Lily Collins didn't tell her father that she would be singing in 'Rules Don't Apply'.

Lily Collins

Lily Collins

The 27-year-old daughter of Phil Collins stars in the Warren Beatty-directed movie as aspiring actress Marla Mabrey and decided to surprise her father by letting him discover the scene for himself.

She told The Wrap: "We sang it live - so there was no track to have to mimic - which I thought was amazing because I could be in the moment in every different take that we did.

"But at the same time, Marla is a songwriter - not a singer - so I got to use the excuse of, well, if my voice cracks as Lily, or I'm nervous, Marla would have been. Like, it's totally fine.

"I didn't tell my dad about the song until it was out in the trailer. I didn't share what it sounded like. I didn't give him any hints or anything. So I think that was kind of a surprise, which was fun."

Beatty also stars as reclusive Howard Hughes in the movie, which tells the story of the relationship between two young employees of his, an actress (Collins) and a driver (Alden Ehrenreich) and Lily previously admitted it was a long time before he told her if she had the role or not.

Speaking previously, Lily said: "From our first meeting to the second, it was a couple of months, a long process of just meeting and talking about life. And then, finally, reading the script.

"I still had no idea if I was doing the movie. There was never an audition, just a month of hanging out and chatting. I think Warren reads people. He's a great judge of character. He was auditioning me in a way through just meeting me. That's part of his brilliance. He knows what he's looking for. I feel it totally mirrored my character - and I don't know if that was on purpose! Marla just wants to please Howard Hughes, and is just waiting and waiting."