Jeremy Allen White has revealed the toll that playing Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me from Nowhere had on him, admitting filming the new biopic made him ‘unwell’.
The film chronicles the life of the legendary rock star, 76, as he struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past while recording his album ‘Nebraska’ in the early 1980s.
But, Jeremy, 35, has now confessed that he struggled with playing the version of The Boss that was isolated and depressed, with those feelings leaking over into his own psyche.
He is most famous for his role as Carmy Berzatto on award-winning TV series The Bear, a role that is fraught with rage, trauma and self-loathing, which garnered him global fame and three consecutive Golden Globes.
However, in a new interview with The Sunday Times, the Shameless star confessed that playing the psychologically damaged characters has negatively impacted his own mental health.
Opening up on Deliver Me from Nowhere, Jeremy admitted he was pleased that shooting was over, after finding it ‘incredibly difficult’ to film and be away from his daughters – Ezer, seven, and Dolores, four.
Jeremy Allen White has revealed the toll that playing Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me from Nowhere had on him, admitting filming the new biopic made him ‘unwell’ (seen Saturday)
The film chronicles the life of the legendary rock star, 76, as he struggles to reconcile the pressures of success with the ghosts of his past while recording his album ‘ Nebraska ‘ in the early 1980s (seen in film)
But, Jeremy, 35, has now confessed that he struggled with playing the version of The Boss that was isolated and depressed, with those feelings leaking over into his own psyche (seen with Bruce on Wednesday)
He candidly said: ‘I feel like I’m pain for hire. Like I’m getting paid to put myself in painful places.
‘On The Bear it’s not like I walk around punching walls and screaming in my closet. But I stay close to that energy and it’s uncomfortable — and filming the Bruce movie was incredibly difficult.
‘I was in isolation. I was far from my children. I didn’t travel home much. It made me unwell and when I came out of it I thought, “There has to be a better way”.’
It comes after Bruce himself confessed to feeling ‘really guilty’ watching Jeremy play him on the set of the biopic
Appearing on The Graham Norton Show on Friday with the actor, 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.’
While Jeremy 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.
He is most famous for his role as Carmy Berzatto (seen) on award-winning TV series The Bear, a role that is fraught with rage, trauma and self-loathing, which garnered him global fame and three consecutive Golden Globes
However, in a new interview with The Times, the Shameless star confessed that playing the psychologically damaged characters has negatively impacted his own mental health (seen last year)
‘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 the singer-songwriter in the biopic was ‘tough’, however, he consistently trained for months.
When asked about being a non-singer playing such an iconic artist, he said: ‘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.’
While reflecting on what it was like seeing himself being portrayed by Jeremy, Bruce joked: ‘I don’t remember being that young or that good looking!’
The Born To Run hitmaker also shared that the actor had been his first choice when it came to deciding who to cast for the movie, as he loved his ‘real and authentic’ acting in 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.’
It comes after Bruce himself confessed to feeling ‘really guilty’ watching Jeremy play him on the set of the biopic on The Graham Norton Show on Friday (seen)
Elsewhere in the interview, Jeremy revealed that prepping to portray the singer-songwriter in the biopic was ‘tough’, however, he consistently trained for months
However, despite Jeremy’s hard work, 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, and the cast also includes Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham, Scott Cooper, Odessa Young and Jon Landau.
Ahead of the movie’s cinematic release next Friday, the first round of reviews came in and critics were divided.
The Times said that Jeremy ‘is no Bruce’ as 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.
‘In the end it’s only essential viewing for Springsteen completists. They can loudly chant “Broooooooooose!” all through the film. Probably better that way.’
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.
However, despite Jeremy’s hard work, the biopic received mixed reviews from critics, branding the movie ‘clunky’ and ‘boring’
‘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”.)’
However, The Telegraph‘s Tim Robey praised 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.’
Deadline‘s Pete Hammond warned 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 branded 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.’
