Jeremy Allen White on the Challenge of Playing Bruce Springsteen: ‘Knowing Where to Draw the Line’
Jeremy Allen White of The Bear has earned himself plenty of Oscar buzz for his lead performance in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” He finished his tenure with the TV series “Shameless” in 2021 and began working on “The Bear” in 2022. Jeremy Allen White also starred alongside Zach Efron in wrestling biopic The Iron Claw.
Jeremy Allen White Transformation
Jeremy Allen White didn’t mince words about his initial fears when speaking with the Los Angeles Times. According to Glenn Whipp, White expressed his concerns candidly: “The relationship a musician has with fans is so intimate. You listen to him in the car, you go to see him live. He’s there in your ear, and it’s just the two of you. You feel like you’re being spoken to. Bruce is so important to so many people. It was daunting. I didn’t want to disappoint.”
The weight of expectation was crushing. Springsteen’s fanbase spans generations, with millions of devoted followers who know every nuance of his voice, every gesture, every emotional beat of his performances. For an actor stepping into those legendary boots, the pressure could have been paralyzing.
But Jeremy Allen White had something working in his favor that he didn’t initially recognize: his own relationship with emotional authenticity. His portrayal of Carmy on “The Bear” demonstrated an uncanny ability to convey deep trauma and vulnerability without saying a word. Those same skills would prove essential in capturing Springsteen’s essence during one of the most introspective periods of his career.
The film “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” focuses on a specific slice of Springsteen’s life—the creation of his 1982 masterpiece “Nebraska.” This wasn’t the arena-rock Springsteen of “Born to Run” or “Dancing in the Dark.” This was a distraught artist working through depression and alienation in a rented New Jersey home, recording raw, haunting songs on a primitive four-track machine.
Finding Common Ground with The Boss
The film “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” focuses on a specific slice of Springsteen’s life—the creation of his 1982 masterpiece “Nebraska.” This wasn’t the arena-rock Springsteen of “Born to Run” or “Dancing in the Dark.” This was a distraught artist working through depression and alienation in a rented New Jersey home, recording raw, haunting songs on a primitive four-track machine.
Jeremy Allen White found unexpected parallels between himself and Springsteen during this period. As he explained, both men were grappling with feelings of fraudulence and disconnection: “For sure, you can draw that line. They’re cousins. And they’ve both got their art, something they feel confident about. As he explained, both men were grappling with feelings of fraudulence and disconnection: “For sure, you can draw that line. They’re cousins. And they’ve both got their art, something they feel confident about.”
Jeremy Allen White also added, “What Bruce was feeling in his relationship with his father and the environment he grew up in was that he felt incredibly unsafe. And that made it difficult for him to trust people and form real connections.” He also took a leap of faith portraying Springsteen, Newsday reported him saying, “I had never really sang anything, never mind Bruce. There was a leap of faith that we were all taking.”
This emotional terrain was familiar ground for White, whose portrayal of Carmy regularly explores themes of generational trauma and the struggle to form meaningful connections. Director Scott Cooper deliberately chose Jeremy Allen White not for his musical abilities, but for his acting prowess and authentic emotional range. “Deliver Me From Nowhere” focuses intensely on the creative process behind “Nebraska,” an album that almost didn’t exist. Springsteen initially recorded these songs as rough demos, intending to later flesh them out with the E Street Band. Instead, he realized the raw, unpolished recordings captured something essential that couldn’t be replicated.
Final Thoughts
Jeremy Allen White affirms not only his gift but also the relevance of Springsteen’s artistry, offering a fresh perspective on the megastar. To prepare for the role, the actor studied Springsteen’s tendency to sit “like he’s on his way out almost all the time. One foot in, one foot out” – a physicality that perfectly captures the restless energy of an artist uncomfortable with stillness.
