Springsteen Deliver Me from Nowhere: Actor Jeremy Allen White, director Scott Cooper talk about new film

When it comes to acting, playing Bruce Springsteen may be the most daunting role you could get, but that’s exactly what Jeremy Allen White did for the new movie, “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.”

Much of the movie was, fittingly, filmed in New Jersey, with Springsteen on set.

Entertainment reporter Joelle Garguilo sat down with White and the movie’s director, Scott Cooper, at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.

Joelle Garguilo: Something I have been thinking about a lot in life is how our experiences, whether it’s with your loved ones or colleagues, in the end, it all boils down to the stories that we are left with. With that said, what are the stories that you will tell decades from now about your time in this film?

Jeremy Allen White: I think the relationships formed are always most important to me. Being able to call, you know, Bruce Springsteen a friend and a collaborator.

Scott Cooper: That’s crazy.

Garguilo: That’s insane.

White: Yeah. It’s remarkable, and to have his, his support and his ear. It was also a very difficult shoot for all of us. We’re bonded. And so, to be able to come out of that is joyful.

Garguilo: Jeremy said bonded through even fire, and I know you had a personal situation going on during the making of this. I know we’ve talked about it, but to see how somebody like that stands up for you at probably your most, I mean, like, really.

Cooper: Certainly, at my lowest when, the day before I started shooting the film, my father died, who introduced the record “Nebraska” to me. And maybe three or four days or last week of shooting, I get the devastating news that my house has burned to the ground and Bruce moves my family into his house, and Jeremy, and Jeremy Strong, and Bruce, and the rest of the cast and the crew just picked me up and carried me through, to this point.

Garguilo: To me, that’s what it’s all about.

Cooper: That’s it.

Garguilo: Can we just geek out for a second? Like, you could call Bruce Springsteen whenever you want.

Cooper: Actually, I do.

Garguilo: Do you really?

White: Just for fun.

Cooper: All the time.

Garguilo: What is something that you learned about Bruce Springsteen that you didn’t know before all of this?

White: This story in itself was news. To me, what struck me most about Bruce was how sort of like, graceful and gentle he is.

Garguilo: Is there anything you miss about playing him?

White: I do miss singing. I mean, that was the way that I found like, I felt closest to Bruce in Nashville at RCA, recording his music, and I miss that, feeling that present. There’s like, such a preciousness to being in the studio, singing his words that’s special.

“Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” opens in theaters next Friday, October 24.