Jeremy Allen White reveals what kept him up at night on the Bruce Springsteen biopic
The actor plays The Boss in his new biopic
Last updated 23rd Oct 2025
Actors Jeremy Allen White and Stephen Graham joined Simon Mayo on Greatest Hits Radio to talk about the new Bruce Springsteen biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. The new film comes out in the year that the singer has been on a UK tour, and had a BBC documentary about him called When Bruce Springsteen Came To Britain.
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere is a biopic following the singer as he works on his album 'Nebraska' back in the 80s, and the relationship he had with his father Douglas (played by Stephen Graham).
How Jeremy Allen White researched Bruce Springsteen
Speaking to Simon Mayo, Jeremy opened up about some of the biggest challenges when taking on the role of Bruce Springsteen. Bruce is such a well-known musician that the actor was very keen to make sure he did his research.
When asked about Bruce's memorable pose, Jeremy explained: "I watched a whole lot of footage on Bruce and saw that (his pose), but that happens naturally. I think, what I know is Bruce gives himself fully over to the music, to the audience and so that kind of like lean… I don't think he was like finding that stylish or comfortable or any of that, I think that's something that naturally happens when you're kind of giving yourself over to something else. And I think that's what Bruce does every time and so that's, you know, that's what I was trying to do as well."
What was the hardest part of 'being' Bruce?
When asked by Simon what the toughest bit of being Bruce was, whether it was the stance, the voice, the guitar or the harmonica, Jeremy replied: "The guitar was… the guitar was tough because that was completely alien to me. I had never picked up a guitar before. I had about six or seven months to kind of hold it with a lot of confidence, but that was keeping me up at night."
Why Stephen Graham was chosen for the role
Stephen Graham, known for his amazing work on series such as Adolescence, also joined Simon Mayo for a chat, as he takes on the role of Bruce Springsteen's late father Douglas Springsteen.
Speaking about the role and what attracted him to it, Stephen explained: "It was literally a phone call from Scott Cooper, who’s our wonderful director. We always wanted to work together, and he just phoned me up and he said, ‘Look, I've wrote this script, it's only a small role, but I've written it with you in mind, and you know, see what you think’."
Without hesitation or reading the script, Stephen accepted the job explaining how Scott had already spoken to Bruce about him taking on the role and knew who he was.
"I went, 'Sorry, but he (Bruce) knows who I am? Bruce Springsteen knows me?'" Stephen recounted going on to say: "It blew my mind."
He added: "To work with this young man (Jeremy) was absolutely phenomenal, it was a wonderful experience and it was a real honour to be a part of."
Stephen went on to describe Douglas' relationship with his son, admitting: "His relationship with Bruce was very fractured, Douglas himself... he was an alcoholic and he was a manic depressive."
Will there be a sequel to Adolescence?
While Stephen was in to chat about his latest film, Simon couldn't resist asking him about his hugely successful Adolescence and whether there would be a sequel or spin-off.
He explained to Simon: "I think that particular story has finished, and we may well at some point further down the line, maybe in a couple of years, sit around a table and come up with another possibility of an idea for something else.
"But I think as far as that story has gone, it's been told."
How to watch Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere will be in cinemas from Friday 24th October.
How to listen to Simon Mayo
You can listen to Simon every weekday from 4pm on Greatest Hits Radio. The station is available on DAB across the country, through your smart speaker, by saying "play Greatest Hits Radio", or through our free Rayo app for iPhone or Android.
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