Bruce Springsteen in London, England. Courtesy Photo/Shore Fire Media
Very early in the Bruce Springsteen biopic, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” there is a scene in which Gaby Hoffman, who portrays The Boss’s mother, exits the family home.
According to Hoffman, the structure was designed to replicate Springsteen’s actual childhood home in Freehold, NJ, where he grew up. For example, the decor included an actual portrait of Springsteen’s aunt, who died when he was a child.
And while Hoffman is currently starring in what will without doubt become the cinematic blockbuster of 2025, about one of rock music’s most enduring stars, biggest names and familiar faces, the actress is going to remember the experience for something extremely, well, human.
Hoffman clearly remembers walking out of that house in that scene and seeing Springsteen on set.
“I walked out and he was just standing there, with tears rolling down his cheeks,” she said. “And he just hugged me and thanked me.”
Numerous reports about “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” which details the making of Springsteen’s 1982 album, “Nebraska,” have detailed how hands-off Springsteen and his manager, Jon Landau, were on the film.
But Bruce remained on set for much of the filming and his presence was felt.
“He was there—he was completely there,” Hoffman said. “He was totally present and in spirit there. But he was not there to make any commentary. I would just sort of look up and he would often just be there with a smile on his face and tears rolling down his cheeks. We were performing his childhood memories.”
She added that she had a stark realization—“I was performing Gestalt Therapy for Bruce Springsteen. He wasn’t giving me notes. He’s so fucking grateful. Not for me, but for this history being played out—in a slightly different way.”
Hoffman spoke after an early screening of “Deliver Me From Nowhere” held Thursday evening, Oct. 23, at Upstate Film’s Orpheum Theatre in Saugerties, NY. The film’s official release unfolds on Friday, Oct. 24.
The screening and post-screening discussion and Q&A was held in a most auspicious location.
Springsteen’s daughter, Jessica, an Olympic equestrian, has competed at Horse-Shows-in-the-Sun, also known as HITS, an equestrian facility in Saugerties.
Actress Gaby Hoffman, who portrays Bruce Springsteen’s mother, Adele, in “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” speaks at Upstate Film’s Orpheum Theatre in Saugerties, NY, Thursday night. The Springsteen biopic officially opens on Friday, Oct. 24. Photo by John W. Barry
And the Orpheum sits about a mile from the Winston Farm property, which hosted Woodstock ‘94, the 25th anniversary of the 1969 Woodstock festival. The Band at Woodstock ‘94 performed their iconic rendition of Springsteen’s “Atlantic City,” a song off “Nebraska. And the late Levon Helm, drummer, vocalist and mandolin player, featured “Atlantic City” at just about every one of his Midnight Ramble house concerts, which he held for nearly a decade at Levon Helm Studios in nearby Woodstock, NY.
And yes, The Band’s version of “Atlantic City”—Springsteen’s version was prominent throughout the movie—came up during the post-screening discussion.
Hoffman, a resident of Columbia County across the Hudson River from Saugerties, graduated from nearby Bard College in Dutchess County.
During the discussion, Hoffman drew a distinction between Springsteen the global rock star and Springsteen the transparent human being, who has been candid about his struggles with depression. The making of “Nebraska” represented one period of Springsteen’s life when he was battling mental health challenges.
“This was not Bruce Springsteen trying to ‘make his mark,’ Hoffman said. “This was him saying, ‘Here’s my story about what it means to have suffered as a child, i.e. be human, and how to confront it and we got to take part in realizing that for him and then sharing it with the rest of us as part of this grand experiment in art as therapy; and it was a truly beautiful experience and real honor and he only expressed that element of it.”
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