After the success of A Complete Unknown, Jeremy Allen White is next in line to take on the challenge of playing a rock legend for a biopic, and fans are anxiously awaiting to see whether or not he pulls it off. The Bear star is to portray as Bruce Springsteen in a musical biopic titled Deliver Me From Nowhere, set to release in theaters October 24 on the 2025 movie schedule. However, White opted not to seek advice from his fellow actors like Timothée Chalamet and Austin Butler in this category, and I’m curious to see if his reason why pays off.
The Shameless actor recently addressed the fact that he didn’t reach out to his fellow actors for advice on making his performance stand out among the many upcoming musical biopics. While talking to the award-winning Chalamet seems like a no brainer, White told Variety there was one reason why he didn’t feel the need to:
I didn’t talk to Austin [Butler], I didn’t talk to Rami [Malek], I didn’t talk to Timothée [Chalamet]. And sometimes I wish I had, but my process was a little different because I had Bruce. There was a part of me that almost wanted to lock myself in a room alone, and if I needed to reach out to the world, then it would be to the man himself. I felt very lucky I had him so close.
We know from past films that preparing for a biopic role is an intense process, especially when depicting beloved musical visionaries. There’s already a fanbase that needs to be catered to, but more importantly, a real person’s life that you are honoring. Actors have gone to all lengths to get it right, like Austin Butler’s method acting, which led to him talking with an Elvis Presley accent for years following filming. Then there's Timothée Chalamet learning to sing and play guitar exactly like Bob Dylan, so much so that his castmates couldn't tell the difference.
Butler, Chalamet, and Malek (who played Queen's Freddie Mercury) have all gone through it to much success, and I’m sure they would have provided helpful tips. After talking with Butler on the set of their new A24 film Enemies, White seemingly regrets not asking.
But this isn’t the After Everything actor first foray into biopics, having portrayed one of the Von Erich brothers in The Iron Claw. Besides, I think his idea of just consulting himself and the “Thunder Road” singer for the role makes sense given the story director Scott Cooper is trying to tell.
Similar to A Complete Unknown, Deliver Me From Nowhere opts to share a specific snippet of Bruce Springsteen’s career instead of trying to tell his whole life story in two hours. The upcoming biopic centers around the making of Nebraska, an album “The Boss” made by himself, alone at home in New Jersey. Sandwiched between heightened moments in his career, Nebraska is a folkier acoustic sound with darker themes compared to Springsteen's other music, and an album he seemingly held very close to his chest.
Much like Springsteen making Nebraska, Jeremy Allen White isolated himself in a way while making this film, only consulting with the one person who could really give him insight to this role. However, the Born In The USA singer admitted to staying home when scenes were more personal.
It’s a very unexpected take for a Springsteen biopic, but much like A Complete Unknown, it should make for a captivating film. White has seemingly put in the work to nail his portrayal of Bruce Springsteen, and has even gotten the stamp of approval from “The Boss” himself, as well as fellow biopic actor Austin Butler. First looks at Deliver Me From Nowhere already have me excited, and I can’t wait to see if White’s process earns him a spot among the best musical biopics.
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