Save the Last Dance star Julia Stiles joins DWTS Season 35
Julia Stiles, the Save the Last Dance actress, is joining Dancing With the Stars Season 35, Page Six confirmed. She will compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy when the season premieres Sept. 15 on ABC and Disney+. The full cast will be revealed Sept. 2.
Key Takeaways
- Julia Stiles will compete on Dancing With the Stars Season 35, per Page Six.
- Season 35 premieres Sept. 15 on ABC and Disney+; the full cast is due Sept. 2 on Good Morning America.
- The Save the Last Dance and 10 Things I Hate About You star has previously called DWTS her version of Monday Night Football.
- Confirmed castmates so far include Ciara Miller, Maura Higgins, Jackson Olson and Guillermo Rodriguez.
- Judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli are returning for the new season.
The casting is a major get for the long-running ballroom competition and a full-circle moment for a star forever linked to dance on screen. For more celebrity headlines, follow BlasterPost celebrity breaking news.
Who is Julia Stiles and why does this casting matter?
Stiles broke through in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a defining young Hollywood lead. She is best known for 2001's Save the Last Dance, in which she played Sara, a Juilliard hopeful navigating life and love on Chicago's South Side opposite Sean Patrick Thomas.
She also starred in the 1999 rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You opposite the late Heath Ledger. Other credits from that era include O (2001), Mona Lisa Smile (2003), The Prince & Me (2004) and The Omen (2006).
Stiles later appeared in four films from the Bourne franchise alongside Matt Damon and played Jennifer Lawrence's sister in 2012's Silver Linings Playbook. Putting a proven dance-movie icon on a show built around weekly performances gives Season 35 an instant nostalgia hook.
When does Dancing With the Stars Season 35 premiere?
According to Page Six, Season 35 premieres Sept. 15 on ABC and Disney+. Celebrities will compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
The network's full celebrity and pro cast reveal is scheduled for Sept. 2 on Good Morning America. Page Six said it reached out to ABC about Stiles' casting; the network does not comment on casting rumors.
Already confirmed for the season are Summer House's Ciara Miller, Love Island and The Traitors alum Maura Higgins, Savannah Bananas star Jackson Olson, and Jimmy Kimmel sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez.
Has Julia Stiles talked about doing DWTS before?
Yes. The mother of three previously told People in February 2025 that Dancing With the Stars is her version of Monday Night Football. She said she goes down YouTube rabbit holes of old routines and has favorite choreographers.
She also said there had been talks about her doing the show, but living in New York City would make it hard, and she floated the idea of an East Coast version.
DWTS premiered in 2005 and has seen renewed buzz in recent seasons. Season 34 winner Robert Irwin took the Mirrorball last year, while Alfonso Ribeiro co-hosts with Julianne Hough. Returning judges are Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.