Oprah with Jeremy Allen White & Scott Cooper on Creating Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Summary

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The Oprah Podcast

Episode Title: Oprah with Jeremy Allen White & Scott Cooper on Creating "Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere"
Date: December 23, 2025
Host: Oprah Winfrey
Guests: Jeremy Allen White (Actor), Scott Cooper (Writer/Director)

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Episode Overview

In this heartfelt episode, Oprah Winfrey sits down with acclaimed actor Jeremy Allen White and writer-director Scott Cooper to explore their new film, "Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere." The conversation focuses on the film’s intimate portrait of Bruce Springsteen during the making of his seminal album "Nebraska"—a period marked by vulnerability, creative risk, and personal struggle. The discussion touches on the challenges of portraying a legend, the film's themes of father-son relationships and mental health, and the profound audience response to these universal topics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Creative Vision: Choosing "Nebraska" Over "Born in the USA"

• Scott Cooper shares why he focused on Nebraska:
  Cooper explains that despite many offers to make a more conventional Springsteen biopic, he was drawn to Warren Zanes’ book and Springsteen’s own account of "Nebraska," which Springsteen described as “too painful” to elaborate upon in his autobiography (07:12).

  "When I was reading Bruce's autobiography...the chapter on the making of Nebraska is about one page...He said, well, it was just too painful."
  —Scott Cooper (07:38)

• The film depicts Springsteen at his lowest personal point and highest creative peak—a time Cooper says resonated with his own teenage experience of disaffection and searching for meaning.

Getting the Call & Embodying Bruce Springsteen

• Jeremy Allen White on being cast:
  White describes the audition process, his doubts, and the responsibility he felt in portraying an icon (04:26–06:46).

  "I was really excited at the idea of portraying Bruce, but also very nervous again about just, like, those shoes, filling those shoes, and what a presence he had...I thought there was an opportunity to do something, you know, very special there."
  —Jeremy Allen White (05:25)

• Preparation & Research:
  White immersed himself in all things Springsteen—concert footage, interviews, memoirs, and music—eventually transitioning from imitation to humanization.

  "In the beginning, all I did was try to take in as much information as I could...as we got closer and closer to filming, my focus kind of narrowed and...I started trying to...forget about Bruce Springsteen a little bit and approach the role as just that, the role of a young man."
  —Jeremy Allen White (12:27)

The Weight of the Story: Family, Pain, & Artistic Risk

• The movie centers on Springsteen’s relationship with his troubled father (played by Stephen Graham) and his emotional struggles, highlighting mental health and intergenerational trauma.

• Notable Quote:

  "This is really a love story between these two men in terms of friendship, support, and care for another human being."
  —Oprah Winfrey on Bruce and John Landau (02:59)

• Scott Cooper dedicates the film to his father, explaining how "Nebraska" reached him at a crucial point in his life.

Powerful Scenes & On-Set Moments

• Bruce’s Family Reacts:
  Cooper recalls Springsteen’s emotional response after private screenings, including with his sisters.

  "Bruce emerges...he was visibly moved. He'd been crying, and he kissed me on the cheek, and he said, it's better than I could have ever hoped."
  —Scott Cooper (10:31)

• On the Lap Scene:
  The emotionally charged "sit on my lap" scene between Bruce and his father was not heavily rehearsed, seeking authenticity over production.

  "There was no way that that scene could have been taken any other way. Once we entered that room that day...we found it naturally and in the moment."
  —Jeremy Allen White (18:37–19:30)

• Visual Language—Use of Black and White for Flashbacks:
  Cooper was inspired by Springsteen’s own perception of his early life as "only in black and white."

  "As I was writing the screenplay, I spent a great deal of time with Bruce...he said to me, Scott, I remember that time in my life only in black and white."
  —Scott Cooper (19:45)

Transformation: Learning to Sing, Play, and Speak Like Bruce

• Learning Curve:
  White had to learn guitar, harmonica, and develop Springsteen’s singing and speaking voice from scratch.

  "I never played the guitar and I never sang before."
  —Jeremy Allen White (15:24)

  "I'm so excited to learn how to play the guitar. And [JD Semo] said, we don't have time to learn how to play...I'm gonna teach you how to play these four Bruce Springsteen songs."
  —Jeremy Allen White (15:34–16:03)

• Vocal Techniques:
  After losing his voice during production, White started screaming into his pillow to regain the desired vocal timbre, which his vocal coach promptly stopped.

  "I started screaming into my pillow every night before bed...Eric Vitro...said, you have to stop that immediately."
  —Jeremy Allen White (17:39)

The Central Love Story: Springsteen and Landau

• Music as Connection:
  A standout scene in the film—Springsteen and manager John Landau silently listening to a song together—emphasizes the bond that supports Bruce.

  "It was nice to see these two men...enjoy a song together and to see the closest."
  —Jeremy Allen White (25:10)

• The friendship between Springsteen and Landau is described as the “central love story” of the film and is presented as unique and enduring in the music world.

Audience Reaction & Universal Themes

• Healing Through Art:
  The film has prompted powerful emotional responses, particularly relating to forgiveness, family tension, and the stigmatization of mental illness.

  "Someone like Bruce Springsteen can struggle and get the help he needs, so can I."
  —Scott Cooper (quoting audience feedback, 00:00 and 31:12)

  "This movie feels like a gift to me because it is...in service to what it means to be human and what it means to feel alone and...be lost."
  —Oprah Winfrey (29:40)

• Global Impact:
  Cooper notes that, from Telluride to Poland, audiences everywhere have recognized themselves or found healing in the story, regardless of background.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Scott Cooper | "So many people would come to me...My father never told me he loved me...Thank you for showing me that if someone like Bruce Springsteen can struggle and get the help he needs, so can I." | | 07:38 | Scott Cooper | "When I was reading Bruce's autobiography...the chapter on the making of Nebraska is about one page...He said, well, it was just too painful." | | 10:31 | Scott Cooper | "Bruce emerges...he was visibly moved. He'd been crying, and he kissed me on the cheek, and he said, it's better than I could have ever hoped." | | 12:27 | Jeremy Allen White | "In the beginning, all I did was try to take in as much information as I could...I started trying to...forget about Bruce Springsteen a little bit and approach the role as just that, the role of a young man." | | 15:24 | Jeremy Allen White | "I never played the guitar and I never sang before." | | 17:39 | Jeremy Allen White | "I started screaming into my pillow every night before bed...Eric Vitro...said, you have to stop that immediately." | | 19:45 | Scott Cooper | "As I was writing the screenplay...he said to me, Scott, I remember that time in my life only in black and white." | | 25:10 | Jeremy Allen White | "It was nice to see these two men...enjoy a song together and to see the closest." | | 31:12 | Scott Cooper | "So many people would come to me and say, scott, my father never told me he loved me...I, too, suffer mental illness. And thank you for showing me that if someone like Bruce Springsteen can struggle and get the help he needs, so can I." | | 34:50 | Scott Cooper | "If you have the right people around you, like John Landau, who will protect you when you take these creative risks, that's the difference between being a full and rich artist and one who isn't, quite frankly."|

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Film Background: 00:24–02:59
• Casting & Preparation: 04:26–06:46; 12:27
• Why "Nebraska": 07:12–09:42
• Springsteen's Reaction: 09:42–11:31
• On-Screen Father-Son Dynamic: 18:06–19:30
• Black and White Artistic Choices: 19:45–20:57
• Learning Music & Voice: 15:19–17:46
• Springsteen-Landau Relationship: 22:38–26:12
• Audience & Personal Impact: 27:47–34:50

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The Takeaway

This episode offers an intimate exploration of the personal and artistic risks behind "Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere," the transformative experience for its creators, and the film’s resonance with universal struggles—family, mental health, the courage to be vulnerable, and the power of genuine human connection. Oprah, White, and Cooper highlight how art, at its best, helps people see themselves and each other more clearly.

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Transcript

[Scott Cooper]

So many people would come to me and say, scott, my father never told me he loved me. My father never told me he was proud of me. I, too, suffer mental illness. And thank you for showing me that if someone like Bruce Springsteen can struggle and get the help he needs, so can I.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Hi there, and thank you for joining me here on the Oprah podcast. On this episode, I'm talking with Jeremy Allen White. Now, he is one of the most talented actors of his generation, known for his role in Shameless. And we all don't you just love him and the bear. He's won three Golden Globes and two Emmys for that role already and was just nominated for yet another Golden Globe for his portrayal of Bruce Springsteen. Earlier this year, I saw Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere. And I have to say that it's exquisite moviemaking and really a work of art. It's the kind of movie that stays with you and keeps you thinking about it long after as I still am. And it's an extraordinary look inside the life of Bruce Springsteen. I mean, so many people did not know that he has been through what millions of others have suffered with depression. And so this film is an exploration of his time when he was creating the album Nebraska. And recently at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, we screened that movie. And afterwards, I sat down with Jeremy Allen White and the film's incredibly talented director, Scott Cooper. But first, let me just tell you a little bit about this movie. Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere is based on the book by Warren Zanes and takes place in early 1980s New Jersey where Bruce Springsteen started his career. And in this film, it captures him right on the cusp of superstardom as he is writing and recording his stripped down album Nebraska.

[Jeremy Allen White]

You wanna know why I did what I did, sir? I guess it's just a meanness in this world.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Jeremy Allen White is mesmerizing as Springsteen during a chapter of his life when he was going through a lot of inner turmoil, when he's trying to reconcile the pressure of success with the crushing weight of his relationship with his troubled father, who. Who is played so hauntingly by Stephen Graham.

[Jeremy Allen White]

What do you want? We'll never again serve Just to hear your voice.

[Oprah Winfrey]

In another captivating performance, Jeremy Strong is just brilliant as Springsteen's dedicated manager and producer, John Landau. This is really a love story between these two men in terms of friendship, support, and care for another human being.

[Scott Cooper]

Hey, this is all too much. Let's just go back. Say the word.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Oh, I'm okay. Just trying to find something real in all the Noise.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Both the film and its transformative performances are generating lots of Oscar buzz.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Nebraska Mansion, what they're doing with Atlantic City, it's just. It's not worth it, right? And these songs, you know, they matter to me.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So everybody just saw it. Is this your first time seeing it? Everybody? First time. First time seeing it. Second, their first time seeing it. I saw it for the first time at the Telluride Film Festival, and I was just blown away. I remember the woman sitting next to me saying at the end of it, does this mean I have to forgive my father? Yes. Yes. I go, yes, it's a sign. It's a sign. So let me ask you, when you saw it for the first time, after doing all of the work and the preparation, how did it leave your spirit or how did it settle in your spirit? The first time, I felt so relieved.

[Jeremy Allen White]

The first time I saw the film, you know, I had about. About six months of preparation, and it really took over. It was all I thought about for six months. And I knew the responsibility. You know, I knew the weight. I thought very often about.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Well, first of all, tell us, how did you get the call? And what does that call sound like? Who's on the other end of that call? I guess. What was it?

[Jeremy Allen White]

I mean, Scott and I had gotten together to speak about what I didn't know, but I'd been a phone. Just a general meeting with Scott's for a long time.

[Oprah Winfrey]

But you knew it was him. You wanted to. To be him?

[Scott Cooper]

Yeah, I did.

[Walmart Commercial Announcer]

Yeah.

[Jeremy Allen White]

We were already thinking about that at the time. Yeah, yeah, it was okay. But he didn't share that with me, so we had a great lunch.

[Oprah Winfrey]

He was just checking you out?

[Jeremy Allen White]

He was exactly, yes. And I just said, I hope we can do something together. And then I think a couple months later, I got a call from my agent first to listen to the record, to listen to Nebraska, and then I could sort of piece together what was coming. But I listened to the record. I had heard it before, but not for maybe a decade or so. I was very affected by it. And then Scott and I spoke, and he sent me the script. I was really excited at the idea of portraying Bruce, but also very nervous again about just, like, those shoes, filling those shoes, and what a presence he had. But I liked the inn. I liked the story that Scott wanted to tell. I liked how specific it was. I thought there was an opportunity to do something, you know, very special there. Hey, the boys up there, Let's burn this place down. John.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So you weren't scarred at All.

[Jeremy Allen White]

No, of course I was. Yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Scott Cooper]

No.

[Jeremy Allen White]

I took a. A couple days to think about it because I wanted to make sure that I was the person to do it. I don't get every script and trust that I'm the one every time. I wanted to make sure. And that took some time. And I think Scott understood and wanted me to be sure as well and respected that. So it took some time to say yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Well, Scott is one of those directors who elevates quiet struggle into cinematic poetry. You have done it again. You've done it again.

[Scott Cooper]

Thank you, Oprah.

[Oprah Winfrey]

You know, you could have told a different kind of story about Bruce Springsteen. I mean, everybody, I think, was expecting the Born in the USA biopic kind of story. Why did you choose this version?

[Scott Cooper]

Yeah, that probably would have made things a lot easier. Born in the USA or the Born to Run story. And people had, quite frankly, asked Bruce if they could tell that version of his story since, I think, 1986. And he and John Landau have always said no. When I was reading Bruce's autobiography, a wonderful autobiography, Born to Run, most every chapter is quite lengthy, but the chapter on the making of Nebraska is about one page, maybe one and a half pages long. And when I got to know Bruce, I asked him why that was, and he said, well, it was just too painful. So then in reading Warren Zanes book, Deliver Me From Nowhere, I got a sense, and, of course, having seen Bruce's Broadway show, getting a sense of what really motivated Bruce to write Nebraska. And Nebraska is one of my favorite albums, certainly Bruce Springsteen albums, but one of my favorite albums in general. And it kind of was introduced to me by my father, to whom I've dedicated the movie in that album came to me at just the right time in my life. Kind of a disaffected teenager, wasn't quite sure of his place in the world. And those characters and the starkness and the power of that album really spoke to me. So when I read Warren's book about the making of Nebraska, and it was a very specific time in Bruce's life, a very intimate time in Bruce's life, the most painful chapter in Bruce's life, when he was at his personal lowest, but at his creative best, because, as you've seen, he's not only writing Nebraska, he was also writing the songs that would become Born in the usa. So Bruce was really probably writing some of the best material he's ever written. So all of that is what motivated me to ask Bruce if I could tell this story. And I think now that Bruce has. I just told Oprah this backstage. Oprah backstage, that Bruce has now seen the movie 13 times and asked me yesterday if he could see it again.

[Oprah Winfrey]

If he could get a link, if.

[Scott Cooper]

He could get a link to watch it at his house in Colts Neck, New Jersey. And so I knew the story meant a great deal to him. Bruce is a cinephile. He'd seen my movies, some of them, several times. I think he maybe felt comfortable that I could tell this very personal and painful chapter in his life. And here we are in Santa Barbara.

[Oprah Winfrey]

So when he saw it for the first time. Tell our audience here what he said when he saw it for the first time.

[Scott Cooper]

Yeah, he asked me to watch it with him, which I absolutely wasn't going to do.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

Because, you know, John Landau, played by Jeremy Strong, said to me, he said, you know, Scott, this is the first time in 50 years that Bruce has handed the wheel over to anybody else. I mean, he's nicknamed the Boss for a reason.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Right.

[Scott Cooper]

And the last thing I wanted was to watch Bruce Springsteen out of the side of my eye, watching the most personal chapter in his life. So I'm pacing outside the Robert A. Iger Building in, you know, in New York City. While Bruce and Landau are watching it. Bruce emerges.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Was it Bruce and Landau? And wasn't his sister in there, too?

[Scott Cooper]

Not the first time.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Not the first time.

[Scott Cooper]

Okay. First time was just them. He's since has screened it for his sons and his daughter and his sisters and the E Street Band, lots of friends. But that first time, those two hours felt like four. And I was pacing around lower Manhattan, and he came out and he was visibly moved. He'd been crying, and he kissed me on the cheek, and he said, it's better than I could have ever hoped. And at that point, I was just.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Like, oh, my God, that's great. He told me about the time that he watched with his sister tell everyone what he said.

[Scott Cooper]

Watched it with both sisters, Pam, his younger sister, and his older sister Virginia, whom you see in the movie very briefly. And he said that they both each grabbed a hand and they were crying midway through the film. And then when the film ended and they were all embracing, Virginia said, bruce, isn't it wonderful that we have this?

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

Even though it's incredibly painful, and the relationship with his father was so difficult and not much easier for his sisters. So for them to feel that way about the movie really means more than I can put into words.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Daddy, mom said it's time to go home. Right outside, it feels like you immersed yourself in this character. It feels like you, you know, presented yourself fully embodied as Bruce. And we want to know what the process for that was. Did you listen to more than Nebraska? Did you watch Bruce's tapes? Did you? How'd you get that Jersey soul swagger?

[Jeremy Allen White]

Yeah, I mean, I think in the beginning, all I did was try to take in as much information as I could. I mean, it was. It was interviews with him, it was concert footage. It was his discography. His book was obviously very helpful. I listened to his memoir over and over and over again for the months in preparation. Warren's book. Warren Zane. Yeah, Warren Zane's book. Yeah. Deliver Me from Nowhere. And, yeah, in the beginning, I was just, you know, I had been aware of Bruce Springsteen, an admirer of Bruce Springsteen, but I wasn't incredibly knowledgeable. So I was just trying to take in as much as I could and kind of crossing my fingers that it was all kind of getting into me somehow. You know, I didn't take notes. I didn't have, like any real structure other than trying to take it in as much as possible in those six months. And then as we got closer and closer to filming, my focus kind of narrowed and it all sort of shifted and I started trying to, I guess, forget about Bruce Springsteen a little bit and approach the role as just that, the role of a young man, a musician coming home after a long tour. And I think that's where I found my confidence is kind of trying to humanize the sort of icon.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Okay? We just.

[Jeremy Allen White]

We can't let them make it something that it's not, right? No singles, no tours, no press.

[Oprah Winfrey]

All right?

[Jeremy Allen White]

We have to let this album breathe on its own.

[Oprah Winfrey]

We might need to give the label.

[Scott Cooper]

Something to work with.

[Jeremy Allen White]

No, I don't even want to be on the COVID Okay? I don't want to have to explain it. I don't even know if I can.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Right, we're going to take a break next. I want to know what was more challenging for Jeremy, acting or singing like the legendary Bruce Springsteen. Can you imagine? Somebody calls and wants you to portray Bruce Springsteen. Be right back.

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[Scott Cooper]

Who knew?

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[Oprah Winfrey]

Welcome back to my conversation with actor Jeremy Allen White, who's getting a lot of Oscar buzz for his authentic and mesmerizing powerful portrayal of an American icon in Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere. Were you more challenged by the singing or the acting?

[Jeremy Allen White]

I think the singing, obviously, was a skill that I didn't have already.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Did you even play the guitar?

[Jeremy Allen White]

I never played the guitar and I never sang before.

[Oprah Winfrey]

You never played the guitar before?

[Jeremy Allen White]

No, no, no, no. So I was the one you had.

[Oprah Winfrey]

To learn to play the guitar?

[Jeremy Allen White]

Well, yeah. And I got together with.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Well, yeah, okay.

[Scott Cooper]

And the harmonica and sing well.

[Jeremy Allen White]

I didn't learn. That's the thing. I got together with JD Semo, who's a wonderful guitarist out of Nashville, and I met with him five times a week for six months in preparation. And the first time we met, I told him, you know, I'm so excited to learn how to play the guitar. And he said, we don't have time to learn how to play the guitar. I'm gonna teach you how to play these four Bruce Springsteen songs. So I still can't really say I know how to play the guitar.

[Oprah Winfrey]

But you know how to play those songs on the guitar.

[Jeremy Allen White]

I learned how to play those songs, and I learned how to hold that guitar confidently enough. Yeah.

[Singer (Bruce Springsteen Song)]

Together, Wendy, we live with the sadness I love you and all the madness in my so someday, girl I don't know when we're gonna get to that place we really wanna go we'll walk in the sun but to let tramps like us maybe we were born to run Science tramps like us, baby we were born to run.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Oh, tramps like.

[Singer (Bruce Springsteen Song)]

Us Baby we were born to run.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Did you work with a voice coach?

[Jeremy Allen White]

Yeah. Yeah. I worked with a wonderful coach, Eric Vitro, who's a vocal coach and who helps a lot of these actors like me, prepare to do roles like this where they have to sing. But finding Bruce's speaking voice was something that. I mean, I listened to him so often, so I think I understood the accent, but the tone of his voice really came to me. I mean, I lost my voice recording. Born in the USA about a week before we started filming, and I didn't know if I was gonna get it back in time for our kind of day one. I got it back, but when it came back, it was so gravelly. It was so kind of like lost. I loved the sound of it and So I started screaming into my pillow every night before bed to sort of try to recapture that. And then that same vocal coach, Eric Vitro, found out I had been screaming into my pillow, and he said, you have to stop that immediately. Wow.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Wow.

[Jeremy Allen White]

That's not allowed.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah. So, you know, one of the things that Bruce said to me at the end of the. When I saw it in Telluride, he said, because we were all so moved by that. I know you were. To that final scene, that final scene with the sun and with Stephen Graham. And Bruce said, every word of that is true.

[Scott Cooper]

Come here, Sit on my lap, huh?

[Jeremy Allen White]

Come on. I'm soaking wet, Pop. But I'm. I'm 32 years old.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Come on. Did you and Stephen Graham rehearse that a lot? It felt to us watching that there was this spontaneous moment. We know that there had to be rehearsal, but.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Yeah, I mean, no, there wasn't much rehearsal.

[Scott Cooper]

I don't really rehearse for actors.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Yeah, no, but by design. I mean, I remember reading that scene. I knew that that was something that happened with Bruce and his father, but I remember reading it in the script and going, are we gonna be able to do this in a way that doesn't seem too uncomfortable or silly? Like, is it gonna be grounded in something real? And I have to credit Scott and Steven. I mean, there was no way that that scene could have been taken any other way. Once we entered that room that day, which was a very heavy. It was towards the end of filming, we had a really big day. Stephen and I didn't discuss it even, really. I think we just. We knew what was necessary and we found it naturally and in the moment.

[Oprah Winfrey]

You know, talk about Scott. The decision to utilize black and white photography in the flashback scenes and how that contrasts with the color photography and what we can learn about Bruce's memories and relationship with his past through that.

[Scott Cooper]

Well, as I was writing the screenplay, I spent a great deal of time with Bruce on tour or when he was off tour. And he said to me, scott, I remember that time in my life only in black and white. And he would send me lots of images of him with his father and his sisters, 7, 8 years old. Of course, they were all in black and white. That's why the COVID of Nebraska is in black and white. All of the liner notes images are black and white. The Night of the Hunter, the film that his father took him to, was in black and white. It seemed to me to be the right choice. And Bruce thanked me for that. He said, because that's how I always accessed those troubling moments in my life. So to contrast that to the 1982. It's handheld, a little more garage rock approach, because Bruce is unsettled and he's in disequilibrium. And the black and white is very formalist and on the dolly. And I told the story in an almost nostalgic way, even though the nostalgia is a father who's incredibly cold and callous toward his son.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Except especially that first moment when he walks into the bar.

[Scott Cooper]

Yes.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yes.

[Scott Cooper]

Yeah. And Bruce said on too many occasions throughout his life, he had to extricate his father from a bar. When he does it in Los Angeles, in Chinatown, when his father has just been released from LA County Jail, the roles are reversed. And his father, who is suffering from schizophrenia undiagnosed, doesn't have his medication. He's incredibly vulnerable. It's. He's almost a child. Bruce said, I would always find my father at the end of the bar for whatever reason. He said, but every time I would go, that's where he was. So it kind of mirrors the opening of that shot. But I remember specifically just to speak on the last moment where he sits on his father's lap, I said, bruce, what was the feeling of that? And it's a little bit like Jeremy described. He said it was uncomfortable, it was awkward, and at times, a little bit subconsciously funny. And then it became tender. So it's all the same things that you see in the scene. And when you have actors that are as good as Jeremy White and Stephen Graham, who really know how to take the subtext of my screenplay or anybody's screenplay and really find those very genuine and honest moments, then you just have to get out of the way.

[Jeremy Allen White]

You know, I drive a bus these days. Yeah, I know you do, but not today. No work today.

[Oprah Winfrey]

There are so many genuine and honest moments. I remember Jeremy Strong telling me that he called Bruce and said, well, what is the song you would play for somebody if you wanted to save their life? And Bruce thought about it and then called him back and said, sam Cooke. And then Jeremy came to you and said, yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

So the scene where just after Bruce has broken up with his love interest, Faye, and we find him, bags are packed, he's in the bedroom in his white T shirt, looking incredibly despairing, and Landau finds him there. I had scripted a scene where they sit on the end of the bed and they talk about, in a very subtextual way, what the future holds. And beautiful scene. Nice scene. Felt like it really captured what I wanted To. And then Jeremy Strong called me the night before and said, I have an idea. Are you open to this? And I was like, I'm always open to ideas. So the next day, he has the props department put the boombox out in the bedroom. Let's just listen.

[Singer (Bruce Springsteen Song)]

Okay.

[Jeremy Allen White]

If I walk in the path. Way of duty.

[Scott Cooper]

I don't think you had any idea really what was coming, Right?

[Jeremy Allen White]

He said, I'm going to try something. Do you want to know what it is? And I said, no. And he said, okay, yeah, yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

And I remember from my first film, Crazy Heart, that starred Jeff Bridges. I remember that Jeff said to me, scott, you'll never know where you'll find inspiration. It's like sometimes I'll be at craft service and somebody will give me a note, and I'll take that into a scene. So Jeremy plays the scene with Jeremy White. Jeremy Strong. And it's beautiful.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yes.

[Scott Cooper]

And we thought that it was.

[Oprah Winfrey]

And then you chose to use the.

[Scott Cooper]

Flashbacks with it of young Bruce dancing with his mother.

[Jeremy Allen White]

It was nice to see these two men who. Their bond was of music. I mean, that is how they got close in the beginning. They would listen to music and talk about music. And I think it was nice to have a moment of them enjoying music that wasn't Bruce's and Bruce trying to capture his and protect his sound. All that stuff is important to the story, obviously. But I think it was really nice to see these two men enjoy a song together and to see the closest.

[Scott Cooper]

Story because their relationship is the central love story of the movie.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

And it's that way now.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Landau. Support and love for him.

[Scott Cooper]

I was just with them over the weekend, both of them together, and it's a remarkable relationship that's kind of unrivaled in all of rock and roll or any kind of genre of music.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Still. Still.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Yeah, yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

Still.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

Last person, as Bruce goes on stage, they put their heads together and. And kind of have a wordless moment. Bruce goes out for three and a half hours. Bruce comes back soaking wet. First person that he embraces is John Landown.

[Jeremy Allen White]

This 51 years.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

You know, I still think it's worth considering. Change of scenery, maybe place in the city or something.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Hey, dog.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Hard to pry me out of my small town.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Johnny. All right, after a break, the powerful reaction that moviegoers are having to the film. We'll be right back.

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[Oprah Winfrey]

We're back with my conversation with actor Jeremy Allen White and writer director Scott Cooper about their film Springsteen Deliver Me From Nowhere. Every role that actually has an impact on the audience, I think also has an impact on the person who's offering that to the audience. And I want to know what impact has playing Bruce Springsteen, immersing yourself into his life during this particular time? How has that opened? You expanded, you changed, you evolved, you.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I felt like I was. I had a lot of protection in Scott, Jeremy Strong, the whole team, but I felt like I was really stepping out on a limb and there was a bit of a leap of faith involved in this process, and I feel that that is really what Bruce is doing at this period in his career and in his life and with this record. And I think what I found throughout the process and what I found in getting to know Bruce and getting to know his world is the value of trust, the value of trusting yourself, but also trusting those around you, finding those angels in your life. I mean, this film so much to me is just as much about these angels, John Landau, Faye, these characters that have held up a mirror to Bruce at this period in his life, have listened to Bruce in his life. It's trusting the life that you've built for yourself and leaning on those around you. And I'd like to think, and I hope that I've moved forward in this life after taking this role, more available and more trusting of the world around.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Me after playing that. Yeah, that's wonderful. You know what's wonderful? That we're all here in support of the Santa Barbara films that have moved so many of us over the years, and now this one. And what's really remarkable to me is how you as an artist, and you as an artist, use this to stir the world. Because as I was saying, the woman next to me after watching said, the woman said, this means I have to forgive my father. And another woman said, I had no idea that Bruce has been through the same thing that I've been through. I had no idea. Did you have an idea? I go, yeah, I had an idea. I read the book. And I also saw the play three times. But I think this. This movie feels like a gift to me because it is not just in service to the arts of the story of Nebraska and Bruce, but it's also in service to what it means to be human and what it means to feel alone and what it means to be lost and what it means all those things. Tell us what doing this movie has, how it has served you well.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Since.

[Scott Cooper]

That first screening in Telluride. The great thing about the Telluride Film Festival is you're there for four days, movie screens, four or five times, and you really interact with the audience, the film going, community. And so many people would come to me and say, scott, my father never told me he loved me. My father never told me he was proud of me. I, too, suffer mental illness. And thank you for showing me that if someone like Bruce Springsteen can struggle and get the help he needs, so can I. Those sort of things. Having psychiatrists come to me that weekend and saying, scott, hopefully people outside of the Telluride community can see the film. Because, you know, so often men don't give voice to their pain, don't know how to get the help. Very often people don't have the means to get help. And I think when people see that someone who outwardly has everything, Bruce Springsteen, fame, adoration, myth, legend, iconography, and then see that he struggled as well, that depression, mental illness doesn't discriminate through class, through color, race, ethnicity, position, power, all of it.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Yes, no.

[Scott Cooper]

And I said to Jeremy, I said, my hope is that the first 10 minutes into the film, people will forget that we're making a movie about Bruce Springsteen. It just happens to be a man who is Renting a house in Colts Neck, New Jersey, and who's writing about wrestling with how honest he can be in his work.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Yeah.

[Scott Cooper]

And I have to say that I didn't realize it was as topical or as relatable as it is, because I've now screened the film all over the world. And whether I'm in Poland or Italy or Berlin, New York City, people all come to me after the screenings and say the same thing. Thank you. Or, scott, I have suffered. This one guy said to me, scott, I came down this. I didn't come down the steps with a baseball bat at 8 years old. I came down the steps with a gun that once I pulled the trigger, I realized had no ammunition in it. And 60 years later, I finally got the help that I needed. So the movie has touched people in ways that I never expected it to when I first sat down to make the movie. It's made me realize how fragile we all are at all different times in our lives and how we all have challenging childhoods. And I have to say, as a father of two girls, you think you're a great father, but you can always be more available or kinder or even when you think you're being the dad of the year. Yeah, right. So it's really made me reevaluate how I interact with family and loved ones and friends. And it's also made me think about how Bruce took a massive creative risk. I mean, he was on an ascendant star, and his audience and the record label, his fan base, all thought that Bruce was going to continue by giving them rock and roll hits. But instead, he gave them his most personal and enduring and difficult album of his career. And it just goes to show you that if you have the right people around you, like John Landau, who will protect you when you take these creative risks, that's the difference between being a full and rich artist and one who isn't, quite frankly.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Well, thank you for giving us such a full and rich experience. Thank you, Obama, and deliver me from nowhere. Thank you.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Thank you for your journey.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Thank you. Thanks for doing this.

[Jeremy Allen White]

Thank you.

[Oprah Winfrey]

Thanks, everybody.

[Jeremy Allen White]

There's a place out on the edge of town, Sir Rising above Perfect the reason, the feeling Ever since I was a child I can remember.

[Oprah Winfrey]

You can subscribe to the over podcast on YouTube and follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen. I'll see you next week. Thanks, everybody.