Jeremy Allen White on taking 'a leap of faith' to play Springsteen in 'Deliver Me From Nowhere'

Jeremy Allen White grew up listening to Bruce Springsteen. He doesn’t even remember a time in his life when he wasn’t aware of his music. But sing his songs? It wasn’t until White began preparing to play the rock ’n’ roll legend for “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” that he even tried.

“I had never really sang anything, never mind Bruce,” White says. “There was a leap of faith that we were all taking.”

There’s an established playbook for music biopics. “Deliver Me From Nowhere” ignored all of it. The film, written and directed by Scott Cooper (“Crazy Heart,” “Black Mass”), eschews the standard life-spanning, play-the-hits approach and instead focuses on a small portion of Springsteen’s sprawling life: the making of his 1982 album, “Nebraska.”

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The album, a minimalist masterpiece recorded on a four track in Springsteen’s bedroom in Colts Neck, New Jersey, doesn’t lend itself to anything like a glossy big-screen jukebox. “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” instead, is aimed more at the soul of Springsteen. For the role, Cooper turned to who he considers one of the best actors of his generation — even though he had no singing experience.

“I remember early on speaking to Scott about the project and being really excited to do it with him but also telling him, ‘Hey, I don’t know how to play the guitar and I’ve never really sang before. Are we going to be able to figure out this together?’” White recalls. “But Scott had faith. And Bruce had faith. And we trusted each other.”

“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” which 20th Century Studios will release Oct. 24 in theaters, is the first movie based on Springsteen’s life. It was made with Springsteen’s involvement; he gave input to on the script, on casting and attended several days on set. It’s also the first leading movie role for White, the 34-year-old Emmy-winning star of “The Bear,” who sings all the songs in the film.

“I knew that he had the two qualities that really embody Bruce: humility and swagger,” Scott says. “And they don’t teach swagger at Julliard. You either have it or you don’t. I was never concerned. He’s sensational.”

“Deliver Me From Nowhere,” based on Warren Zanes’ 2023 book, co-stars Jeremy Strong as Jon Landau, Springsteen’s longtime manager and record producer. Landau was also involved in the project from its inception.

“I knew that this was the first time Bruce had handed the wheel over to anybody to tell a story of his,” Cooper says. “They were never directors in any way but were always there when I had a question. Of course, when you’re Jeremy Allen White and you have Bruce Springsteen show up, that’s a whole different story.”

For White, Springsteen was a great resource in a movie that aspired to authentic interiority. “Nebraska” was a major departure for Springsteen. Its 10 songs spun tales of blue-collar workers soaked through with Springsteen’s own childhood memories and reverberating with an American storytelling tradition running from Flannery O’Connor to Woody Guthrie. Springsteen intended the raw demos to be later recorded with the E Street Band, but ultimately decided to release the unvarnished recordings.

White sees the film, in part, as about the artistic process.

“He was drawing inspiration from all these places but he didn’t really know what he was doing for a while with this record,” White says. “He didn’t know if it was going to be a record. As an actor, hopefully you’re doing that sort of thing all the time. That artistic curiosity is something I related to.”

White first spent time with Springsteen in London, where he also attended a concert. The actor later spoke to Patti Scialfa, Springsteen’s bandmate and wife of 34 years, and friends of the rock legend. After peppering Springsteen with questions during preproduction in New Jersey, White says he mostly kept his head down during the shoot.

“Bruce is very gracious,” White says. “He was trying to make himself as small as possible on set, but that’s very difficult for Bruce Springsteen.”