Is Jeremy Allen White singing Springsteen’s part in ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’?

As he prepares to play Bruce Springsteen in “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” a new biopic that traces the making of his iconic 1982 album “Nebraska,” Emmy-winning actor Jeremy Allen White said he was “the most scared I’ve been in my professional life.”

White, who has previously played roles that required him to learn new skills — he played a chef in “The Bear” and a professional wrestler in “The Iron Claw” — learned to sing and play guitar in six months to play The Boss.

“To pick up a guitar for the first time when you’ve never held one before,” White told “Hot Ones” host Sean Evans, “was humbling.”

Scott Cooper, who wrote and directed “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” chose White for the role — largely because he felt that White, 34, resembled Springsteen in his early 30s, when the film’s key events took place.

Cooper also felt that White embodied something ineffable in Springsteen’s rockstar spirit.

“Like Bruce, Jeremy White has two things that I think are essential to this: one is humility and the other is arrogance.” Cooper told Esquire. “They don’t teach you swagger. They don’t teach you that at the Juilliard School. You either have it or you don’t. And I knew he had it.”

“I also knew he was a remarkable actor,” Cooper continued. “And when it came to singing, Jeremy sang on camera himself, and it was sometimes remarkable that we couldn’t tell the difference, in some songs, between Jeremy and Bruce.”

In a 2024 cover story for GQ, White said he had a team of people “help me train vocally, musically“, to describe his portrayal of Springsteen. He also said he watched hours of footage to familiarize himself with Springsteen’s mannerisms and performance style.

“It’s really cool to go down a YouTube rabbit hole and find him in all these different periods of his life and be able to listen to his speaking voice as well as his singing voice,” White said. “That’s kind of the premise, just listen to it and watch it a lot. It’s been really fun to prepare for.”

White said he was initially hesitant to take on the role, as he had never played guitar or sung professionally. But a vote of confidence from Springsteen himself pushed White to accept.

“I don’t think everyone is right for every job,” White told Vogue. “I thought about it for about a week – I was so excited, but cautious. Then Scott said, ‘Bruce really wants you to do this.’ I thought, ‘OK, well, if he thinks I’m the guy and I can offer something, then I should give it a try.'”

White said he performed some songs live on set – particularly the acoustic scenes of Springsteen recording “Nebraska” at his home in New Jersey. Other scenes in the film feature pre-recorded tracks.

“I recorded ‘Born in the USA’ on the same recording station where we perform it in the film, a week before we started principal photography,” White told Vogue. “It’s such a physical and difficult song to sing, and I totally lost my voice.”

Of course, Springsteen’s appeal was never purely vocal. As the musician himself confessed in “Born to Run,” his 2016 autobiography, “I have the power, range and durability of a bartender, but I don’t have much beauty or tonal finesse.” »

“My voice does the work. But it’s a companion instrument and on its own it will never take you to higher ground,” Springsteen wrote. “I need all my skills to get through this and communicate deeply.”

Still, Springsteen said he was impressed by White’s vocal performance on set. In an interview on Sirius XM’s Springsteen station, “E Street Radio,” Springsteen described White as “such a great actor.” by Rolling Stone.

“He has an interpretation of me that I think fans will deeply recognize. He just did a great job,” Springsteen added of White. “He sings well, he sings very well.”

Twelve of White’s pre-recorded covers, including “Born in the USA,” “I’m on Fire” and “Atlantic City,” will be released in December on the film’s official soundtrack.

“Deliver Me from Nowhere” is currently in theaters.