Call it a “Brilliant Disguise.”
Bruce Springsteen personally praised British actor Stephen Graham for his portrayal of his late father, Douglas “Dutch” Springsteen, in the legendary rocker’s upcoming biopic “Deliver Me from Nowhere.”
After filming wrapped on the movie — starring Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen — the Boss’ props came in “the most gorgeous texts I’ve ever had in my life,” Graham said on Edith Bowman’s “Soundtracking” podcast.
“I’m racing to get to the airport, and I got this text, and it was so beautiful,” he shared. “It just said: ‘Better than any award that I could ever receive in my life.’
“He’s an icon. He’s a hero. He’s a working-class hero. He’s an icon to thousands, to millions,” Graham continued. “And his text just said, ‘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.’”
Suffice it to say, it touched the “Adolescence” star’s (hungry) heart.
“I was crying reading the text, do you know what I mean?” said Graham. “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.”
Graham, 51, also revealed that he’d talked with Springsteen about his 2016 memoir “Born to Run,” in which the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer reflects on his complicated relationship with his father, who passed away in 1998.
If that’s not enough, Graham also discovered that Springsteen is a fan of his “This Is England” series – a continuation of the 2006 cult film in which the actor stars as Andrew “Combo” Gascoigne.
Springsteen, 75, has been a supporter of “Deliver Me from Nowhere,” which covers his life during the making of his 1982 classic “Nebraska.”
“I’ve had some access to him and he’s just the greatest guy,” White, 34, told GQ last August. “I’m also really lucky [that] Bruce is really supportive of the film.”
In fact, Springsteen even visited the set of “Deliver Me from Nowhere” in November, giving the Emmy-winning star of “The Bear” a big hug.
While appearing on “The Graham Norton Show” in October, Springsteen said, “[White] is a great actor and sings pretty good.”
The rock god added that the assignment was a tricky one: “This is not easy to do because you can’t do an imitation. You have to do a personal interpretation.”
