British actor Stephen Graham, who has been earning rave reviews for Netflix limited series Adolescence, has received Bruce Springsteen’s endorsement for his portrayal of the musician’s late father in the upcoming biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere. During an appearance on Soundtracking with Edith Bowman, the 51-year-old actor shared that he received an unexpected yet deeply moving message from the Boss shortly after finishing the film.
Stephen, who plays Douglas ‘Dutch’ Springsteen in the Jeremy Allen White-led project, recalled the moment he got the text while rushing to catch a flight. “I’m racing to get to the airport, and I got this text, and it was so beautiful,” he said. The message from the 75-year-old rock legend read: “Better than any award that I could ever receive in my life.”
For Stephen, the message carried immense significance. Speaking about Bruce, he described him as “an icon. He’s a hero. He’s a working-class hero. He’s an icon to thousands, to millions.” The text continued, with Bruce expressing gratitude for the actor’s performance: “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.”
Stephen admitted he was deeply emotional while reading the message. “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.”
The actor also revealed that he and Bruce discussed the musician’s 2016 memoir, Born to Run, where Bruce candidly reflected on his complicated relationship with his father, who passed away in 1998.
Alongside Stephen and Jeremy, the film also features Jeremy Strong as longtime mentor and manager Jon Landau, Paul Walter Hauser as guitar tech Mike Batlan, Odessa Young as Bruce’s love interest Faye, and Johnny Cannizzaro as E Street Band member Steve Van Zandt.