Director Shawn Levy Reveals His Favorite Taylor Swift Song — and It May Surprise You (Exclusive)

"It's a throwback," the director tells PEOPLE of his favorite tune from the pop star

Director Shawn Levy Reveals His Favorite Taylor Swift Song
Shawn Levy, Taylor Swift. Photo:

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty; Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Shawn Levy is a sentimental Swiftie!

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE during the Big Screen Achievement Awards at CinemaCon 2024 in Las Vegas earlier this week, the director, 55, revealed what his favorite Taylor Swift song is.

"I am a father of four girls, so I'm going old school: 'Never Grow Up,' " Levy says, referencing Swift's ballad off of her third studio album, Speak Now.

"It has me on the floor crying every time," he adds. "It's a throwback."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Shawn Levy at the CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards held during CinemaCon at The Colosseum on April 11, 2024
Shawn Levy at the CinemaCon Big Screen Achievement Awards.

Brenton Ho/Variety via Getty

Levy initially met Swift, 34, through Ryan Reynolds and his wife, Blake Lively. The Grammy winner later asked Levy to play her father in the video for All Too Well: The Short Film, which she directed.

Speaking with PEOPLE in October, Levy, who has directed massive movies including The Adam Project, Free Guy and the Night at the Museum franchise, said Swift gave him cool points when it came to his four daughters.

"You have to understand, my daughters are between the ages of 12 to 24. So Taylor Swift has been their only shared idol for that entire span of their lives," he said.

"When she asked me to be in the video for All Too Well, and I was able to bring all four daughters to be in that video with me, I got dad cred for life," Levy continued.

Director Shawn Levy Reveals His Favorite Taylor Swift Song
Taylor Swift, Shawn Levy.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Emma McIntyre/Getty

Levy also attended a Jets-Chiefs game during the most recent NFL season with Swift — where she watched boyfriend Travis Kelce play.

The director previously told PEOPLE that being at the sports event with the Midnights singer was a level of fame and frenzy he'd never seen before.

"I have never witnessed, and will likely never again witness anything like I saw when I went to the football game with Taylor Swift," he said with a laugh at the time.

Going on to praise Swift and her creativity, Levy added: "You know what, as a dad of four girls, their collective fan-hood and mild obsession with Taylor is fine by me, because she's a good role model. And most importantly, that woman wrote all of those songs herself. This is a true generational creative genius. She a force — and she's also a really fun hang."

Related Articles