Bruce Springsteen sits with Jimmy Kimmel to reveal the America he believes is still worth fighting for.NH
Two of President Donald Trump’s biggest critics had a sitdown tonight when Bruce Springsteen paid a visit to Jimmy Kimmel with Jeremy Allen White, star of the Boss biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere,” which hits theaters on Oct. 24.
The show was taped at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Here’s what Springsteen and White talked about on the show.
Boss talks ‘The American worth fighting for’
Kimmel ended the very entertaining two segment interview with Springsteen and White by referring to Boss’ Statement on Democracy that criticized the Trump administration he delivered during the E Street Band’s European tour this summer.
“Fifty years, I’ve kind of been a musical ambassador for America around the world,” said Springsteen to applause. “I have a song, ‘Land of Hope and Dreams,’ which is kind of a prayer to the country and I’ve played it every night, we played it every night, for millions of people and I know for a fact that that’s how many people still see our country. Not as the land of fear, not the land of divisiveness, not of government censorship, not of hatred. I basically believe that’s the America worth fighting for.”Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.
Springsteen recalls Danny Federici vs. Middletown PD
Kimmel goes deep to ask Springsteen if Wayne from the song “Darlington County,” who was handcuffed to the bumper of a state trooper’s Ford, was based on late E Street Band keyboardist Danny Federici.
“People have to realize that all musicians, particularly in the beginning, are (blank) out of their minds,” Springsteen said. “It’s simply a business that attracts outsiders, crazy people, people who have nowhere to go and nothing else to do. My buddy Danny, whom I love very much but he tended toward trouble. He was always, left a marijuana plant of the front seat of the car, the car gets towed, he goes down, my car gets stolen – in jail! We played a show in Middletown, New Jersey and we played 10 minutes after we should have stopped and Middletown, New Jersey police had just invested in a new SWAT team. They sent them down to the concert. They came in rather aggressively. Danny threw some amplifiers on the police and disappeared into the crowd. We had some other shows but we couldn’t play the shows because he was wanted. All of these things are very natural when you have a bunch of 20-year old guys who are still driving 10 hours a night, playing three hours and then driving 10 more hours to go the next gig.”
Springsteen talks ‘Electric Nebraska’
Kimmel, again showing the depth of his Springsteen fandom, asked the Boss about the electric band version of 1982’s solo “Nebraska” album, which had remained a mystery for several decades. “Electric Nebraska” was recently found and will be included in the “Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition” boxset, due Oct. 17.
“I didn’t know it existed until I found it in the vault,” Springsteen said. “In the movie I kind of go on about how terrible the band was doing with the ‘Nebraska’ material. I was sitting next to Steve Van Zandt the other night watching the film, I felt a little bad. But when I went back and dug the stuff out I realized actually they played it very well.”
Springsteen joins White, talks potential movie role
Springsteen joined White for the second segment. Kimmel asked if he would ever consider playing White in a movie, as White has played Springsteen in “Deliver Me from Nowhere.”
“I think my expiration date is a little bit pass that,” quipped the Boss.
Jersey Allen White up first
A solo Jeremy Allen White was Kimmel’s first guest. We learned that he goes to Frankies restaurant when he’s back home in Brooklyn, and “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” director Scott Cooper called him Bruce on the set.
A lesson learned at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park
He’s the man.
White learned an important lesson playing Springsteen on the stage of the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.
“They were very excited because they had seen Bruce at the Stone Pony,” said White in interview footage released on “Jimmy Kimmel L:ive!” socials before the show aired. “There’s about 300 really excited background actors and most of them were from New Jersey and maybe even from Asbury Park and they were so excited. I was performing and I felt their energy and I really got lost and the whole job of an actor is to maybe get lost, and I felt like the man. Then they said cut and it went dead silent. I was not the man – this is the man.”
The Boss spoke of how White’s performance was “intuitive.”
“He approached the part in his own way,” Springsteen said. “One of the choices he made was it’s not imitative, I said this in other interviews he caught the psychological aspect of the character. It’s a performance that comes from the inside out. It was a very intuitive performance.”
A performance that Springsteen, who was often on the set, got a front row seat for.
“I felt a little guilty about that because I was on the set quite a bit and the guy is not only trying to play me but he’s also playing while my stupid ass is sitting in the chair,” White said. “He really tolerated me on the set.”
