Adolescence star Stephen Graham has revealed a ‘beautiful’ text from ‘hero’ Bruce Springsteen left him in tears after playing the musician’s late father in upcoming biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere.
The British actor, 51, filmed scenes as the late Douglas ‘Dutch’ Springsteen, who died in 1998, and after wrapping received a message from the musician, 75, who had been on set, saying he felt as though he’d been reunited with his father via Stephen’s powerful performance.
Speaking on Soundtracking with Edith Bowman he said: ‘[Bruce] sent me the most gorgeous texts I’ve ever had in my life because I do, I play his dad when his dad’s like, I play him in the eighties’.
Stephen filmed alongside Jeremy Allen White, 34, who stars in the movie as the singer, following the making of his breakout 1982 album Nebraska.
‘We did this scene and it was, it was a really beautiful little scene. It was lovely, but I had to get the flight. So, I had to rip the prosthetics off. I’m in the car and I’m going and racing to get to the airport and I got this text.’
‘It was so beautiful and just said “Better than any award that I could ever receive in my life” He’s an icon. He’s a hero’.
Stephen Graham, 51, has revealed a ‘beautiful’ text from ‘hero’ Bruce Springsteen left him in tears after playing the musician’s late father in upcoming biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere
The British actor, 51, filmed scenes as the late Douglas ‘ Dutch ‘ Springsteen, who died in 1998, and after wrapping received a message from the musician (pictured) who had been on set
Bruce (L) said he felt as though he’d been reunited with his father (R) via Stephen’s powerful performance (pictured 1972)
Stephen continued: ‘He’s a working-class hero. He’s an icon to thousands of millions. And he just, 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”‘.
‘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’.
Speaking about co-star Jeremy, Stephen gushed: ‘Working with him is like working with the presence of, uh, Al Pacino and De Niro back in the day. He’s marvellous that fella. He’s unbelievable. He’s brilliant, but he’s a, he’s a wonderful man as well’.
Bruce previously shared insight into his difficult family relationship and said his father couldn’t stand him and said fewer than 1,000 words to him growing up.
In his memoirs Born to Run the singer recalled how his factory worker father Doug largely ignored him, writing: ‘He loved me but he couldn’t stand me. He felt we competed for my mother’s affections.’
When Springsteen was 19 his parents moved to California leaving him to fend for himself in New Jersey.
Stephen’s newest series Adolescence – which tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who is accused of brutally murdering a classmate – has proved to be a huge hit.
The crime show, written by Stephen and Jack Thorne, was only released on Netflix on Thursday, but has already made waves and earned huge praise for its storyline and videography.
‘It was so beautiful and just said “Better than any award that I could ever receive in my life” He’s an icon. He’s a hero’
Speaking about co-star Jeremy Allen White (pictured on set) who plays the singer he gushed: ‘Working with him is like working with the presence of, uh, Al Pacino and De Niro’
Actor Jeremy Allen White (L) and Bruce Springsteen (R) embracing on the set of Deliver Me from Nowhere in 2024
Stephen takes on the role of Eddie Miller, the dad of a young boy called Jamie (Owen Cooper), who is suspected of stabbing one of his classmates Katie (Emilia Holliday).
While Stephen is swimming in praise, also working on the show was his wife Hannah Walters, who plays a pivotal role in their joint production company called Matriarch Productions.
But what most fans won’t have picked up on is that Hannah actually had a brief on-screen cameo during the series, as well as playing a pivotal role off-screen.
The actress and producer, 48, appeared in episode two as Mrs. Bailey – a teacher at Bruntwood Academy who reprimands Katie’s grief-stricken best friend Jade (Fatima Bojang) for punching Ryan (Kaine Davis).
Her character then listens as Jade opens up about her relationship with her mother and claims she has no other friends.
And this is not the first head-turning project that Hannah has worked with her husband on.
Their collaboration brought forth the multi-BAFTA-nominated film Boiling Point in 2021, where Hannah not only served as an executive producer but also appeared on screen.
The film – like each episode of Adolescence – was remarkably filmed in one single take.
Stephen’s newest series Adolescence has proved to be a huge hit (Stephen and wife Hannah Walters pictured)
What most fans won’t have picked up on is that Hannah (right) actually had a brief on-screen cameo during the series, as well as playing a pivotal role off-screen
Their romance began not on a Hollywood set, but in the draughty drama halls of Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, in Sidcup, Kent, where the couple first met while training as actors.
It was a connection that would only deepen over the years, particularly when they reunited professionally on This Is England in 2006. By then, their bond had strengthened, and just two years later, on June 6, 2008, they tied the knot.
And Stephen has always been his wife’s biggest fan.
Reflecting on her talent during an online Q&A about 2021 prison drama Time, he gushed: ‘I watched Hannah back in the day at drama school and always thought she was brilliant.’
Speaking on the Graham Norton show last month, Stephen explained how Hannah was also key to getting the production of their other current streaming success on Disney+, the Victorian London crime and boxing drama, A Thousand Blows, off the ground as she presented the story to Peaky Blinders creator, Steven Knight, who was fascinated by the idea.
oundtracking with Edith Bowman is available on all podcast providers.
