Evangeline Lilly says she didn't know who Harry Styles was when she watched 'Eternals': 'I was like, he is going to be a big star'

• Evangeline Lilly said that she didn't recognize Harry Styles in his "Eternals" appearance.
• She said in a new video interview that she didn't know what the pop star looked like.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" star Evangeline Lilly said that she didn't know who Harry Styles was when she watched his Marvel debut in "Eternals."

In the mid-credits scene for the 2021 Marvel movie, Styles appears as a new character, Starfox, promising to help the film's lead heroes Thena (Angelina Jolie), Druig (Barry Keoghan), and Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) find their friends who have seemingly disappeared.

The reveal was a shock at the time because Styles was already a world-famous pop star and had not appeared in many films before landing the role.

However, in a new video interview with IGV Presents to promote "Ant-Man 3," Lilly said she thought Styles was just a random actor and the scene was going to launch him into stardom.

"I have to say, at the end of 'Eternals,' when that guy walked into the ship in the end credits," Lilly, 43, said to her costar Kathryn Newton, 26, in the interview.

Both Newton and the interviewer were shocked by Lilly's description of Styles as "that guy," forcing Lilly to explain how she didn't know who the star was.

"Well, for me, it was 'that guy,' and I was like, 'Who is that kid because he's gonna be really successful. He's got some serious mojo,'" Lilly recalled. "Swear to god. I was like, 'He's gonna be a big star.' That's what I thought to myself."

When Newton asked again if Lilly knew who Styles was, the Wasp actor replied: "No idea. I'd never seen Harry Styles' face before."

Newton then said: "This is why I love this woman."

In 2021, "Eternals" director Chloe Zhao told CinemaBlend that she had been keeping "tabs" on Styles since Christopher Nolan cast the musician in "Dunkirk," which eventually led to the "Watermelon Sugar" singer appearing in the Marvel movie.

"I pitched Pip the Troll and Eros to [Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige] a while back," Zhao said. "I love the idea of getting to know Thanos' brother. He's an Eternal, and the idea of him having gone through what the Eternals have gone through, doing their work for the Celestials, is very interesting. And how that might have affected Thanos to become who he is today, I love that idea."

Zhao added that Eros reminded her of Styles, hence why she cast him in that role.

"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania," starring Jonathan Majors, Paul Rudd, and Michelle Pfeiffer, is out now.