Sydney Sweeney channels Dolly Parton in gritty new western movie Americana

Sydney Sweeney is set to dazzle audiences in the upcoming film Americana, where she plays a small-town dreamer with one very clear inspiration: country music legend Dolly Parton.

Hitting cinemas on 22 August 2025, the film, distributed by Lionsgate, has already generated major buzz following its 2023 debut at SXSW.

In Americana, Sydney Sweeney stars as Penny Jo Poplin, a young woman stuck in a bleak South Dakota town, yearning for a brighter life. And it’s Dolly Parton who gives her that sense of hope.

Speaking in an interview, Sydney Sweeney revealed, “Dolly Parton is definitely Penny Jo’s biggest aspirational role model. I really wanted to make sure we captured that — the dreams, the sparkle, the resilience.”

Sydney Sweeney went on to say, “Penny Jo dreams of having Dolly’s outlook on life because her own world feels so grey and trapped. Dolly Parton has this big, beautiful energy that makes everything feel full of colour again — and that’s exactly what Penny Jo craves.”

But Penny Jo, as Sydney Sweeney explains, doesn’t have Dolly Parton’s platform, fortune, or freedom.

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“She doesn’t have the resources. She’s past the point of waiting for life to happen — she’s ready to chase her dreams, just like Dolly would have,” said Sweeney.

Dolly Parton’s influence runs deep throughout the narrative of Americana. The film paints Penny Jo’s ambition as raw and relentless, not unlike Parton’s rise from poverty to superstardom.

Sydney Sweeney makes it clear: Americana is about that same fight for a voice, for colour in a monochrome world.

The cast also features Halsey as Mandy Starr, a woman hiding a dark and personal secret. While Mandy strives to become one of those bold women “who carved their own path,” Penny Jo is already living that transformation thanks, in no small part, to Dolly Parton’s enduring legacy.

The official first look from Collider shows Halsey bloodied and bruised, gazing out of a shattered window, a visual taste of the film’s gritty neo-western style.

But despite the violence and hardship, Sydney Sweeney’s Penny Jo remains the hopeful heart of the story — a Dolly Parton wannabe with grit, soul, and a voice waiting to be heard.

Sydney Sweeney’s love for Dolly Parton is more than character research, it’s central to Americana’s soul.