Jeremy Allen White Plans to Do His Own Singing in Bruce Springsteen Movie
Jeremy Allen White is preparing to embody Bruce Springsteen in forthcoming film Deliver Me From Nowhere and the actor has confirmed he hopes to do his own singing as the Boss. Speaking on the red carpet of the premiere of the third season of FX series The Bear, White told Variety he is aiming to take on the vocals himself. “We’re gonna try,” White confirmed. “We’re gonna try our best.”
The actor also said that he hasn’t met Springsteen yet, but plans to at some point in the process.
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“We’ve communicated a little bit through some other people, but I hope this still all comes together,” White said. “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.”
He added, “I wanna try to have an understanding, so when I meet him, I’ll have a bit of confidence somewhere in me to stand there.”
Deliver Me From Nowhere will be based on Warren Zanes’ 2023 book of the same name, and both Springsteen and his manager Jon Landau will be involved in the making of the film. White was rumored to have been cast in the film in April.
The film, which centers on the making of Springsteen’s classic 1982 album, Nebraska, will be written and directed by Scott Cooper. The project will find the filmmaker returning to a story about a musician for the first time since his celebrated 2009 debut, Crazy Heart, in which Jeff Bridges played a floundering former country star looking to turn his life back around. (The movie was based on Thomas Cobb’s 1987 novel of the same name, with the main character Otis “Bad” Blake loosely modeled on country star Hank Thompson.)
“I once read that Nebraska is an album that moves you to the marrow of your bones. I couldn’t agree more,” Cooper said in a statement. “Bruce Springsteen, and Nebraska, in particular, have had a profound impact on me and my work. Through themes of despair, disillusionment, and the struggles of everyday Americans, Bruce has formed an unparalleled legacy, painting an unflinching portrait of the human condition. Yet, amidst the darkness, a sense of resilience and a sense of hope shines through, reflecting an indomitable spirit. That’s the Bruce I’ve come to know and love and will honor with this film.”
Praising Zanes’ book and his depiction of “this chapter in Bruce’s life,” Cooper added: “This film has the potential to be a transformative cinematic experience, offering audiences a window into the soul of Bruce Springsteen and the universal truths that bind us all together.”
Nebraska looms large in Springsteen’s lore, as both a timeless masterpiece and a marker of one of the most difficult moments in the musician’s life. Famously, Springsteen recorded the album at a rented lake house in New Jersey following the wild success of 1980’s The River; these tracks were actually meant to be demos, but after some sessions with the E Street Band, Springsteen and Landau agreed that the spare originals were the definitive versions.
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