British actor Stephen Graham is known for playing tough characters in films like Gangs of New York and The Irishman, as well as TV shows such as Peaky Blinders and Boardwalk Empire. Graham also is portraying Bruce Springsteen’s father, Douglas, in the forthcoming biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere.
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In a new interview with British GQ, the actor revealed that he had an emotional first meeting with the rock legend on the movie’s set.
“I think the first [scene] we did was when we pull up to this big house, and I’m in the ’50s look, and everything,” Graham recalled. “And [Springsteen] came over, and we had a lovely conversation. He was just like, ‘Thank you so much for being here.’”
Stephen also noted that he was impressed at how available Springsteen made himself to the cast and crew while he visited the set.
“I mean, he’s an icon. He’s an absolute icon. And such a wonderful man,” Graham maintained. “What really touched me … is his humility, and the way he makes time for everybody.”
Graham also told the magazine that he was ecstatic that Springsteen reached out to him with an emotional message after he’d finished filming his role.
“I [shot] my final scene that I do, and I think it’s almost the final scene within the film, then I needed to rush to my plane,” Stephen shared. “And he sent me a text, just saying ‘thank you’ for the performance. It’s better than any award I could ever contemplate, but he said [that] what I did within that scene, he saw his father again, which is just beautiful.”
Graham Also Was Impressed by Jeremy Allen White’s Performance
As previously reported, The Bear star Jeremy Allen White portrays the Boss in Deliver Me from Nowhere. Graham said he was blown away by Allen’s performance.
“He’s absolutely f—ing unbelievable,” Stephen enthused. “He’s brilliant. … To me he’s the new [Al] Pacino and [Robert] De Niro.”
Graham told British GQ that it blew his mind to find out White was an admirer of his own work.
“[T]he weird thing for me, is I watched him in Shameless,” Stephen said. “And then it’s really strange for me when he goes, ‘I just want to say what a big fan I am.’ And I’m like, ‘Don’t be silly!’ And he’s like, ‘No, This Is England [a 2006 British film that starred Graham]. I watched it in high school. What a performance.”
More About Deliver Me from Nowhere
As previously reported, Deliver Me from Nowhere is based on musician-turned-author Warren Zanes’ 2023 non-fiction novel of the same name. The book tells the story of the making of Springsteen’s acclaimed, stripped-down 1982 acoustic album, Nebraska.
Besides White and Graham, the film features Jeremy Strong as Springsteen’s longtime manager, Jon Landau; Odessa Young as Faye, an early love interest of Bruce; and Johnny Cannizzaro as E Street Band guitarist Stevie Van Zandt.
Springsteen and Landau are both involved in the production of the movie.
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