Julia Stiles' "Save the Last Dance" Co-Star Sean Patrick Thomas Appears on "Dancing With the Stars"

Julia Stiles' "Save the Last Dance" co-star Sean Patrick Thomas made a surprise appearance to support the actress during her performance on "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday.

For "Super Bowl Night," Stiles, 45, and her professional partner, Ezra Sosa, performed a hip-hop infused jazz routine to Jennifer Lopez's "Jenny from the Block." The performance paid homage to Stiles' iconic role as Sara Johnson in the 2001 film "Save the Last Dance."

During Stiles' solo, Thomas, 55, appeared in the background, holding his jacket in a manner reminiscent of his character, Derek, in the movie. "We had a great time doing 'Save the Last Dance' back in the day, and she brought it all the way back here tonight," Thomas said in a clip shared by the show's Instagram account. He added that he "was over the moon" to be in the audience supporting Stiles.

The judges lauded Stiles and Sosa's performance. Carrie Ann Inaba praised Stiles' confidence and grit, while Derek Hough called it a "wonderful" performance and complimented her charisma.

Stiles and Sosa received a score of 33 out of 40 from the judges. After the performance, Stiles expressed her satisfaction with the score, while Sosa commented on her hard work and dedication. "I’m just seeing someone live out their dream, and it means the world to me," he said.

Stiles had previously expressed that her experience filming "Save the Last Dance" might be a disadvantage on "Dancing With the Stars." "To be honest, I stopped taking dance classes after that movie because people expected me to be a great dancer," she told Entertainment Weekly. "I want to find the joy in dance again... find my confidence in dance again."

"Dancing With the Stars" airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and streams on Disney+.