'When Stephen Graham asks how you are he really means it' says Springsteen biopic star Jeremy Allen White
Jeremy Allen White has opened up about how Stephen Graham helped him with challenges when filming the new Bruce Spingsteen biopic, Deliver Me from Nowhere.
The Hollywood actor, known for hits like The Bear and Shameless, stars as Springsteen himself, while Graham plays his father Douglas.
Speaking on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X earlier this week, White said: “Throughout the process of making the film, I was very, sort of like head down and closed off.
“I feel like before Stephen and I worked together, he was so lovely. He was like checking in on me all the time, and we didn't really know each other very well yet. But I think he saw me just kind of like pacing about basecamp all the time, sort of staring at the ground.
“And when he asks if you're well, he really means it! Some people sort of ask, ‘How you doing? Are you okay?’ And I found very quickly with Stephen, you know, every time he asked, he's really asking. And a couple times I almost was like, ‘No, I'm not.’ You know?”
Graham said he first came across White when his son, Alfie, showed him the US series of Shameless. He explained: “I watched it, and that was the first time I ever saw him, and I thought he was phenomenal.
“I thought he was wonderful. So, to get to work with him, I'm not just saying it because he's here, but I think he's one of the finest actors I've ever worked with.”
Jeremy Allen White has been a fan of Stephen Graham for much longer though, ever since This is England. He told Radio X: “I was so, so struck by that film and Stephen's performance.
“And I told him – I mean, it was like maybe the first or second day we'd met – how touched I was by that film and that performance in particular. I've been a big fan of Stephen’s for a very, very long time.
“He's worked with the greatest directors we have, and that makes a whole lot of sense. Because he's one of the greatest actors we have.
“And I'm so excited. You know, we made this film before Adolescence had come out, and so to have spent some time with him and do this film and then see how far that shows gone and how much he's been applauded and how popular that show has been. It's been so wonderful to see, you know?”
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere will be released in cinemas on October 24.
Tune into The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X weekdays from 6:30am – 10am and on Global Player.