See the ‘Deliver Me From Nowhere’ cast vs. the real-life people they play

Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen

Jeremy Allen White is best known as tortured (and brilliant) chef Carmy Berzatto on FX’s The Bear (2022–present), a role that’s netted him three consecutive Golden Globes and two Emmys. But the intense, steely-eyed actor has been onscreen since he was a teenager.

After stints on various iterations of Law & Order, White landed the role of Phillip “Lip” Gallagher on Showtime’s Shameless (2011–2021). You may also know him from films such as Afterschool (2008), The Rental (2020), and The Iron Claw (2023), the latter of which found him playing celebrated professional wrestler Kerry Von Erich.

White will try to replicate the Boss both in life and onstage, as he previously said he was “gonna try” to sing Springsteen’s songs in the film. “He sings very well,” Springsteen told SiriusXM’s Jim Ritolo in January.

The Boss also praised White’s performance. “Jeremy is such a terrific actor that you just fall right into it,” he said. “He’s got an interpretation of me that I think the fans will deeply recognize, and he’s just done a great job, so I’ve had a lot of fun being on the set when I can get there.”

Marc Maron, who plays record producer Chuck Plotkin, told Collider that “there were times when Bruce didn’t know whether what he was listening to was him or Jeremy.”

Jeremy Strong as Jon Landau

Jeremy Strong found fame as Kendall Roy, the “eldest boy” on HBO’s hit Succession (2018–2023), winning an Emmy and a Golden Globe for the performance. He’s since become an awards magnet, winning a Tony for his 2024 turn in Broadway’s Enemy of the People and scoring Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of vicious lawyer Roy Cohn in The Apprentice (2024).

Strong stars as Jon Landau, a music critic who found himself so inspired by Springsteen that he ditched journalism to work with the rocker as a producer and manager. ”I saw rock & roll’s future and its name is Bruce Springsteen,” he famously declared.

During an April presentation at CinemaCon, Strong described his Landau as “the Lewis to Bruce’s Clark,” adding, “the journey’s beautiful and unprecedented in the history of music.”

Paul Walter Hauser as Mike Batlan

Since turning heads as the title character in Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell (2019), Paul Walter Hauser has demonstrated an impressive range, bouncing between Oscar dramas (I, Tanya), broad comedy (Cobra Kai, The Naked Gun), and family fare (Cruella, Inside Out 2). His chilling portrayal of murderer Larry Hall on the 2022 Apple TV+ series Black Bird landed him an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

Hauser plays Mike Batlan, the guitar tech who helped Springsteen set up the simple home recording rig used for Nebraska‘s stripped-back sound.

“It’s a very intimate story,” Hauser said during a March 2025 appearance on The Adam Carolla Show. “It’s not like we’re doing the fun-filled Bohemian Rhapsody, let’s show how they figured out ‘We Will Rock You’ as a song. It’s not like that, it’s a very personal, dark, deep story about a struggling artist who has childhood trauma and is trying to grip with isolation after he becomes wildly famous.”

Entertainment Weekly previously reported that their relationship grew sour in later years, with Batlan and a fellow roadie suing Springsteen over pay disputes. Springsteen denied the allegations and called their claims  “f—ing ridiculous.” They settled in 1991, per the Orlando Sentinel.

David Krumholtz as Al Teller

David Krumholtz appeared in a handful of ’90s classics (Addams Family Values, The Santa Clause, The Ice Storm) before landing the lead role of numbers whiz Charlie Eppes on CBS’s Numb3rs (2005–2010).

Since then, the actor has appeared in films by the Coen Brothers (Hail, Caesar!; The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) and Christopher Nolan (Oppenheimer), and will soon play Zor-El in DC Studios’ upcoming Supergirl. He remains a consistent presence on TV, having recently appeared on HBO’s The Deuce (2017–2019), Apple TV+’s The Studio (2025), and Peacock’s Poker Face (2025).

Krumholtz plays Al Teller, a record executive who supervised the release of Nebraska.

Johnny Cannizzaro as Steven Van Zandt

Brooklyn-born performer Johnny Cannizzaro is an actor, writer, and musician. His previous credits include Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys (2014), as well as roles on series such as NCIS: Hawaiʻi (2022), The Rookie (2022), and Matlock (2024).

Cannizzaro plays Steven Van Zandt, an old friend of Springsteen’s and integral member of the E Street Band, not to mention a powerhouse songwriter in his own right. Zandt also found success as an actor, playing the slick Silvio Dante on The Sopranos (1999–2007) and leading the Netflix series Lilyhammer (2012–2014).

Gaby Hoffmann as Adele Springsteen

The daughter of a former Andy Warhol superstar, Gaby Hoffmann was a prolific child actress with credits in films like Uncle Buck (1989), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and Now and Then (1995).

After a hiatus, Hoffmann reemerged with force, scoring Emmy nominations for her roles on Girls (2014–2017) and Transparent (2014–2019). She’s also been featured on series like Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022–2023) and Zero Day (2025), and will next appear in Kelly Reichardt’s upcoming film The Mastermind.

Hoffmann plays Adele Springsteen, Bruce’s mother. She and her son remained close until her death in 2024 at age 98.

In his 2016 memoir, Born to Run, Springsteen described her thusly: “My mom was truthfulness, consistency, good humor, professionalism, grace, kindness, optimism, civility, fairness, pride in yourself, responsibility, love, faith in your family, commitment, joy in your work and a never-say-die thirst for living and life… and most importantly for dancing.”

Stephen Graham as Douglas Springsteen

The formidable Stephen Graham found global success this year as the co-creator, co-writer, and star of Netflix’s Adolescence. But you’ve likely seen the brawny actor in films like Snatch (2000), Gangs of New York (2002), The Irishman (2019), and the Venom franchise (2021–2024).

Springsteen’s blue-collar father cast a large shadow over his son’s music — “My Father’s House,” for example, is a highlight of Nebraska. He struggled with mental illness, and Bruce remarked in a 2016 interview with Vanity Fair that his own issues with depression brought his dad to mind. “Can I get sick enough to where I become a lot more like my father than I thought I might?” he pondered.

Still, Bruce and his father maintained a relationship until Douglas’ death in 1998, and the singer writes in Born to Run about a moment of healing between the two after the birth of his first child with Patti Scialfa.

Odessa Young as Faye

Australian actress Odessa Young broke out in the States with a leading role in Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation (2018). She’s since appeared in projects such as Shirley (2020), Mothering Sunday (2021), and My First Film (2024), as well as the series The Stand (2020) and The Staircase (2022).

Young plays Faye, a love interest for Bruce.

Marc Maron as Chuck Plotkin

Marc Maron is a stand-up comedian who rose to further prominence as the host of WTF With Marc Maron (2009–present), one of the podcasts that defined the burgeoning format.

His success as a podcaster led to his own IFC series, Maron (2013–2016), which he led for four seasons. He’s since established himself as a versatile actor, helping lead Netflix hit GLOW (2017–2019) while playing supporting roles in films like Sword of Trust (2019), Joker (2019), The Bad Guys (2022), and The Order (2024).

Maron plays Chuck Plotkin, the producer with the unenviable task of mastering the rocker’s lo-fi approach to Nebraska.

“It’s weird because it’s really a very small part, but the guy is pivotal in the story of the making of Nebraska, this engineer named Chuck Plotkin,” Maron told Collider in March 2025.

He continued, “The best part of it, really, was there was no reason for me to research this guy. He was the engineer. I just needed to work like I knew how to run a board. There were lines and stuff, and I had scenes with Jeremy Strong, and I had one scene with Jeremy Allen White, but it all took place in the studio, and it was the studio where they did some of the recording of trying to get Nebraska right, so it’s the real studio.”