Jesse Metcalfe Vows To ‘Push Even Harder’ In ‘DWTS’ Week 5 After The Judges ‘Shredded’ Him

Jesse Metcalfe doesn’t let a little criticism get him down. HL spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Jesse and his ‘DWTS’ pro Sharna Burgess about looking ahead to week 5 and their reaction to the judges’ latest critiques.

Jesse Metcalfe and Sharna Burgess made it out of Dancing With the Stars week 4 safe, and they’re keeping their eyes on the prize. The judges had notes for Jesse about pushing a “little bit harder” and to not get “behind the music” after his and Sharna’s cha-cha. HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with Jesse and Sharna after the Oct. 5 episode about what the judges had to say about their week 4 performance.

“I honestly felt like they absolutely shredded me,” Jesse admitted. “All three judges were very, very critical. There wasn’t a whole lot of positive feedback other than my musicality being a little bit better than last week. But, you know, you have to listen to what the judges say. You have to take it in. I’m certainly taking it to heart.  I’m going to push even harder this week. I’m thankful that I’m safe, and I’m going to make the most of this opportunity.”

Sharna revealed she was taken aback by the judges’ feedback. “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting that kind of feedback,” she told HollywoodLife. “I was expecting very, very positive, like, wow, we see you in it. You’ve done so well. The rhythm is so different to everything. He’s done, again, all these things. And when they started talking, I was like, huh, I didn’t see that coming.” However, she did remember, “But, you know, at the same time, we got our best score that we’ve had. We got three 7s, which is amazing.”

Jesse added that he’s a “slow burn.” He’s also not getting bogged down by critiques. This is just one leg of a marathon for him. “I feel like I can take it, I’ve been in the industry for 21 years, so this isn’t new territory for me. Like I said, I’m gonna grow from it,” he said.

There’s no doubt that Jesse is one to watch in the ballroom, but he’s ready to take things to the next level. “Look, you can really sell it in the presentation, but I feel like in order to get the scores I want to get and in order to possibly have a chance at winning this competition, I can’t do an impression of a dancer,” Jesse told HollywoodLife. “I have to be a dancer. So I think it’s true that I do have to push harder. I mean, I don’t know if that’s more stretching for me. I don’t know if that’s more focused rehearsals. I don’t know what that is, but we’re going to discover that this week and, hopefully, have a breakout performance because I think that’s what I really need to elevate myself in this competition.” Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.