Stephen Graham has Bruce Springsteen’s stamp of approval for playing the musician’s late father in his upcoming biopic, Deliver Me from Nowhere.
During the Sunday, March 23, episode of Soundtracking with Edith Bowman, the 51-year-old English actor, who portrays Douglas “Dutch” Springsteen in the film, revealed he got a surprising, yet touching text from the “Born in the U.S.A.” singer, 75.
According to Graham, it was just after wrapping the Jeremy Allen White-led biopic, when he got one of “the most gorgeous texts I’ve ever had in my life.”
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“I’m racing to get to the airport, and I got this text, and it was so beautiful,” the Adolescence actor shared. “It just said: ‘Better than any award that I could ever receive in my life.’ ”
Graham explained what the moment meant for him, adding of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, “He’s an icon. He’s a hero. He’s a working-class hero. He’s an icon to thousands, to millions.”
“And his text just said, ‘Thank you so much. You know, my father passed away a while ago and I felt like I saw him today and thank you for giving me that memory.’ ”
He added, “I was crying reading the text, do you know what I mean? Oh mate, it was beautiful. You couldn’t ask for anything more, you know, to share that with someone was gorgeous. He’s a lovely man.”
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Graham said he and Springsteen also discussed the singer’s 2016 memoir Born to Run, in which the musician opens up about his complicated relationship with his father, who died in 1998.
In addition to Graham and White, 34, the biopic also stars Jeremy Strong as the singer’s longtime mentor and manager, Jon Landau, plus Paul Walter Hauser as guitar tech Mike Batlan, Odessa Young as the musician’s love interest Faye and Johnny Cannizzaro as E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt.
Springsteen seems pleased with the casting.
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Speaking to SiriusXM’s E Street Radio in January, he shared his thoughts on White starring as a younger version of himself.
“He sings well. He sings very well,” Springsteen said before offering more compliments.
“You know, and Jeremy Strong and Odessa Young … it’s a tremendous cast of people. They cast the film beautifully, so it’s very exciting,” he added.
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Springsteen also admitted seeing White transform into him was “a little bit” weird at first, but “you get over that pretty quick.”
“Jeremy is such a terrific actor that you just fall right into it,” he continued. “He’s got an interpretation of me that I think the fans will deeply recognize and he’s just done a great job, so I’ve had a lot of fun. I’ve had a lot of fun being on the set when I can get there.”
Deliver Me from Nowhere does not have a release date, but is expected to arrive in 2025.
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