In March this year, as soon as BTS released the teaser for their “SWIM” music video, the female lead of the project immediately caused a stir online with her surreal beauty: sharply defined features that looked almost sculpted, deep and mesmerizing eyes, and alluring blonde hair. Despite appearing for only a few seconds at the very beginning, fans quickly recognized her as Lili Reinhart. The 1996-born actress is already well known for her roles in various films and projects, including Chemical Hearts, The Simpsons, Look Both Ways, and more.

On the 18th of this month, Lili appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and, for the first time, opened up about working with BTS six months after the music video was released.

At first, she revealed that she had received a DM from the group’s creative director, but almost missed it because she does not regularly check her message requests. “There's some scary stuff in there, so I tend to shy away from that,” Lili explained. She also guessed that the creative director had noticed her after watching the show Hal & Harper. As a result, the actress flew to Lisbon and spent four days filming with BTS.

With that in mind, it was impossible not to explore her experience working alongside some of K-pop’s biggest stars. Notably, Lili’s candid answer about BTS on the show quickly caught fans’ attention.

During the conversation, Jimmy Fallon asked Lili, “Were you intimidated when you…”, referring to how she felt about taking part in such a major BTS project. Without hesitation, the actress honestly admitted, “It was a little intimidating. I mean, they're the biggest band of all time.”

Lili’s statement about BTS not only immediately earned Jimmy’s agreement — “Yes. They really are the most talented guys” — but also sparked a wave of reactions on social media, with many fans enthusiastically commenting things like, “The ‘they are the biggest band of all time’ so real” and “The biggest band I know, that’s right queen", "Beautiful woman speaking facts", "BTS you are so loved and respected", "BTS is now a household name, everyone knows they’re the biggest, most influential, an unbelievable level",...

Lili Reinhart later provided more context so fans could better understand how she felt at the time. She revealed that her first reaction upon learning BTS wanted to cast her in their music video was anxiety over the fact that she could not dance. “I know, and I was actually – my first instinct was, ‘BTS is asking me to be in a music video. I can't dance at all,’” she recalled.

Standing in front of global K-pop superstars who are “the real deal,” not knowing how to dance clearly added even more pressure for her. Even an experienced Hollywood actress like Lili felt “intimidated” when working with BTS for the first time. At this point, it becomes even clearer just how huge their stature is and why both Lili and Jimmy gave BTS a shout-out as “the biggest band of all time.”

Still, with her professionalism and excitement about collaborating with K-pop stars, she managed to overcome those concerns. She, along with the production team, found a way that worked better for her to carry out her performance — “the dancing in the music video for me was just kind of more improv-y and free flowing…”

In particular, another behind-the-scenes detail also had fans cracking up. Lili revealed that the airport scene was filmed in particularly windy conditions, leaving her extremely nauseous throughout the shoot. “So flying in to the airport, it was really windy. And so I was extremely nauseous shooting the whole thing. I talked about throwing up last time I was on your show,” the actress shared.

Lili’s candid comments on The Tonight Show once again gave fans a closer look at the making of the “SWIM” music video. They also earned her even more praise for the professionalism and acting sкιℓℓs she displayed so perfectly in every frame. Looking ahead, fans are also hoping that Lili and BTS will have another chance to reunite for a future project, especially given the great chemistry between them.