Julia Stiles wasn’t scripted to cry in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)—the tears were real. She became genuinely overwhelmed while reciting Kat’s poem to Heath Ledger. Stiles revealed that she read the poem completely flat during the table read. When they filmed the scene, the movie was wrapping up, and she felt overwhelmed because she loved the cast and the experience. The cracking voice and tears were completely genuine. Director Gil Junger was riding the camera dolly close to her and started crying himself while trying to stay quiet so he would not ruin the take. Because a squeaky camera dolly ruined the live audio on set, Stiles had to recreate the exact sound of her crying months later in a post-production sound booth.