at the level that Sara was supposed to be at.”
Her role in “10 Things I Hate About You” actually helped her land the “Save the Last Dance” part. She said, “I met Thomas Carter, the director, and he told me that he had seen ’10 Things I Hate About You’ and the dance that Kat does on the pool table when she’s drunk to Biggie Smalls.”
“He saw that and he was like, ‘Oh, you have rhythm.’ So then I screen-tested with Sean (Patrick Thomas). And then another actor who was up for the role. And then they hired me,” Stiles concluded.
