no better actors for creating beautiful music together, than Kate Hudson And Jeremy Allen White. Hudson took Hollywood by storm at age 20 as a hippie muse in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. And this year, she delivers a career-best performance in Song Sung Blue as one half of a Neil Diamond tribute band whose true story is as inspiring as it is heartbreaking. White, wearing his chef's apron from “Bear,” takes on the daunting task of portraying Bruce Springsteen at his most emotionally vulnerable and artistically free in “Springsteen: Deliver Me Out of Nowhere.” Here they talk about skinny denim, classical guitars and the rules of romantic comedy.
Kate Hudson: Jeremy, I want to talk to you about wearing Bruce Springsteen jeans.
Jeremy Allen White: Very cozy.
Hudson: Oh yes. How did you feel when you first put them on?
White: I felt like I needed to stop eating. All this was very useful – boots, jeans, jackets. It was tight and really captured the physicality. It ruined my posture. Bruce also gave us clothes he wore when he was younger, some of his real things.
Hudson: Did you save any of this?
White: No. I haven't mentioned this yet because it seems so valuable, but he gave me his St. Christopher medal that he had for a very long time. And he gave me a guitar to learn to play, a 1955 Gibson J 200.
Hudson: This is my favorite. I have the same guitar. We both have musical films this year with some pretty iconic titles.
White: Giants.
Hudson: I didn't delve into Neil Diamond's catalog until I did this movie. But Springsteen?
White: Looks like it to me. I knew Bruce as well as everyone else, but I hadn't heard “Nebraska.”
Hudson: You didn't? “Nebraska” was very personal to me.
Alexi Lyubomirsky for Variety
White: It was the same with many of the musicians I talked to when I started preparing. For many, this album was in the top five.
Hudson: What was it like working on Bruce's most artistic album yet?
White: Technically, I was lucky because “Nebraska” used very few chords. But also in the sense that he is very honest in all his music. There is so much specificity in his works. The canvas of “Nebraska” is so rich in him and his experiences. It was like I had a map.
Hudson: How involved was Bruce in this film?
White: Bruce gave our director Scott Cooper the go-ahead to make this film, but he didn't get involved in the writing process. I first met him in London, at Wembley, and I was invited to a sound check. He brought me on stage before everyone else arrived. We spent a few weeks together and then he was on set all the time, which we didn't know about before we went into it.
Hudson: Pressure.
White: Yeah. I've said this many times: I did everything I could. [character] choice before showing up, and then I felt like I'd have to hold on tighter once I got there. I think I'm not very flexible on set, what about you?
Hudson: That day? I'm probably the opposite. I do a ton of work in the beginning and realized I needed to let it all go and be available and flexible.
White: I should probably try this.
Hudson: I don't know. You're doing well, Jeremy. Stick to what you do. What you did in this film was remarkable, as someone who has been writing songs all his life. It made me emotional because the songwriting process can be excruciating. You've got it all figured out.
White: You're so great in “Song Sung Blue.” You're charismatic in everything you do, but there's such joy here. Even in those moments when it is difficult to find, there is always some kind of optimism within you. On the other end of the spectrum, I was so internal. My head is down and you are the shining light on the set. Do you move with this energy all the time?
Hudson: I think in life I prefer to do it every day with energy and optimism. I'm trying to get this in order. Maybe it has something to do with how I grew up. I really like being in the circus. I'm not an actor who crawls into a hole in his trailer. Even if I'm having a rough day, you become razor sharp in moments when you need to feel or convey something.
White: Has your process changed much over time?
Hudson: It changes for every job. When I was younger, I was incredibly spontaneous. I work well with people who throw crap at me. I also love comedies. This part of me likes to always have fresh ideas and not rehearse too much. But when I started working with different actors that I learned from and admired, you start stealing things. Are you doing this?
White: I try, yes.
Hudson: I'll never forget watching Naomi Watts' script. [for “Le Divorce”]. I saw her notes and thought, “Well, I’m really doing a bad job.”
White: You should check out Jeremy Strong's script.
Hudson: You need to get that highlighter. Find out: “Who is this person for me?” But Naomi was so dedicated to her craft. I thought, “Let's drink wine, smoke cigarettes and have a party on the spot in Paris.” She sat at home and knew her lines.
White: But would you have done anything differently? Or did you feel like it reinforced what you needed to finish?
Alexi Lyubomirsky for Variety
Hudson: From Naomi, I learned that it is okay to take risks in your choices. I have a friend who worked with Cate Blanchett and had a similar experience.
White: I want to ask about your music, which is obviously a big part of Song Sung Blue, but does music always play a role in your work?
Hudson: Huge. Some songs evoke certain emotions in me. I'm pretty good at managing my emotions, I won't lie. I can cry all the time. But when I can't get there, there are songs. In fact, “My Father’s House” from “Nebraska” is one of those songs.
White: This was my North Star. If I ever felt lost or unstable, or I didn't know what a certain scene was or where Bruce was, it grounded me. When I recorded this song [for the film]it was the first time I felt truly close to Bruce.
Hudson: Sometimes I take an earwig. If I'm doing a scene that requires energy, I'll ask for it and just do the voiceover.
White: It's so nice.
Hudson: Try this. Since you weren't that aware of “Nebraska”, did you listen to the whole album? On Spotify or someday on vinyl?
White: I listened to it on vinyl once. I was in Chicago. Scott told me to turn off the lights, lie down and leave it at that. This was before I even read the script. I met with Scott and talked about working together, but he didn't mention Springsteen at all. He told me to listen to the record before I got the script.
Hudson: What song came first?
White: The title track is the first song and it's wonderful. I don't want to underestimate any of the songs. Highway Patrolman, the storytelling is just great. The last track stuck with me the longest. This is “Reason to Believe”. I love singing this song the most. I see real romance in this.
Hudson: Did this motivate you to write music?
White: No.
Hudson: Come on then.
White: No, not at all. If anything, it made me realize that the lyrics on this record were so good it was scary. I remember during preparation I wrote his lyrics over and over again. Not for memorization, but for sharing experiences [with the character].
Hudson: It's so funny how life works. Just yesterday I was with Cameron Crowe. He had a book out called “The Uncool” and I went and did a Q&A with him. He was telling this story about David Bowie at random. He was interviewing Bowie one day and kept talking about this artist, a young guy from Jersey who he thought was going to be great. He liked his lyrics. It's great that we can stay in touch these amazing people in music and then portraying certain things on screen?
White: Have you spent time with Claire Sardina?
Hudson: Not really. Our director, Craig Brewer, really appreciated that I didn't spend too much time with Claire. He wanted me to do my thing and stick to the character as he wrote it.
White: It's destructive. It's one of those movies that makes you go on your phone and search for something like, “Of course, that's not how it happened.” But at its core it is such a hopeful film. You look at this whole tragedy and for some reason you are inspired by the endurance of these people.
Hudson: The power of escape and the joy of music. Our films are different, but these are stories about how music saves people. In the case of our film, it was about a tip bank musician who never had the chance to see fame. They did it because they love it.
White: Because they had to do it. They don't think about what they will get in return.
White: What about Almost Famous? This experience isn't just a little bit about music.
Hudson: I got the role when I was 19. It was a dream. I already started writing music at 18, but to have someone like Cameron be such a source of musical information? It blew my mind and opened up my life. I have to ask, have you ever thought about starring in a rom-com?
White: With pleasure. I've never done this before, but they seem so fun.
Hudson: They are more complex than you think. The rules are different. You want to make it so that people will come and see it. They also want to achieve something from this. They want to feel, to laugh.
White: I'm worried about finding the right character because I'd like it to be a classic rom-com. Not a flash in the pan, but When Harry Met Sally.
Hudson: One of the greats. This is one of the most difficult genres to understand. But it is a game changer in your life. You have no idea how many people you help feel good.
Production: Emily Ulrich; Agency: Nevermind Agency
