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It’s been a big year for father moments for Stephen Graham, starting with his role as the distraught father of a tragically spoiled son in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence – the landmark series he also co-created. He gives an equally strong performance as a very different father, the troubled Douglas Springsteen, in the new film “Deliver Me From Nowhere.”
The new episode of “Rolling Stone Music Now” Our US colleagues look at the making of this biopic (in which Jeremy Allen White plays the role of Bruce Springsteen), with host Brian Hiatt speaking to both Graham and director/screenwriter Scott Cooper.
In his interview, Graham talks about how he prepared for the role, his interactions with Bruce Springsteen on set, and more. Here are some highlights from the interview with Graham:
Bruce Springsteen personally handpicked Graham for the role.
“I thought, ‘What? Bruce knows I exist?'” Graham recalls. “And [Regisseur Scott Cooper] said, ‘I want you to play this role because you can give it the depth it needs.’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll do it.’ And he said, ‘I haven’t sent you the script yet.’ I replied: ‘You don’t need that either.'”
Graham discovered a key to his character in conversations with Bruce.
“One of the most important things was that when I first met Bruce, he wasn’t aware of it at all, but he changed the tone of his voice when he spoke from his father’s perspective,” says Graham. “Whenever he spoke about his father, there was a real seriousness and, dare I say, an element of fear – a little bit – in his voice. So it was obviously the perception of the man he perceived as his father… I drew on that.”
Graham tried to balance the seriousness of the role with mentoring his young co-star Matthew Anthony Pellicano, who played Bruce as a child.
“Don’t forget that you’re waiting between filming and you have the severity, depth and dignity of the character you’re playing in a man with deep thoughts in his head,” explains Graham. “And a strong sense of foreboding, but still, I’m with a seven-year-old kid who’s in a movie for the first time, so I have to make it entertaining for him. So it’s this beautiful duality of the two things… You have to make it beautiful. You have an obligation because you want him to try again.”
Graham describes an almost mystical creative energy while filming a crucial reconciliation scene between Bruce and his father.
“I don’t want to sound pretentious, but there was a certain alchemy in that room,” says Graham. “And we just went for it. Jeremy and I barely spoke. But there was this tremendous connection and feeling between us. Jeremy is a wonderful actor. He’s so committed. He embodies Bruce in a way that I would describe as, dare I say, shape-shifting.”
Bruce Springsteen was there for the darkest domestic scenes, but gave Graham space to work.
“Bruce didn’t hinder me in any way,” says Graham. “From my perspective, he was just another source of knowledge that I could draw on if I wanted. Sometimes, at the end of a scene or something, he would just put his hand on my shoulder, smile at me and nod his head. And to me, that was his way of saying, ‘Thanks, well done.’ …One of the best moments was when we shot the scene where the children are running across the field and towards the huge house on the hill. Then he came up to me and just said, ‘Wow, that’s Doug.’ I asked, ‘Really?’ And he had this smile on his face.”
Graham says there are no plans for a sequel to “Adolescence” for now.
“If we decide to revisit this world at a later date, it will be a completely different story,” says Graham. “I think this story is now fully told. There is no more storyline. We achieved our goal of igniting discussion… To be part of something that raises awareness was honestly just unbelievable to me. I am very honored and beyond grateful to be a part of something so special.”