Bruce Springsteen has detailed his guilt over watching Jeremy Allen White star as him on set as he filmed biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.
The biopic, set for release on October 24, chronicles the life of the legendary rock star, 76, played by Jeremy, 34.
The musical follows New Jersey rocker Bruce as he struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past while recording his album ‘Nebraska’ in the early 1980s.
Speaking on The Graham Norton Show in Friday evening’s episode, Bruce admitted that he had a lot of involvement in the filming of the movie and often showed up on set, leaving Jeremy feeling a little on edge at first.
He told host Graham: ‘I was on set a lot. I felt really guilty about that because not only did Jeremy have to play me, but he had to play me while I am sitting right there watching him.
‘He was incredibly tolerant and generous of me, for which I am grateful. I had a great time.’
Bruce Springsteen told Graham Norton on Friday’s episode that he felt guilt over watching Jeremy Allen White star as him on set as he filmed biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere
Jeremy Allen White (pictured) revealed it was quite nerve-racking having Bruce watching him
Jeremy then confessed: ‘In the beginning, I didn’t know what to expect and I was a bit nervous.
‘You’re trying to drum up some delusion and imagination, and seeing the man you are playing in the corner was hard.
‘But then he came so often it became normal.’ before jokingly adding: ‘I think if he had given me notes it might have broken me.’
Bruce interjects: ‘He prepared in private, so I stayed away. On set, I rarely said anything, I just enjoyed myself.’
Elsewhere in the interview, Jeremy revealed that prepping to portray Bruce in the biopic was ‘tough’, however, he consistently trained for months.
When asked about being a non-singer playing such an iconic artist, Jeremy says: ‘There was a lot of prep. It was tough. I am such an admirer of Bruce, so it took a long time to accept I could do it.
‘It was daunting and I had scary days, but I trained six times a week for six months so I could sound a bit like Bruce. The rasp came naturally after singing the songs over and over and over again.’
Bruce also jokes: ‘I don’t remember being that young or that good looking!’ as he discussed what it was like seeing himself being portrayed by Jeremy.
The musical follows New Jersey rocker Bruce as he struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past while recording his album ‘Nebraska’ in the early 1980s (Jeremy pictured in the movie)
Bruce admitted that he had a lot of involvement in the filming of the movie and often showed up on set, leaving Jeremy feeling a little on edge at first
The Born To Run hitmaker also shared with Graham and the audience that Jeremy was his first choice when it came to deciding who to cast for the movie, as he loved his ‘real and authentic’ acting in comedy drama series, The Bear.
He said: ‘I’d seen him in The Bear and saw how the camera read his internal psychology. His performance is very, very real and authentic. He was my first choice, and fortunately, he took the job.’
Bruce and Jeremy’s appearance on the hit BBC chat show comes after the biopic received mixed reviews from critics, branding the movie ‘clunky’ and ‘boring’.
The movie is based on the book Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making Of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska (1982), which was written by Warren Zanes.
Filming primarily took place in locations throughout New York and New Jersey, but occasional scenes were shot in Los Angeles.
Jeremy takes on the lead role as The Boss for the movie, with Scott Cooper, Odessa Young, Stephen Graham, Jeremy Strong, and Jon Landau also starring.
On Wednesday, the Born In The USA hitmaker joined the film’s stars and crew for its London premiere at the BFI on the South Bank in the capital.
And ahead of the movie’s cinematic release, the first round of reviews came in and critics were divided.
He tells host Graham: ‘I was on set a lot. I felt really guilty about that because not only did Jeremy have to play me, but he had to play me while I am sitting right there watching him’
Jeremy then confesses: ‘In the beginning, I didn’t know what to expect and I was a bit nervous’
He continues: ‘You’re trying to drum up some delusion and imagination, and seeing the man you are playing in the corner was hard’
The Guardian‘s Adrian Horton gave the movie three stars, writing: ‘The story of Springsteen’s hard-left artistic turn, inspired by Flannery O’Connor stories and TV dramas, is certainly an interesting one.
‘Unfortunately, it’s difficult to visualize the churn of one person’s brain on fire, the ups and downs of the creative process; we end up spending a lot of time watching Bruce write lyrics in black marker indicative of overstatement – “Why???,” he writes when looking at an old headline about Charles Starkweather, whose 1958 murder spree inspired the title track. (It’s because he was “mad at the world”.)’
Adding that Deliver Me From Nowhere ‘thankfully avoids overly mythologizing the Boss’, she concludes: ‘I floated out of the theater to Nebraska’s rueful highlight Atlantic City, and haven’t wanted to stop listening to it since, stuck in its Americana groove – which is perhaps, ultimately, what we want from a biopic.’
The Telegraph‘s Film Critic Tim Robey praises actor Jeremy’s portrayal of The Boss and how he captured the ‘introspection, the diffidence and the soul-searching of Springsteen’.
Giving the movie four stars, he also said: ‘This is not an all-stops-out portrait, and that’s not the star turn we get from The Bear’s Jeremy Allen White, either.
‘Indeed, when White strains to match Springsteen’s physicality – wrapping up a show with Born to Run – the popping neck muscles and overwhelming exertion make him look like he’s on the verge of having a stroke.’
The Times says that Jeremy ‘is no Bruce’ as their Chief Film Critic Kevin Maher declared: ‘As a lead protagonist Bruce is quite the bore.’
Awarding the movie just two stars, he added: ‘Besides the busting jugular, physically White is a billion miles away from Springsteen, often distractingly so, like bad fancy dress, or putting a pair of Levi’s on a monkey and calling him the Boss.
Bruce and Jeremy’s appearance on the hit BBC chat show comes after the biopic received mixed reviews from critics, branding the movie ‘clunky’ and ‘boring’
‘In the end it’s only essential viewing for Springsteen completists. They can loudly chant “Broooooooooose!” all through the film. Probably better that way.’
US publication Variety says Deliver Me From Nowhere ‘doesn’t do nearly enough to contextualise’ the breakthrough Bruce had with Nebraska.
Their Chief Film Critic Peter Debruge adds: ‘It shows all the headaches Bruce’s tape caused for manager Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) and recording engineer Chuck Plotkin (Marc Maron) and his cadre of studio pros, but the technical side isn’t nearly as dramatic as it sounds, and there’s only limited interest in watching White navigate the icon’s first serious bout of depression.’
Deadline‘s Pete Hammond warns in his review: ‘If some fans go in expecting the equivalent of a greatest hits package, think again.’
In one of its most positive reviews yet, he brands the biopic ‘the real deal’ as he praised lead star Jeremy.
He said: ‘White, with no prior history in singing or playing guitar, studied for five months with a vocal coach as well as guitar experts. The results speak for themselves. He is utterly convincing on every count, but this is no mere NFL-style imitation.’
The Graham Norton Show airs on Friday’s on BBC One at 10:35pm.
