It’s official: Bruce Springsteen biopic will star Jeremy Allen White
'The Bear' star will play the Boss in the film which will be distributed by 20th Century Studios.
The buzzy upcoming Bruce Springsteen film Deliver Me From Nowhere officially has its lead: Jeremy Allen White. The biopic, based on the book of the same title by Warren Zanes, follows the making of Springsteen’s 1982 iconic solo album Nebraska.
A24 had been an early contender to distribute the film, but 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell and David Greenbaum, the new head of Disney’s live action arm and 20th Century, are reportedly big Springsteen fans and managed to snag the film after what Deadline called “a wild weekend of a bidding battle.” The pair also attended Springsteen’s concert in Los Angeles on Sunday.
White, star of Hulu’s Emmy-winning drama-comedy The Bear, will play the young, moody Springsteen, the film confirmed. He’ll wrap up filming for season four of The Bear in June before coming to New Jersey to shoot Deliver Me From Nowhere this fall. White doesn’t have a singing background, though he did participate in a bad a cappella group in a joke commercial for Shameless, the Showtime series in which the LL Cool J and Goldlink fan played a smart but struggling son.
The Boss wrote and recorded Nebraska alone in a room he rented in Colts Neck, N.J., as he grappled with fame, depression, and anxiety. Though he initially didn’t plan to release the tracks, they are still considered some of the most resonant and emotional songs of his career. Springsteen and his manager, Jon Landau, are involved with Deliver Me From Nowhere, which will also reportedly feature songs from The River and Born in the U.S.A.
Zanes’ book covers Springsteen’s mental health troubles and the personal struggles he wrote into Nebraska. Scott Cooper, known for directing The Pale Blue Eye, Black Mass, and Crazy Heart (another adaptation based on a musician’s life), will write the script and direct.
Amid the news about the upcoming film, Springsteen has been on tour but also recently appeared onscreen as himself in a hilarious cameo on the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.