Halsey Talks ‘MaXXXine,’ Her Acting Ambitions and Channeling Cher

Halsey attends the world premiere of A24’s “Maxxxine” at TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood on June 24, 2024.

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Halsey may be best known for her success in the music industry, but the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter has been dabbling in Hollywood for a while. She made an appearance in Bradley Cooper A star is bornappeared in Cameron Crowe’s rock series Roadiesplayed the lead role of Porsha Crystal in the animated film Sing 2and starred alongside Sydney Sweeney in Tony Tost’s yet-to-be-released crime western. American.

But with MaXXXine — the third and final entry in A24 filmmaker Ti West’s horror trilogy after X And pearl — Halsey goes full-on Tinseltown as Tabby Martin alongside Mia Goth star Maxine Minx. The film centers on Maxine who, as the sole survivor of the bloody massacre on a remote Texas estate that took place in the original entry. X, left for Los Angeles in the mid-1980s to pursue his dreams of big-screen stardom. As she advances in the industry, Maxine must confront her past while a nighttime stalker terrorizes the town. Halsey’s Tabby is a friend of Maxine’s who is also driven to succeed while working at a dance club.

“I was a huge fan of the first two films and obviously loved Ti as a whole human being,” Halsey told The Hollywood Reporter as he stood outside the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood before the MaXXXine world premiere Monday evening. “I actually just met with Ti to talk about movies, music and just everything in general. MaXXXine It kind of came organically and I told him I would love to audition. He said, “Great, send a tape.” » But I didn’t think there was a chance I’d get that.

Yet, despite her doubts, Halsey went ahead and checked in. To her surprise, she received a call back. “I was like, ‘Shut up! Are you kidding me?’ Then the real panic set it off because then I realized I had to do it.

When asked about her preparation process, Halsey explained that she drew on her New Jersey roots by adding a little East Coast attitude — and an accent.

“I had very little information but I knew my character Tabby worked at a dance club. She was part of a really unique group of people, vulnerable women who are sort of targeted. One of the things that stands out about Tabby is that she really wants something amazing to happen to her. She is looking for this moment, this surge of confidence. That’s why I based her as a New Jersey girl, because I was able to go back to where I was when I first came, thinking that would be me one day. One day something good will happen to me. I then just put a little emphasis on it and everything fell into place.

She also added some musical influences. “There’s sometimes a lot of Annie Lennox and a lot of Debbie Harry, these more alternative-leaning girls from that era who are really tough. Tabby doesn’t need anyone to protect her. Well, she does, but she doesn’t mean it. Basically, she’ll kick your ass if you try her.

Not only did she channel some music icons for her work on the big screen, but Halsey also took inspiration from superstar artists for her red carpet ensemble Monday night. “It’s very Hollywood,” the 29-year-old explained of her look, a gold sequined Bronx and Banco dress. “I wanted a little bit of Cher from the late 70s, early 80s, you know what I mean? The big hair and the open-belly figure, and a bit of Grace Jones on the face with the eye makeup. I was kind of watching these divas who changed the times in the late ’70s, catching up to the ’80s.”

In addition to Goth and Halsey, MaXXXine stars Lily Collins, Elizabeth Debicki, Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Monaghan, Sophie Thatcher, Moses Sumney, Giancarlo Esposito and Kevin Bacon. As with all of his films, West wrote, directed, produced and edited the film. Its production team also includes Goth, Jacob Jaffke and Kevin Turen.

Now with MaXXXine Set to hit theaters on July 5, Halsey is ready to officially move to Hollywood. “I have some pretty exciting projects coming up and I really can’t wait to announce when the time is right in the coming months. But this is definitely going to be more than a sightseeing adventure for me. It’s a place I really hope to explore,” she said. “I love telling stories in any capacity. Songwriting and album creation are inherently storytelling, and acting is just an extrapolated version of that.