US rock star Bruce Springsteen made a surprise appearance on the London Film Festival red carpet on Wednesday, lending his support to the cast and makers of a new biographical movie about his life.
"Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere" stars "The Bear" actor Jeremy Allen White as the multiple Grammy winner. But instead of focusing on his high-flying career, it offers a raw portrayal of the person behind the music.
Directed and co-written by Scott Cooper, the film is based on the book of the same name by Warren Zanes. It follows a young Springsteen, on the cusp of hitting the big time, struggling with his inner demons and childhood trauma while writing the stark 1982 album "Nebraska".
White said the drama, which also delves into Springsteen's fraught relationship with his father, played by Stephen Graham, shows a difficult but decisive period in the rocker's life.
"I think at the core of it so much is about that longing for familial connection and the relationship between him and his father," said White. "I think he made decisions during this period in his life that allowed him to live the life that he wanted to live."
The film also features "Succession" star Jeremy Strong as Springsteen's supportive, longtime manager Jon Landau.
"It's a film obviously about Bruce and about the making of 'Nebraska', but it's about repairing trauma through art and confronting depression and mental health issues," said Strong.
"I think it's an incredibly courageous story to tell about someone as mythologised as Bruce, to tell the story of Bruce, the man," Strong said.
The movie marks the first time the musician's life has been depicted on the big screen. Springsteen, 76, was closely involved in the production.
"Very early on, he listened to me singing his songs. He said, 'you sing very well. You sound like me, not just like me.
You're making the songs your own and I want the whole process to feel that way,'" White recalled. "Without that sort of blessing, I don't think I would have been able to do what I did.
"He's been very generous in every way. He gave me the guitar I learned to play on. I still have it," White said.
The film begins its global cinematic rollout on October 22.
