Julia Stiles showed off a teacher as part of a clever distraction technique to help free Heath Ledger from detention in the cult classic 10 Things I Hate About You.
Now, Stiles’ co-star has lifted the lid on the memorable moment as he remembers the late Australian actor, who died in 2008, ahead of the beloved teen rom-com’s 25th anniversary this weekend.
Davis Leisure, 73, played the unsuspecting Mr. Chapin opposite Ledger as bad boy Patrick Verona, who is tasked with trying to woo Stiles’ character Kat Stratford.
Speaking to DailyMail.com, he revealed what really happened when Stiles, then 18, showed him off on set.
David Leisure played Mr. Chapin in 10 Things I Hate About You
Leisure, 73, spoke exclusively to DailyMail.com and confirmed that Stiles ‘didn’t actually show him’
The hit 1999 film 10 Things I Hate About You, starring Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger, is celebrating its 25th anniversary.
“There was nothing to see,” Ocio confirmed. “She was completely encased in a piece of costume that no one saw in the movie.
‘She didn’t actually show me. They wouldn’t do that to a minor on a set, that would be terrible!’
The Empty Nest star also revealed that he got the role because he was willing to take an arrow in the butt.
In the scene in question, Kat’s younger sister Bianca, played by Larisa Oleynik, accidentally shoots an arrow into her butt during archery practice on the school field.
Leisure said the role was originally offered to screenwriter and television producer Don Reo, but he turned it down, telling the director, “I’m not getting an arrow in my butt!”
Leisure said, “It was kind of an afterthought because the director, Gil Junger, was a producer on a lot of TV shows and also the one I was on, so he was in Washington state when they were filming and he said, ‘Hey , you know we have this role in a movie.”
Based on William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew, 10 Things I Hate About You features a handful of standout moments, from Kat serenading Ledger with a rendition of Frankie Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, to the dancing drunk Kat on a table to Mesmerize Notorious BIG.
The cult classic, released on March 31, 1999, catapulted them both to fame, as well as Gabrielle Union, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and David Krumholtz.
Ledger played Patrick Verona, who ends up falling in love with Stiles’ character, Kat Stratford, after being paid to win her affections.
The romantic comedy also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan, Gabrielle Union, David Krumholtz and Susan May Pratt.
Recalling her time on set, Leisure said: “Julia, I didn’t know who she was, but she was very lovely, a very good and talented young woman.
Heath was a new guy too. I mean, it was like his breakout movie and it was so much fun.”
Ledger died in 2008, at age 28, from an accidental drug overdose.
Remembering the Australian star, Leisure said: “It was sad because he was so young and also because he was so talented and so good at what he did.”
‘He evolved into a fantastic actor… at the peak of his career. I mean, here he is at the top, dear, and he had some problems, he had some demons that he couldn’t overcome.’
Daryl Mitchell, who plays Professor Morgan, echoed his sentiments, describing Ledger as a “lovable, fun guy.”
“Let me say this about Heath Ledger,” Mitchell, 58, began. “First of all, he had great parents and Heath was a guy who definitely wasn’t too cocky. His success came from his work, it wasn’t accelerated because he was an internet sensation, he worked, he earned it and he wasn’t full of himself.” .’
The popular teen movie catapulted Stiles and Ledger to worldwide fame.
In one hilarious scene, Bianca, played by Larisa Oleynik, accidentally shoots an arrow into Mr. Chapin’s butt.
Actor Daryl Mitchell plays the role of another teacher, Mr. Morgan.
Speaking about working with Ledger on set, he continued: “All in all, the guy was a really good guy. He was so young and innocent and he was experiencing things in America and then I was telling him things that I do growing up in my neighborhood. ..he was a lovely guy, but funny.’
Referring to his passing, Mitchell added: “That’s why it hurts me so much because you’re sitting there and you’re always left with that, ‘What if?’ What if I could have talked to him?” Because we touch base from time to time.
“That’s the thing, he wasn’t one of those guys who says, ‘Project done, I don’t need to see it anymore,’ he approached me.”
Mitchell added that it was a pleasure to work on the hit film with a group of up-and-coming actors in Hollywood.
“Like the entire cast, we were united,” he said. “That’s another thing, I think the energy of how cool we were, we were united, we shared experiences and everyone was coming into the industry at the same time, so no one had a big head.”
‘We were just having fun; We were in Seattle having a good time…she was great.”
Mitchell, 58, revealed that the cast was “close” and would hang out together after filming.
The cult film is a modernization of William Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew
Heath, pictured here in November 2007, tragically died in January 2008 due to acute poisoning. he was 28
Gil Junger’s modernization of Shakespeare’s classic marked Ledger’s first American film and grossed $60.4 million at the box office upon its release.
Fellow student Joey Donner, played by Andrew Keegan, offers his character Patrick money to date Kat.
Joey is desperate to date Bianca, Kat’s younger sister, but their father Walter (Larry Miller) forbids them from dating boys until they have graduated.
Frustrated by Bianca’s insistence and Kat’s rebelliousness, Walter ends up making a new rule and tells Bianca that she can date someone, but only when Kat does, knowing that Kat’s antisocial attitude will greatly complicate things.
However, Kat ends up falling for Patrick, while Bianca realizes that Joey is shallow and self-absorbed and instead sympathizes with Gordon-Levitt’s Cameron.