Mira Sorvino Reveals ‘DWTS’ Advice for ‘Romy and Michele’ Costar Elaine Hendrix (Exclusive)

Mira Sorvino is revealing the advice she gave her Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion costar Elaine Hendrix ahead of her Dancing with the Stars run.

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE ahead of her Broadway debut as Roxy Hart in Chicago, Sorvino, 57, shared her excitement for Hendrix, 54, competing on the ABC reality competition series.

“I saw that!” Sorvino said of Hendrix joining the season 34 cast. “I said, ‘You’re gonna have the best time. Just enjoy every second of it. It is so much fun.'”

Hendrix was announced as a competitor on the forthcoming season of Dancing with the Stars on the Sept. 3 episode of Good Morning America alongside pro partner Alan Bersten.

Sorvino previously competed on season 32 of Dancing with the Stars alongside pro dancer Gleb Savchenko, and the pair came in 10th place.

Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, released in 1997, follows the titular characters, played by Sorvino and Friends alum Lisa Kudrow, as they try to impress their former classmates at their 10-year high school reunion by inventing fake jobs and career success. Hendrix played one of the women who used to bully the quirky best friends in school.

The movie, directed by David Mirkin, also starred Janeane Garofalo, Alan Cumming, Kristin Bauer van Straten and Justin Theroux, to name a few.

Reflecting on her Dancing with the Stars elimination, Sorvino told PEOPLE she was “so sad” to exit the competition so early and that it was “surprising” as “it was the night we did the homage to Romy and Michele.”

During the episode, Sorvino and Savchenko danced a contemporary dance to Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” recreating a fan-favorite moment from the cult classic film. Sorvino’s daughter Mattea joined the routine, as the version in Romy and Michele included Sorvino, Kudrow and Cummings’ characters.

“Because it was the actors’ strike, we couldn’t advertise it,” Sorvino recalled of the routine, featured during the competition series’ “Most Memorable Year” theme. “We couldn’t talk about Romy and Michelle. We couldn’t mention the movie. It was a song to ‘Time After Time,’ but I couldn’t promote it that way, so my fans didn’t like know what was coming.”

Despite being upset about her time on the show being cut short, Sorvino, who said she has “always loved dancing,” revealed that her being voted off put her on a path that has led to her Broadway debut, thanks to her taking two years of jazz dance classes in Los Angeles.

“People are like, ‘Oh, you manifested this,'” Sorvino told PEOPLE of the sentiment she isn’t a fan of regarding her casting in Chicago. “I had a goal. I wanted to do Broadway and I wanted to become a better dancer but, like, I worked for it.”

Sorvino also told PEOPLE in November 2024 that a Romy and Michele sequel is “so close to being greenlit” and the main cast was “all in” on the script. As of January 2025, the sequel is officially in the works.

At a cast reveal event for season 34 of Dancing with the Stars on Sept. 3, Hendrix told PEOPLE that her “heart was immediately fluttering” upon getting the call to join the show, adding, “It was an immediate yes for me.”

Bersten said he’s thrilled to be dancing with Hendrix, telling PEOPLE at the same event, “Elaine has definitely surpassed all expectations I’ve had already. She’s gonna surprise a lot of people.”

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Dancing with the Stars season 34 premieres on ABC and Disney+ on Sept. 16. Sorvino’s stint in Chicago runs from Sept. 15 to Nov. 2.