Sep 18, 2026 12:18pm IST
Lili Reinhart Recalls Almost Dropping Out of BTS’ ‘SWIM’ Music Video Due to Fear of Dancing
Lili Reinhart is having quite the year. The ‘Riverdale’ actor was the star of South Korean group BTS’ music video for the lead single “SWIM” off their sixth studio album “ARIRANG”. She is also set to be the female lead of the upcoming Prime Video adaptation of the Ali Hazelwood book “The Love Hypothesis,” where she’ll play Olive Smith.
Ahead of the show’s release, Reinhart appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” where the host enquired about her little dip into the world of K-Pop. Recalling the shoot, the 30-year-old says, “I was sent a DM by their creative director and thank God I opened it (...) he had seen my show, 'Hal & Harper,' and really was a fan of it. I think he thought of me for this, like, leading lady in their music video. And I flew to, um, Lisbon and filmed for four days.” She adds that she was indeed a “little intimidated” working with the “biggest band of all time”.
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She shares how her initial reaction to the proposal was declining it due to the possibility of being asked to dance in the music video, “My first instinct was, ‘BTS is asking me to be in a music video. I can't dance at all.’ I'm gonna have to turn them down because I can't dance, I cannot do [it].”
However, it all worked well in the end. She says, “Because the dancing in the music video for me was just kind of more improv-y and free-flowing, I was able to do it, but I was intimidated.” She recalls being nauseous during the shoot on the ship and having to consume high doses of medication to do the filming.
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The music video with Reinhart alongside members RM, Jin, SUGA, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook was released on YouTube on March 20 with the drop of the group’s album. It has amassed 160 million views in the five months since its release.
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