Julia Stiles reunited with her Save the Last Dance co-star Sean Patrick Thomas during a nostalgic appearance on the US dance competition Dancing With the Stars, recreating the routine that made the 2001 film a favourite among a generation of viewers.
Stiles and professional partner Ezra Sosa performed a hip-hop and jazz routine to Jennifer Lopez’s Jenny From the Block during the show’s Super Bowl Night.
The performance echoed the film’s climactic Juilliard audition, with Stiles beginning in a chair before combining ballet and hip-hop movements in tribute to her character, Sara Johnson.
Midway through the routine, Sosa stepped aside to give Stiles the spotlight. The camera then showed Thomas standing with Stiles’s professional partner, before Thomas nodded his approval at his former co-star in a recreation of a memorable moment from the film.
Stiles became emotional after the performance and described the reunion as a “full circle” moment.
“Oh my god. I seriously have been wanting a do-over on that movie for 25 years, and I never knew that I would get it on my favourite TV show on the planet!” she said. “I loved every minute of it.”
Save the Last Dance follows Sara, a grieving ballerina who moves to a Chicago high school and falls for Derek Reynolds, a classmate who helps her combine ballet with hip-hop as she prepares to audition for the prestigious Juilliard performing arts school.
The film grossed more than 130 million dollars worldwide and helped propel Stiles to international fame. Its cast included Kerry Washington, Bianca Lawson, Terry Kinney and rapper Fredro Starr, whose careers later took markedly different paths.
Julia Stiles and Sean Patrick Thomas
Stiles, now 45, went on to appear in the Bourne series and in Silver Linings Playbook, alongside Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.
She later starred in Sky Original’s Riviera and made her feature directing debut with Wish You Were Here. Stiles married Preston J Cook in 2017 and has two children, Strummer and Arlo.
Thomas, now 55, played Derek, Sara’s dance teacher and love interest. He built a substantial television career after the film, appearing in Vixen, General V, Reaper and The Good Fight.
He also appeared in the Barbershop films and received praise for his performance as Gene Mobley in the 2022 drama Till. More recently, he played Professor Chadwick in the television adaptation of Cruel Intentions.
Thomas married actress Aonika Laurent in 2006, and they have two children.
From Save the Last Dance to Scandal
Washington, now 49, played Chenille, Sara’s best friend. She later became a leading television star as Olivia Pope in Scandal, earning two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination for the role.
Her other credits include Django Unchained, American Son and Little Fires Everywhere. She also starred opposite Ben Affleck in the thriller Animals and hosts the podcast series Street You Grew Up On.
In 2016, Washington launched the production company Simpson Street. Its first project was the HBO film Confirmation, and she has since directed episodes of Insecure and SMILF.
Washington has spoken publicly about her mental health and an eating disorder. She discussed binge eating in a 2020 interview and wrote about the disorder in her 2023 memoir, Thicker Than Water.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, she said it was a mental health crisis and suicidal thoughts that led her to seek treatment.
Washington married former NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha in 2013. They have a daughter and a son, and she is also stepmother to Asomugha’s daughter from a previous relationship.
Bianca Lawson and Terry Kinney
Lawson, now 47, played Nikki, Derek’s jealous former girlfriend. She later became a familiar face in supernatural and teen television, appearing as Emily Bennett in The Vampire Diaries and Darla Sutton in Queen Sugar.
Her other credits include Teen Wolf, Rogue and Good Behaviour. She also played Maya St Germain in Pretty Little Liars, despite being 33 when she completed the role of the teenager.
Lawson has attributed her youthful appearance partly to keeping her skincare regime simple, saying she had used the same products since high school.
Kinney, now 72, played Roy Johnson, Sara’s jazz-musician father. He continued working as both an actor and theatre director, remaining widely known for his role as Tim McManus in HBO’s prison drama Oz.
He later appeared as Hall in Billions, as well as in the mini-series Inventing Anna and the mystery thriller The Watcher.
Kinney is also a co-founder of Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which he established with Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry. He has directed productions for the company, including Another Marriage.
Fredro Starr’s career in acting and music
Fredro Starr, now 55, played Malakai, Derek’s close but troubled childhood friend. One of his best-known later acting roles was Marquis, a Barksdale enforcer, in HBO’s The Wire.
He also hosted and co-presented Dance 360, and appeared in films including Torque, My Brother, Equal Standard and The Tunnel.
Starr released his solo rap album Firestarr shortly after Save the Last Dance premiered and continued performing with the hardcore hip-hop group Onyx.
He performed the film’s theme song, Shining Through, and wrote Last Dayz, which featured on the soundtrack to Eminem’s 2002 film 8 Mile. Starr married model Korina Longin in 2007, and they have two sons.
