Krumholtz played the lovable Michael Eckman in the 1999 rom-com

NEED TO KNOW

• David Krumholtz said filming in New York prevented him from joining the Los Angeles cast reunion of his hit film 10 Things I Hate About You
• Julia Stiles performed a Dancing with the Stars tribute to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” the song Heath Ledger sang in the 1999 film
• Stiles said she and dance partner Ezra Sosa aimed to honor the late Ledger in an authentic and respectful way

David Krumholtz wants to make it clear that he doesn’t hate his costars, not even a little bit, not even at all. 

The 10 Things I Hate About You star, who played the lovable Michael Eckman in the hit 1999 rom-com, was noticeably absent on Tuesday, Oct. 20, when the cast reunited to cheer on star Julia Stiles on Dancing with the Stars. 

Stiles, 45, performed a moving tribute to the late actor Heath Ledger — her romantic interest in the film who died in 2008 from an accidental prescription drug overdose at age 28 — dancing to Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” which Ledger famously sang in the ‘90s classic. 

At the end of the performance, Stiles placed a single red rose — another callout to the film — on the stage’s steps while looking at an image of herself and Ledger from the movie. Her former costars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gabrielle Union, Larissa Oleynik, Andrew Keegan and Susan May Pratt then entered the dance floor, holding her close. 

Krumholtz explained his absence from the special moment in an Instagram video from the Catskill Mountains in New York on Wednesday, Oct. 21. 

“I’m here shooting a film,” the 48-year-old actor explained. “I could not be in L.A. for Dancing with the Stars last night. I would have loved, loved, loved to have been there. Everyone looked so amazing.”

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Krumholtz praised Stiles’ performance with her dance pro Ezra Sosa, adding, “Julia’s tribute to my dear friend who I miss every single day was amazing and stunning and I’m so proud of her.” 

He went on to joke that while the rest of the cast “looked amazing” and “so young,” he might have dampened the mood, removing his hat to reveal his partially bald head. 

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“It would have been weird because I shaved what’s left of my hair,” he said. “And then it becomes a whole Internet fodder, ‘Oh, look what happened to him!’ I didn’t want that. But that’s not why I wasn’t there. I would have dealt with it.” 

Stiles also gave Krumholtz a pass while speaking with Entertainment Tonight after her performance.

“I have to say for the record, for the record, very important PSA — David Krumholtz, we wanted him here,” Stiles said. “He wanted to be here, but he’s working on an HBO show in New York so there was no way he could fly to Los Angeles.”

Sosa quipped in response, “Diva was booked as divas should be.” 

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Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE after the performance, Stiles shared she felt a “responsibility” while dedicating the dance to Ledger. “I think we both felt a responsibility to be respectful, to honor him in a way that felt authentic and sincere. And we wanted to handle it delicately,” she said.

Dancing with the Stars airs live Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ and streams the next day on Hulu. 

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