Many of your roles are pretty headstrong, I’m thinking about 10 Things…

I definitely related to that part a lot – I hadn’t seen a character in pop movies that was that sort of feisty.

And in Save the Last Dance there’s a lot of attitude…

I actually think she was more vulnerable.

Which did you prefer?

I think 10 Things I Hate About You because that was [my] first big job and we all had a lot of fun together and we were so open and not self-conscious.

I remember Heath [Ledger] bringing a digeridoo from Australia which was pretty special. I’d never seen one before. But we had a really good time. It was special because most of the time when you’re on location now actors with more experience tend to come guarded, but this was an occasion where we were all open to one another and unguarded.

The dance movie was great, but it was a lot of work in terms of the dance preparation and I put a lot of pressure on myself. I had a double for some of it but I wanted to do the best I could so that they wouldn’t have to double it, and then ballet is sort of a culture of stress and pressure. I wanted to be good.

Do you remember any of the dance moves?

Sort of, but I don’t do them, and I haven’t been to a single dance class since that movie. I dance in my living room a lot though… The moves are in there somewhere.

Does it feel weird that people are so adoring of these films you did so long ago?

I always think it’s really nice when people are interested in those movies and remember them. You want people to have an audience, you want it to resonate with people – so the fact that they do is pretty special.

Julia Stiles talks women in Hollywood, her favourite teen movie and her controversial baby name