Watch Halsey in her movie acting debut ‘Americana,’ in theaters Friday

August 15, 2025

Sydney Sweeney, Halsey, Paul Water Hauser in ‘Americana’ (Lionsgate)

At long last we can watch Halsey‘s acting debut, which she filmed 3 1/2 years ago.

The black comedy, Americana, hits theaters on Friday. It finds Halsey playing single mom Mandy, who’s one of several people trying to steal a valuable Native American artifact. Her co-stars include Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser and Eric Dane.

Halsey writes on Instagram that making the film was “an absolute honor,” adding, “This film represents such a memorable time in my life. I signed on before I got pregnant [with son Ender]. Filmed it with a 6 month old baby (still nursing!). … A whirlwind to say the least.”

She adds, “I made so many friends and learned so many things. It was a world of firsts for me and I am so proud.”

Separately, in a promotional interview, Halsey said Americana is “a Western and a heist movie, and also a coming-of-age drama, and also a ‘return home prodigal son’ story. … It’s kind of sexy but also kind of dirty. It’s just so many things all wrapped into one.”

Halsey recalled that when she joined the cast, she asked the director, “Aren’t you nervous I’m going to be terrible and I’m gonna suck? What if I ruin this whole thing?”

“He was like, ‘No, I have faith in you, it’s gonna be awesome,'” she said.

Of course, it helped that Sydney is one of Halsey’s best friends in real life, having appeared in Halsey’s video for “Graveyard.”

“She’s so sweet, she’s so professional. She was so awesome and gracious to me,” noted Halsey. “I asked her a lot of questions about acting since this was my first movie and she answered all of them and really helped me feel more calm.”