Julia Stiles Shares How Her Husband and Kids Are Supporting Her After Being Cast in ‘Dancing with the Stars’

The actress is stepping out of character for the first time in her career, ditching scripts for sequins as she gears up for the beloved dance competition. This time, there's no role to hide behind — "just Julia."

Julia Stiles is getting ready to step back onto the dance floor, and she has all the support she needs.

Julia Stiles attends Night Two of the 78th Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 6, 2026. | Source: Getty Images

The "Save the Last Dance" star was among the newest cast members announced for "Dancing with the Stars" and will be partnering with professional dancer Ezra Sosa.

Twenty-five years after showing off her dancing chops in the 2001 cult classic, she'll once again be performing for millions of viewers.

For now, though, her husband Preston Cook and their three children — Strummer, 8, Arlo, 4, and a baby welcomed in 2023 — remain her primary audience.

"They see me dance every day and every night in my kitchen and in the living room," Stiles told E! News of her children after her casting for DWTS' season 35 was announced last week. "They're like, 'Oh there goes Mommy again.'"

Her kids have even taken on the role of stand-in dance partners when Sosa isn't around. "Sometimes I pick them up and I'm actually practicing the dance holding them," the actress added. "And my husband will just stand there and I kind of twirl around him."

Despite her onscreen dancing experience as Sara in "Save the Last Dance," Stiles admitted that competing on DWTS presents an entirely different challenge.

"But," she affirmed, "I am ready."