Which ’10 Things I Hate About You’ castmates dated during filming?
Twenty-two years ago, 10 Things I Hate About You brought audiences one of the best teen dramedies of the 1990s. 10 Things gave teens a revamped telling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, falling in line with the era’s trend 1996’s Romeo + Juliet kicked off and 2001’s O & Get Over It wrapped up. However, 10 Things I Hate About You did more than fit the Shakespeare reboot fad: the film gave audiences a home run.
Fans still fawn over 10 Things I Hate About You, from the jokes, to the killer soundtrack, to the heart-wrenching performances by Julia Stiles and the late great Heath Ledger. 10 Things I Hate About You proved it lasted the test of time this week, when publications across the board reported behind-the-scenes romance on set of the film, as if the movie dropped yesterday.
So what’s the new news with the film? 10 Things I Hate About You dropped over two decades ago, but we’re talking about the modern classic today for Hollywood’s evergreen subject of interest: celebrity romance. Publications reported this week that there was some serious behind-the-scenes dating going on in 10 Things I Hate About You, but the stars everyone’s talking about aren’t who you’d expect.
Chemistry
Julia Stiles & Heath Ledger have some serious on-screen chemistry in 10 Things I Hate About You, but we learned this week the real chemistry during the production of the film was between Julia Stiles & Joseph Gordon-Levitt (gasp!).
People reported this week that 10 Things I Hate About You director Gil Junger said Julia Stiles & JGL dated during the production of the movie back in 1999. If you’re a fan of 10 Things I Hate About You, you know JGL & Stiles barely appear on-screen together – the two have different love interests in the movie, and while Stiles is being chased by Ledger throughout 10 Things, Levitt fawns over Larisa Oleynik.
A minute, or ten
However, Junger revealed in a recent interview to Fede Carestía, an Argentine reporter, Levitt & Stiles dated “for a minute, or ten,” on Carestía’s Spanish-language YouTube channel Mirá a Quién Encontré.
Fans’ minds are blown, especially because Levitt seems so much younger than Stiles in the film, despite the two both being eighteen years old during the time of filming.
The real piping hot tea surrounding the behind-the-scenes romance on 10 Things I Hate About You comes with one of the most iconic scenes in the film. We’re talking about, of course, when Stiles recites her poem to her class and performs the titular line of the film.
Inspiration
Stiles’s performance during the film’s most iconic scene is heart-wrenching, and it’s hard to argue it’s not the single most emotional moment in 10 Things I Hate About You. Stiles professes her love for Ledger in the scene, but Junger says she had someone else in mind during the shoot.
Junger is quoted saying Stiles told the director she was thinking about “that person’s name that she was deeply in love with at the time”. He goes on to clarify, “It wasn’t me, certainly, but it wasn’t Heath either”.
After revealing Stiles was dating JGL at the time, it’s pretty obvious who was the inspiration for one of the film’s most iconic scenes. Junger maintains Stiles’ monologue was one of “the magical performances” he’d captured in his lifetime.
Stiles & Levitt went on to marry Preston Cook & Tasha McCauley respectively in the mid-2000s, but their love is burned on film together thanks to the latest tea from one of their career’s brightest projects.
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