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Joseph Gordon-Levitt almost passed on starring in 10 Things I Hate About You, claiming it didn’t fit with his desire to act in serious roles. The 1999 high school film directed by Gil Junger follows Cameron - played by Gordon-Levitt - a new student who is smitten over Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), a girl in his class. When Cameron discovers Bianca isn’t allowed to date until Kat (Julia Stiles) - her ill-tempered older sister - does, Cameron attempts to get a local bad boy Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger) to help him out by wooing the older sibling. The film is a retelling of William Shakespeare’s Taming of Shrew.
Gordon-Levitt was 18 at the time of the movie, which was his ninth performance in a feature film. Since then, the now 39-year-old star has appeared in a variety of roles, ranging from gritty crime dramas such as The Dark Knight Rises to black comedy/dramas including 50/50. One of his more popular roles was in the 2009 romantic comedy 500 Days of Summer. It’s possible the latter would have never happened if Gordon-Levitt didn’t take on the role of Cameron in 10 Things I Hate About You.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Gordon-Levitt admitted that he almost passed on 10 Things I Hate About You, claiming that he “wasn’t sold” on the script and only wanted to act in “serious” films compared to high school romantic comedies. He thought the script was cheesy and didn’t make sense. Gordon-Levitt said:
That’s all I wanted to do when I was that age. I was going to arthouse cinemas and watching movies coming from Sundance. Watching Sling Blade and Reservoir Dogs and Soderbergh and Tarantino. That’s what I wanted to do. And 10 Things I Hate About You came around and I was like, ‘Nah. No.’
His mindset about the film changed, though, after his agent and others in his life convinced him to give it a crack. Gordon-Levitt then auditioned for two parts: Cameron, and Cameron’s quirky friend, Michael, who was eventually played by David Krumholtz. Gordon-Levitt even admitted that the latter was the role he preferred, which makes sense since it has slightly more material to work with than the lovesick Cameron. When all was said and done, though, he explained he was lucky to have accepted the role, not only because the film has held up two decades later, but because of the friendships he developed with the rest of the cast. It’s good to know Gordon-Levitt looks back on the film as fondly as its many fans, even if he wasn’t initially wooed by it.
Ultimately, 10 Things I Hate About You became a launching point for the careers of not only Gordon-Levitt, but also Stiles and the late Ledger - the latter of whom also appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, albeit in a different installment than Gordon-Levitt. Who knows who would have played the anxious and lovestruck Cameron if Gordon-Levitt decided to pass on the role. Maybe Jonathan Taylor Thomas or Ben Savage - both also around 18 years old in 1999 - could have done it. Odds are, though, the 10 Things I Hate About You legacy changes dramatically if Gordon-Levitt passed it up.
Source: Vanity Fair