Julia Stiles unscripted tears 10 Things I Hate About You

by Professional Portal ☀️: Julia Stiles

Julia Stiles did not have a script instruction to cry during the famous poem scene in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). The tears that fell were completely real. She became genuinely overwhelmed while reciting Kat’s poem directly to Heath Ledger. Stiles later revealed that her delivery was totally flat when she first read it at the table read. But by the time they filmed the actual scene, production on the movie was wrapping up. She felt swamped with emotion because she loved the cast and cherished the entire experience. Her cracking voice and the tears were authentic reactions in the moment. Director Gil Junger was riding the camera dolly right next to her to get the shot. He started crying too, struggling to stay quiet so he would not ruin the take. Unfortunately, a squeaky wheel on that camera dolly ruined the live audio recorded on set. Because of that noise issue, Stiles had to go into a post-production sound booth months later. She worked to recreate the exact sound of her crying to match the visual performance we see on screen.