ASBURY PARK, NJ − To portray Bruce Springsteen, Jeremy Allen White had to learn to walk, talk and wail like one of rock’s most inimitable icons.
But perhaps more importantly, he needed to capture the Boss’ unbreakable bond with Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong), his manager and coproducer of roughly 50 years. Their relationship is central to the new movie “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” (in theaters Oct. 24), which explores the cathartic creation of 1982’s “Nebraska” album.
Meeting Strong for the first time last year, “we were both so nervous,” White recalls, seated in a back corner of famed music venue The Stone Pony, where Springsteen got his start. The actors were introduced at a screening of Donald Trump biopic “The Apprentice,” featuring Strong’s Oscar-nominated turn as political puppet master Roy Cohn.
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Jeremy Allen White, left, and Jeremy Strong at the New York Film Festival premiere of “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” on Sept. 28.
“I played a different mentor to a different man,” Strong says wryly. “I’ve admired Jeremy for a long time, but when you meet outside of the arena, as it were, it’s always a bit strange. I remember saying, ‘I know we’re going to meet in this other universe soon and I’ll see you there.’”
But once they got to the set last fall, “we both knew immediately that we had a tacit connection that didn’t require any discussion,” Strong adds. “It just felt palpable.”
Bruce Springsteen’s depression struggles inspired ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’
Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White, left) leans on manager Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) during a pivotal career moment in “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.”
“Deliver Me From Nowhere” shows a more introspective side of Springsteen, now 76, who was then coming off a string of hit singles including “Hungry Heart” and “Born to Run.” The label was eager for another radio-ready album, but Springsteen was burned out from touring and struggling with his mental health as he grappled with unconfronted childhood trauma. So with Landau’s encouragement, he decided to explore that space with the downbeat, acoustic “Nebraska.”
White, 34, recalls picking Springsteen’s brain about that particular point in his life, which was considered a career-ending move by many in the industry. He met the New Jersey native after one of his concerts, sitting in his dressing room at London’s Wembley Stadium.
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“I asked him, ‘Why are you letting us make this film really?’” White recalls. “He was so honest. I’d met him 20 minutes prior to this conversation and he said, ‘I just felt I was an observer of my own life. I didn’t feel present at all and it was one of the scariest moments of my life.’”
For White, “that was a feeling I was familiar with,” says the two-time Emmy winner, who shot to the top of Hollywood’s A-list after FX’s “The Bear.” “The idea of becoming more present in my life, and the fear of losing myself, was very close to me. Once he shared that with me, that let me know what kind of man he is. That was a real guiding light throughout the process, to know that we had this invisible tether.”
Jeremy Allen White, left, and Bruce Springsteen at the movie’s London premiere on Oct. 15.
Springsteen and Landau, 78, visited the movie’s set frequently, and both actors got to know them personally. Landau has always been described as “a steady hand” by people who know him best, which was helpful for the “Succession” star in understanding him.
“He has an immensity of knowledge and this big picture awareness,” says Strong, 46. “I think it was Bruce who said, ‘This ain’t a job. This ain’t a business. This is a reason to live.’ It was that for both of them, and it’s that for Jeremy and I as well.”
Jeremy Allen White felt ‘so seen and taken care of’ by Jeremy Strong
One of the film’s most powerful moments is a wordless scene between Landau and Springsteen, before he heads to California. Landau puts on Sam Cooke’s “The Last Mile of the Way,” and the two men sit on the floor holding hands as they listen to the song.
“We’re on this journey with Bruce as he’s sinking deeper down into his depression, and it was really wonderful to have this moment of peace and joy and belonging before that loneliness settles in,” White says. “Depression doesn’t just head in one direction the entire time; there are waves and hills and valleys. So for Bruce, but for me as well, it was a very welcome moment of levity.”
Longtime friends Bruce Springsteen, left, and Jon Landau at New York Film Festival on Sept. 28.
The scene was partly improvised, in the sense that White didn’t know what the song was going to be before cameras rolled. Through his research, Strong knew that Springsteen and Landau used to stay up all night playing records for each other.
So the night before filming, “I texted them, ‘If you were going to play a song to save your friend’s life, what might that be?’” Strong recalls. “For a couple hours, Bruce sent me a bunch of different ideas, and then eventually he said, ‘Last Mile of the Way,’ which is about passing through a dark valley before the promised land. It was one of those magical things.”
Bruce Springsteen (Jeremy Allen White, left) confides in Jon Landau (Jeremy Strong) during his “Nebraska” era.
In that moment, “I felt so seen and taken care of by Jeremy,” White says. “Sam Cooke is one of my favorite artists ever. To be genuinely surprised hearing this, and also to be in this caring presence, it didn’t take much work for me.”
Awards pundits predict that both White and Strong will be Oscar contenders for their performances, which have been praised by critics on the film festival circuit. But for the actors, the most meaningful feedback has come from Springsteen’s family.
“When they watched it for the first time, his sister said, ‘I’m so glad we have this,’” White recalls. “And I think that’s the way Bruce feels. To make Bruce happy and feel proud of the work we did, and want to share it with his family and these people who’ve been in his orbit forever – I mean, that’s all you could really ask for. We did our job.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeremy Allen White related to Springsteen’s ‘fear of losing myself’
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