Yes, Jeremy Allen White is actually singing in ‘Deliver Me from Nowhere’ — and Bruce Springsteen approves

• Jeremy Allen White portrays Bruce Springsteen in Scott Cooper's new film, "Deliver Me from Nowhere."
• The actor prerecorded Springsteen covers for the film and sang some of the songs live on set.
• White had never played guitar or sung professionally before, but Springsteen praised his performance.

In preparing 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 frightened I've been in my work life."

White, who's tackled roles that required him to learn new skills before — he played a chef in "The Bear" and a professional wrestler in "The Iron Claw" — learned to sing and play guitar with a six-month turnaround to portray The Boss.

"Picking up a guitar for the first time when you've never held one before," White told "Hot Ones" host Sean Evans, "that was humbling."

Scott Cooper, who wrote and directed "Deliver Me from Nowhere," hand-picked White for the role — largely because he felt that White, 34, resembled Springsteen in his early 30s, when the film's key events take place.

Cooper also felt that White embodied something ineffable about Springsteen's rockstar spirit.

"Like Bruce, Jeremy White has two things that I think are critical for this: one is humility, and the other is swagger," Cooper told Esquire. "They don't teach you swagger. They don't teach you that at The Juilliard School. You either have that or you don't. And I knew that he had it."

"I also knew that he's a remarkable actor," Cooper continued. "And when it comes to singing, Jeremy did all his own singing on camera, and it was remarkable at times that we couldn't tell the difference, in certain songs, between Jeremy and Bruce."

In a 2024 cover story for GQ, White said he had a team of people "helping me train vocally, musically," to nail 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 great to go down a YouTube rabbit hole and find him at all these different periods in his life and be able to listen to his speaking voice as well as his singing voice," White said. "That's kind of been the deal, just listening to him a lot and watching him a lot. It's been really fun preparing."

White said he was initially hesitant to take on the role, since he'd never played guitar or sung professionally. But a vote of confidence from Springsteen himself gave White the push to accept.

"I don't think everybody's 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 was like, 'OK, well, if he thinks I'm the guy and I can offer something, then I should try.'"

White said he performed some of the songs live on set — particularly the acoustic scenes of Springsteen recording "Nebraska" at home in New Jersey. Other scenes in the film feature prerecorded tracks.

"I recorded 'Born in the USA' at the same recording station where we perform it in the film, a week prior to us starting 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 has never been purely vocal. As the musician himself confessed in "Born to Run," his 2016 autobiography, "I have a bar-man's power, range and durability, but I don't have a lot of tonal beauty or finesse."

"My voice gets the job done. But it's a journeyman's instrument and on its own, it's never going to take you to higher ground," Springsteen wrote. "I need all my skills to get by and to 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 terrific actor," per Rolling Stone.

"He's got an interpretation of me that I think the fans will deeply recognize. He's just done a great job," Springsteen added of White. "He sings well, he sings very well."

Twelve of White's prerecorded 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 in theaters now.

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