Jeremy Allen White Makes Debut as Bruce Springsteen as Biopic Begins Production
Jeremy Allen White has spent the past few months learning all there is to know about Bruce Springsteen on the most technical of levels. He’s studied his voice, learned to emulate his mannerisms, and trained vocally to sing his songs. Now, it’s time for the 33-year-old actor to put what he’s learning into action as the Scott Cooper-directed Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere begins production.
The first-look photo from the film, slated to arrive in 2025, offers a glimpse into White’s physical transformation into the music icon. In this case, it mostly just involved a leather jacket and a plaid flannel button-down. Deliver Me From Nowhere focuses specifically on the making of Nebraska, the album Springsteen released in 1982 when he was 33. The creation of his pivotal sixth studio album was captured in Warren Zanes’ 2023 book Deliver Me From Nowhere, which serves as the basis for the film.
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“Beginning production on this film is an incredibly humbling and thrilling journey,” Cooper shared in a statement. “Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Nebraska’ has profoundly shaped my artistic vision. The album’s raw, unvarnished portrayal of life’s trials and resilience resonates deeply with me. Our film aims to capture that same spirit, bringing Warren Zanes’ compelling narrative of Bruce’s life to the screen with authenticity and hope, honoring Bruce’s legacy in a transformative cinematic experience.”
Cooper serves as both writer and director on Deliver Me From Nowhere. He collaborated with both Springsteen and his manager Jon Landau — being played by Jeremy Strong — to accurately capture their story, adding: “Their creative energy fuels every part of this journey.”
In conversation with Zach Bryan for Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians, Springsteen shared: “I’ve seen the scripts, and I’ve talked to the director. They’re just putting it all together, so I don’t have an awful lot to say about it, but I’m excited about it happening … It’s an interesting story, and the script is really good. I feel good about the whole project.”
White has also kept a line of communication open with Springsteen through text and email in preparation for the role. “We’ve communicated a little bit through some other people, but I hope this still all comes together,” White told Variety earlier this year. “We’ve still got a few things, we’ve got some timing stuff to work out, and I’m trying to have a bit of my own process with it before meeting the man, too.”
Earlier this month, White and Springsteen were pictured together at a screening of the Hulu documentary Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band. “Oh my god, he’s just perfect. The casting is great,” Landau told The Hollywood Reporter at the event. “Scott said to me at the beginning, he said, ‘We get the right cast, and we’ll tell this story right,’ and he got the right cast.”
During an appearance on the Graham Norton Show, Springsteen shared some insights of his own into the making of Deliver Me From Nowhere. “It’s a lovely cast, and I am involved a little,” he said. “This is not easy to do because you can’t do an imitation, you have to do a personal interpretation … It’s difficult, but he is a great actor and sings pretty good.”
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