Jeremy Strong on channelling Springsteen’s right-hand man: 'It was like putting your feet to the fire'

I find music biopics fascinating. Condensing a legacy into a feature film is no easy feat. However, Hollywood has delivered some gems over the years, like “Walk the Line”, “Elvis”, “Ray”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “La Vie En Rose” and “8 Mile”, to name a few. 

Now, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” has been released on the big screen. Helmed by Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen, it is written and directed by Scott Cooper.

The film, which is based on Warren Zanes' 2023 book of the same name, chronicles Springsteen’s journey in the build-up to the release of his 1982 album, “Nebraska”.

A key character in the story is Jon Landau, Springsteen's manager and record producer, and Jeremy Strong slips into those shoes with ease. 

A seasoned actor with numerous accolades under his belt, Strong is known for immersing himself fully into the character he plays. This role is no different. 

Interestingly, Springsteen and Landau were also on set to help guide the actors portraying them.

At a recent press junket, he offered profound insight into the film, his role and Allen White’s sheer brilliance in channelling a living legend. 

Having access to Springsteen and Landau on set fuelled the creativity in Strong more than anything else. 

He added, “I welcomed their presence there.  I love them both, deeply. We all became quite close in the making of this. There's not really room in your psychological eyeline for anyone on this set. 

“Your only job is to be invested in a given imaginary circumstance, and what's at stake in the scene. So they kind of disappear. And so in a sense, it was neutral for me having them here. And, at the same time, it's kind of like putting your feet to the fire a little bit, which I like to feel.

“If anything, what was incredibly valuable was having them there as a resource. I was pretty insatiable about wanting to know more.”

As someone who prides himself on getting into the skin of his characters, Strong revealed: “The most important aspect for me was to capture what I perceived to be a certain kind of essence and quality of Jon's, which had to do with his devotion to Bruce and to the music and to the depth of his understanding. 

“You kind of just follow your spidey sense, and it's different every time, but it's an exhaustive preparation. Part of it is giving yourself an education of the world around it all. 

“I didn't know very much about the music business or about the music business in this specific moment. So I read a lot of great books by key figures in the music business. I asked Landau for a list of all the best books ever written about the music business.”

Aside from reading up as much as he could, he also attended a show in Denmark, where he observed the ritual between Springsteen and Landau. 

He recalled: “Before the show, they sort of hold each other's shoulders out, kind of touch foreheads like two rams, and then he sends Bruce up the gangplank to this deafening roar of 80 000 fans. And then, at the end of the show, Jon is the first person there waiting, and Bruce comes down drenched in sweat, completely wrung out, and they hug each other. And they've been doing that for 50 years. 

“And watching Jon watch the show was probably the single most valuable thing for me because of what was emanating from him; the sheer joy and wonder that was emanating from him, hearing all these songs for the 20 000th time, that was amazing information to get about how pure Jon's connection is to Bruce and to the music. So I wanted to capture all that.”

On working alongside Allen White, Strong had nothing but praise for the film’s lead. 

He revealed: “Well, it was very organic. Jeremy is someone whom I've really admired. tremendously. We didn't know each other. But we had a great deal of trust in each other. I knew that he would be very dialled in, I knew that he'd be very prepared. I think he knew the same of me. 

“We never rehearsed or got together to talk about anything. We just trusted and had an understanding of these men and what their relationship is. 

“And, in a way, part of your job as an actor is to understand the dynamics that exist between characters and then to embody those dynamics. So it was very easy for me to feel devoted to what Jeremy was doing and protective of Jeremy, you know, film sets are like pressure cookers.”

As for helping bring Cooper’s vision to life, Strong noted: “There have been so many films about musicians and lots of musicians. I personally love the way that Scott chose to tell this story, which is not a sort of holistic story about Bruce the rock star or the myth.

"It's really a capsule of a moment in time of Bruce, the man. And, you know, Warren Zanes wrote this incredible book, which, when I read it, I was very ignited by and compelled by. 

“It's a movie about Bruce, it's a movie about the making of ‘Nebraska’, but really, it's a movie about, I think, repairing trauma through art.

"And it's about mental health, self-realisation and individuation and sort of much more deep emotional psychological themes that are around healing and reconciliation with the past. It's a pretty heavy-hitting character study, so I don't think of it as a biopic at all.

"It just happens to be about Bruce Springsteen and his music, but it's the kind of movie that I love.”

∎ “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” is showing at cinemas nationwide.