Stephen Graham Shares ‘Beautiful’ Text Bruce Springsteen Sent Him About Playing His Father in Upcoming Biopic

Stephen Graham has said that he was left in tears after receiving a message from Bruce Springsteen, who praised the British actor for his performance in Deliver Me From Nowhere.  The upcoming biopic, which stars Jeremy Allen White as a young Springsteen, follows the seminal artist during the making of his 1982 LP Nebraska, with Graham playing the Boss’ late father, Douglas “Dutch” Springsteen.

After filming wrapped, Springsteen shared an emotional exchange with Graham. He texted the Adolescence star to let him know that his turn as his father, with whom he had a complex relationship, had moved him. Speaking on Edith Bowman’s Soundtracking podcast, Graham said Springsteen had sent him “the most gorgeous texts I’ve ever had in my life”. He went on to explain that, at one point, the role required prosthetics that he had to rip off before hopping on a flight.

“I’m racing to get to the airport, and I got this text, and it was so beautiful,” Graham continued. “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. 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.’

“I was crying reading the text, do you know what I mean?” Graham added. “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.”

He went on to reveal that Springsteen was also a fan of cult classic TV show This Is England – in which Graham plays lead antagonist Combo – and that they’d had conversations about Springsteen’s book, Born To Run, in which he detailed his complex relationship with his father.

Elsewhere, Graham has received widespread praise worldwide for his work as a shell-shocked dad on the Netflix drama, Adolescence, which centers on a teenage school boy and his arrest for suspicion of murdering a female classmate.