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Author Warren Zanes exclusively revealed to Us Weekly the moment that he realized that Jeremy Allen White was meant to play music legend Bruce Springsteen in the upcoming movie Deliver Me from Nowhere.
Zanes’ biography Deliver Me from Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska is the inspiration behind the movie, and he explained how involved he was in the casting process of The Boss.
“I was an observer. I got to see phones passed around with other actors’ faces. I’m like a kid in a candy store. I’m like, ‘He’ll be amazing and he’ll be amazing,’” Zanes, 60, told Us during the flick’s screening at AFI Fest in Hollywood, California, on Wednesday, October 22. “I think they realized there was not much utility in involving me at that point.”
After seeing White among the list of actors in the running, Zanes continued, “I went deeper on ‘The Bear,’ went back to ‘The Bear,’ and I was just watching it. It was that that made me say, ‘It has to be him,’ but by that time, he was already cast.”
The Emmy-winning actor, 34, plays Springsteen, 76, in the Scott Cooper-directed film Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.
Acknowledging that he was “anxious” about the project going well, he shared that once he saw White and Jeremy Strong (who plays Jon Landau, Springsteen’s longtime coproducer and manager) as scene partners, he was confident the film would be a success.
“Once you get to a movie set, there’s hundreds of people. It’s in the hands of not one person, it’s a team. Initially, it was unnerving,” Zanes continued.
“There was one day in particular where it was Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, [their] first time as scene partners. I stopped worrying from that day forward,” he confessed.
“There was something about what I knew about Jon Landau and Bruce Springsteen’s relationship that I saw in those two actors, and I thought, ‘This is their first scene together,’ and they showed me that they know the chemistry between those two men. I thought, ‘This cannot go wrong,’” the author added.
Zanes also had confidence in the film with Cooper, 55, attached as the Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere’s director.
“I knew this was a gamble, but what made me feel comfortable was Scott Cooper’s body of work,” he told Us on the red carpet.
Zanes gushed over White’s generosity during the event, noting that the actor spent time with the biographer’s son when he learned that they had gone to the same acting school.
“That kind of generosity of spirit, particularly when it’s your kid, I was just – his ease in the world and the unease in this character. How he got from there to there, I don’t know, but I know these guys work for years to do this magic trick that people like me go, ‘Holy God. That’s Bruce Springsteen,’” he noted.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere follows the New Jersey rock legend’s past struggles in the 1980s while recording his album Nebraska. The flick is already getting Oscar buzz, with critics predicting White will get a Best Actor nomination for his role as the “Glory Days” rocker and the movie as a whole will be nominated for Best Picture.
This would mark White’s first time being nominated for an Academy Award, but he’s no stranger to being recognized for his acting chops.
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The star has been nominated for three consecutive Best Actor Emmys for his role as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto in The Bear, taking home the prestigious trophy in 2023 and 2024.
The beloved series is gearing up to film Season 5.
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere hits theaters on Friday, October 24.
English (US) ·