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Lily Collins shares engagement story: 'It was a total surprise'

Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Lily Collins is sharing more details about her engagement to Charlie McDowell.

The 31-year-old actress recalled on Monday's episode of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon how McDowell proposed during an outing in Santa Fe, N.M., in September.

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Collins showed off her engagement ring before telling her engagement story.

"Charlie, my fiancé, organized the whole thing. It was a total surprise," the star said. "He literally set up his phone and his professional camera next to each other and put a self-timer on."

"It's actually funny ... because we thought we were going to be doing a family portrait with our dog Redford. I was like, 'Babe. It's on video. We need it on photo.' He's like, 'Oh, yeah. Oops, you're right,'" she added.

Collins said McDowell managed to propose, despite her unintentional meddling.

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"He switched it to photo, we took a photo. I'm was like, 'Let's do another one,' and then he switched it to video without me knowing it, because I totally messed it up and called him out the first time," the actress said.

"There I am trying to control the situation. I'm like, just let him be the director," she added. "I'm very, very happy."

Collins announced her engagement Sept. 25 on Instagram alongside a photo of herself showing her ring.

"The purest joy I've ever felt," she captioned the post.

Collins recently starred in the Netflix series Emily in Paris, which was renewed for a second season in November. She will next appear in David Fincher's film Mank, starring Gary Oldman as Citizen Kane writer Herman J. Mankiewicz.

On The Tonight Show, Collins said playing the role of Rita Alexander, Mankiewicz's secretary and confidante, was a "dream come true.

"It's all in black and white, and moody, and beautiful. It's the genius of David Fincher," she said. "So it was kind of an utter dream come true. So fun."

Mank premieres Friday on Netflix.

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