Adolescence star Stephen Graham has revealed he was left in tears after Bruce Springsteen got in touch to praise his performance in the upcoming biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere.
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The film, which stars The Bear‘s Jeremy Allen White as a young Springsteen, follows the heartland rocker during the making of his 1982 album ‘Nebraska’, with Graham playing his late father, Douglas “Dutch” Springsteen.
After wrapping, the ‘Radio Nowhere’ singer got in touch with Graham, texting him to let him know that his turn as his father, with whom he had a complicated relationship, had really moved him.
Speaking on Soundtracking with Edith Bowman, the Venom actor said Springsteen had sent him “the most gorgeous texts I’ve ever had in my life”. He went on to explain that he played his dad in the eighties, which required prosthetics that he had to rip off on one occasion before getting a flight.
“I’m racing to get to the airport, and I got this text, and it was so beautiful. It just said: ‘Better than any award that I could ever receive in my life’. He’s an icon. He’s a hero.”
Graham continued: “He’s a working-class hero. He’s an icon to thousands, to millions. And his text just said, ‘Thank you so much. You know, my father passed away a while ago and I felt like I saw him today and thank you for giving me that memory.’
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“I was crying reading the text, do you know what I mean? Oh mate, it was beautiful. You couldn’t ask for anything more, you know, to share that with someone was gorgeous. He’s a lovely man.”
Elsewhere in the podcast, Graham revealed Springsteen was also a fan of This Is England, and that they’d had conversations about Springsteen’s book, Born To Run, in which he detailed his complex relationship with his father.
In the memoir, the ‘Dancing In The Dark’ singer wrote: “He loved me but he couldn’t stand me. He felt we competed for my mother’s affections.”
Meanwhile, White spoke to GQ last year about his preparation for portraying the rock icon. “I’m really lucky that there’s sort of a team of folks now in place to help young actors portray rock stars. I’ve got a really talented group of people helping me train vocally, musically, to get ready for this thing.”
The actor, who previously revealed he had texted The Boss in the hopes of meeting him in London, also shared that Springsteen was “really supportive of the project”, adding: “I’ve had some access to him and he’s just the greatest guy.”
Others involved with the movie have also expressed their delight with the film. Jeremy Strong, who plays Springsteen’s manager Jon Landau, called it “one of the greatest working experiences I’ve ever had”.
The singer himself was quoted as being full of praise for White, saying he “sings very well” and that the film is cast “beautifully”.