Julia Stiles has pleased fans by recreating her legendary final dance number from 2001’s Save the Last Dance.
The 42-year-old actress appeared as a surprise guest on Saturday Night Live last night, dressed in a recreation of her costume from the film, which she co-starred in with Sean Patrick Thomas as a ballet dancer who has given it all up after her mother is killed in a car accident.
Chloe Fineman appeared on the Weekend Update segment, presented by Colin Jost and Michael Che, to provide advice on “intimate gift ideas for that special someone.”
However, Fineman’s one suggestion turned out to be a reenactment of Stiles’ last dance in the film, when she auditions for Julliard, backed by the original song on the album, Athena Cage’s All or Nothing.
In the episode presented by Adam Driver, Fineman narrates the narrative of Save the Last Dance – with a little help from Che – while busting out her approximation of the actual’street ballet’ steps to the dance.
This also contains a nice homage to everyone’s favourite aspect of the dance, the actual ‘hop’ of ‘hip hop.’ Stiles does as Sara: impeccable attention to detail.
The skit reached its apex, however, when Stiles herself stepped on set, dressed in an identical outfit, to certify that Sara had finally gotten into Julliard, eliciting tremendous yells and applause from the audience.
She and Fineman continued the dance together, executing the section of the performance that everyone recalls taking place on a chair.
‘Would’ve never expected that cameo. Love her,’ commented Kathleen Feliciano on YouTube, while @MichelleLyn84 gushed: ‘Omg that was EPIC!!!!!!!!! So nostalgic I freakin’ love Julia Stiles!!!’
‘This entire segment made me smile so hard I think I pulled a muscle,’ chimed in @allisontangorra1823, while @batguurl called it ‘one of those totally unexpected surprises that turned into a beautiful thing’.
Chloe Fineman doing choreography of Save The Last Dance as a skit on Weekend Update only to have Julia Stiles join her was a great dose of nostalgia 😂😂😂#SNL pic.twitter.com/1nMaGfT9sn
— Wayne R (@WaynieTDot) December 10, 2023
Julia stiles coming on #SNL last night to do the Save the Last Dance final dance number with Chloe Fineman was comedy gold. Hilarious
— Candice Frederick (@ReelTalker) December 10, 2023
Julia Stiles? #snl pic.twitter.com/vzH4MQzHhk
— Ben (@MinnesotaBen) December 10, 2023
STREETS SAYING JULIA STILES ON SNL????? pic.twitter.com/orpBzuhU1D
— alyssa 🦋 (@macdenslut) December 10, 2023
Julia Stiles showing up on #SNL ?!?! THAT WAS AMAZING!!! pic.twitter.com/byMEHx1ZZB
— Katie♡ (@klynnx3) December 10, 2023
Me when Julia Stiles showed up on #SNL tonight. pic.twitter.com/kHMhUGfXUD
— Stephanie Combs (@mrscombs913) December 10, 2023
‘Julia THEEE Stiles! An absolute Queen and good sport. We all love this movie even as ridiculous as it was. Thank you for participating in the sketch,’ praised @mione134, adding: ‘Gotta love when an actress isn’t afraid to be in on the joke.’
‘Dear Hollywood, we love nostalgia and Julia Stiles. Cast her more. Thanks,’ wrote @MrCanceleo underneath the video.
‘No notes. Also I LOVED the massive applause Julia Stiles got,’ tweeted Shannon O’Connor on X (formerly known as Twitter), while @WaynieTDot labelled it ‘a great dose of nostalgia’.
After director Thomas Carter spotted her dance moment in 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You, Stiles landed the lead part in Save the Last Dance, which made over $131 million (£104 million) worldwide on a $13 million (£10 million) budget.
This isn’t the first time this week that the Emmy-nominated actress, who has also acted in Hustlers, Dexter, and ‘s Riviera, has referenced one of her classic films from the late 1990s and early 2000s.
She also recently performed a reading of her character Kat Verona’s ‘hateful’ poetry to Patrick Verona in 10 Things, played by the late Heath Ledger, at the Mash-Up Americans Book Festival in New York City.
The poem includes the lines: ‘I hate the way you’re always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry.’
View this post on Instagram
Stiles became choked up with emotion at the conclusion of her reading, as she had warned before beginning it.
Ledger died in January 2009, at the age of 28, with his and Julia’s film together lasting one of his most popular works, alongside Brokeback Mountain, A Knight’s Tale, and The Dark Knight – for which he got a posthumous Oscar for best supporting actor.
