Jeremy Allen White says Bruce Springsteen role left him drained

Jeremy Allen White opened up about the emotional cost of playing Bruce Springsteen in the upcoming biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere. 

The 35-year-old actor admitted the role took a heavy toll on him both physically and mentally.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Jeremy said the experience left him feeling drained. “I feel like I’m pain for hire.

Like I’m getting paid to put myself in painful places,” he said. 

"Filming the Bruce movie was incredibly difficult. I was in isolation. I was far from my children. I didn’t travel home much. It made me unwell and when I came out of it I thought, ‘There has to be a better way.’”

The Bear star, who shares daughters Ezer, seven, and Dolores, four, with his ex-wife Addison Timlin, explained that stepping into Springsteen’s world demanded complete dedication. 

"There was a lot of prep. It was tough,” he said during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show. 

"I am such an admirer of Bruce, so it took a long time to accept I could do it. I trained six times a week for six months so I could sound a bit like Bruce. The rasp came naturally after singing the songs over and over again.”

Bruce Springsteen himself praised Jeremy’s work, saying the actor always been his first choice for the role. “I’d seen him in The Bear and saw how the camera read his internal psychology. 

Jeremy's performance is very real and authentic,” the music legend said. “He was my first choice, and fortunately, he took the job.”