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You’re sitting at your desk in the office, tapping away at your laptop, you hear the unmistakable sound of a can being cracked open by your colleague sitting next to you.

But rather than an ice-cold coke or gut-friendly kombucha, they’re sipping a beer. On closer inspection you see it’s alcohol-free, but it’s a hoppy, malty beer nonetheless.

Fine if you work in a brewery perhaps, or an office with a ping-pong table and Beer Fridge Fridays, but this is credit control. It’s a Tuesday. It’s 10.30am. Is this weird? Is your boss going to have a word?

What if you work in a school? Or a hospital? Behind the controls of a Boeing 747? Could you sip a can of Guinness 0.0 while leading that important presentation to the big bosses from the sixth-floor corporate strategy business mergers division?

Alcohol-free beer GRAPHIC FOR GEMMA PEPLOW FEATURE

Debate in the office at Sky News HQ was sparked by recent comments by Frozen and Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell, who revealed she allows her daughters, aged 8 and 9, to drink non-alcoholic beer. Conversation about whether or not this is appropriate – let’s come to this later – opened up discussion on other scenarios that might get you cancelled, sacked, arrested, or frowned upon at the very least.

It’s an issue that some workplaces may have to consider. As more and more people look at ways to cut down on their drinking, the no-alcohol and low-alcohol drinks market is booming.

Analysis of “key markets”, including the UK and US, by International Wine and Spirit Research found the market value of no/low alcohol products in 2022 surpassed $11bn (about £8.64bn), up from $8bn (about £6.9bn) in 2018. Sales of products such as no or low-alcohol beer, cider, wine, spirits have doubled in the UK in the last five years, according to the charity Drinkaware.

Alcohol-free alternatives are growing in popularity in the pub, at dinner, and other social settings outside the 9-to-5. So whether it’s a glass of milk or a pint of beer, if there’s not enough alcohol to get us drunk – what’s stopping us at work?

Here’s what the legal experts say

Alcohol-free beer

“Consuming a non-alcoholic drink in the workplace is not illegal,” says Andrew Willis, associate director of legal at employment law specialists Croner. “As to whether it is acceptable or not will ultimately depend upon the stance of the company.”

The issue is similar to that of vaping, he points out, with the rise in people using the cigarette alternative leading many employers to update policies.

“If employers do allow non-alcoholic drinks in the workplace, they will need to consider how they will monitor what their employees are drinking given how alike the bottles or cans look to drinks containing alcohol,” he continues. “Many employers may decide it is a problem they could just do without and so decide to deem it unacceptable.”

With the rise in popularity of alcohol-free alternatives, employers are “waking up” to the fact they may need rules in place, says Melanie Stancliffe, a partner and employment law specialist at legal firm Cripps.

“If you’re counter staff at a high street bank and instead of having your coffee cup or your glass of water you have a non-alcoholic beer on show, I think it would have different perceptions – but the law wouldn’t necessarily be different,” she says. “Any employer has to be very clear on the expectation in the policies that set out what is allowed.”

Boozy bananas? The alcohol in your everyday snacks

Alcohol-free beer

Government recommendations in England say alcohol-free beverages may contain up to 0.05% ABV (alcohol by volume) – so a 500ml can of a 0.05% ABV drink would contain 0.025ml of alcohol, which is one fortieth of a unit of alcohol.

However, as this is voluntary guidance rather than law, some labelled as alcohol-free can contain up to 0.5% ABV – so a 500ml can would contain a quarter of a unit. For context, many everyday food and drink items contain small volumes of alcohol – bread, fruit juice, yoghurt, healthy kombucha, even bananas – some more than alcohol-free beers.

“Alcohol can naturally form in foods as sugars break down to form ethanol,” says Dr Duane Mellor, a dietician at Aston University in Birmingham. “This can occur in foods like bananas as they ripen, but only very low levels around 0.5% will form. Alcohol will naturally also form during proving as part of breadmaking, as yeast works on the starch in flour to produce alcohol; although most of this evaporates during baking, in some breads moderate levels can be left behind.”

Pilots, surgeons, teachers, police – what are the rules?

Alcohol-free beer

It’s all about perception, it seems. No one’s going to complain about you quaffing an orange juice on the job – but while it might legally be okay to drink an alcohol-free beer or wine while on duty, in certain situations it probably wouldn’t go down well.

The pilot taking you on your summer holiday, for example, is not allowed to fly when under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) rules, and there are further restrictions regarding consumption prior to duty.

In terms of alcohol-free drinks, there is no CAA ruling, but airlines may have their own policies to avoid misperception.

Having an operation? How would you feel about the surgeon sipping a can of alcohol-free beer during the procedure? Most hospitals prohibit food consumption of any kind in theatres, due to risk of contamination. Alcohol is banned, but water and some other fluids are allowed.

If you work in the NHS, it would be considered inappropriate to drink non-alcoholic beers, wines or spirits while on duty, as staff are expected to act professionally and uphold standards. But again, it seems there is no UK-wide ruling. And if it’s not going to get you drunk, why do we feel like this?

Sky News contacted a range of individual airlines and police forces, government departments and governing bodies, from the General Medical Council (GMC) to the National Police Chiefs’ Council to the Department of Education. Teachers, for example, are expected to maintain high standards of personal and professional conduct, in and outside of school – but does drinking a non-alcoholic drink count as unprofessional?

‘It’s associated with socialising or winding down’

Alcohol-free beer

For those worrying about their next hospital visit, be reassured; whether there are official rules in place or not, it seems healthcare workers police themselves.

“You sign up to a code of conduct,” one senior nurse told Sky News. “What would a patient turning up to A&E think? Even if there is no alcohol, it gives a bad impression. Some wards aren’t even allowed drinks like cups of tea due to infection control. Sometimes we might celebrate a New Year shift with [sparkling grape juice drink] Schloer – a patient got married on the ward once and we had Schloer then, too. Could I see a day when it might be “no-secco”? I suppose it’s possible. But only on those kinds of occasions.”

“It’s associated with socialising or winding down,” said another senior nurse. “It’s just not professional when in the workplace, especially in a hospital.”

Dr Nicholas Peat, a GP and co-founder of nutrition and lifestyle company UniquelyCreatedU, says there is no rule about the consumption of non-alcoholic drinks in front of patients, but it is a GP’s responsibility to act professionally. “I would not be comfortable drinking these types of beverages in front of a patient. These drinks could be easily misunderstood as the real thing. Furthermore, drinking while consulting can be distracting, and risks altering the flow of communication.”

‘There’s a time and a place’

Alcohol-free beer

For parents, the general consensus is that they wouldn’t be happy seeing teachers drinking alcohol-free beverages at school.

“The fact the drinks contain zero or very little alcohol is irrelevant,” said Hannah Doyle, an author and mum of twin boys at primary school in Sheffield. “To me it’s more about the message it sends… I think it would be confusing to children of all ages, particularly as low- or no-alcohol brands are designed to look just like their alcoholic counterparts. You won’t catch me swigging back a glass of alcohol-free red wine while I’m dishing out their breakfast just because it’s not boozy. For me, there’s a time and a place.”

Gareth Nye, a doctor and father of three, agreed. “It comes down to setting the right appearance to children who are growing and developing. Being responsible with how we set ourselves in front of children of all ages is crucial – teachers are still role models.”

What did Kristen Bell say?

Kristen Bell

The UK charity Drinkaware, which offers advice on alcohol consumption and how to cut down or stop, recommends swapping alcoholic drinks for low or no-alcohol alternatives for those looking to reduce intake. However, the guidance is to stick to thinking of them as an alternative – rather than introducing them into situations when you would not be drinking anyway.

“The general principle is to avoid them when you would also avoid drinking alcohol, for example when you are pregnant or while you are driving,” says chief executive Karen Tyrell. “They are also designed for adults and not suitable for children.”

Which brings us to Bell’s comments. During an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show, the actress said her young daughters had tried alcohol-free beer in the past. “You can judge me if you want, I’m not doing anything wrong,” she said.

During childhood and teenage years, the brain and body are still developing, so alcohol – even small amounts – can affect memory function, reactions, learning ability and attention span. But if the beer is alcohol-free, like Bell says: what’s the problem?

Well, not everyone was outraged; several parents who spoke to Sky News said they would also be open to using the drink for teaching their children.

Nick Sorrell, from Stoke on Trent, says he takes the same approach with his 13-year-old son that his father did with him. “He never kept alcohol a mystery. If I asked what a particular drink tasted or smelled like, I’d have the opportunity to sniff and maybe taste it as a young teenager.

“I feel it gave me an appreciation of what the drink was, so I was less likely to bow to peer pressure and drink nasty cheap cider in the park. My son has sampled some small sips of alcohol-free beer and wine, with sensible conversation about what alcohol does to people, and why I choose to consume more alcohol-free adult drinks than I do alcoholic.”

While Drinkaware advises against alcohol-free alternatives for children and for mums-to-be, pregnancy charity Tommy’s – which is guided by NHS advice – says they are safe for expectant mums as long as they are truly alcohol-free, so only up to 0.05%.

“If it is an occasion, they can make a great alternative to soft drinks that you might have every day,” the charity says. “Be aware that some drinks that claim to be ‘non-alcoholic’ can contain tiny amounts of alcohol so always check the label.”

Can there be a placebo effect?

GRAPHIC FOR GEMMA PEPLOW FEATURE

According to experts, some people may experience a placebo effect when consuming non-alcoholic drinks – so while they’re not actually drunk, they might feel like they are.

Dr Cathy Montgomery, a reader in psychopharmacology at Liverpool John Moores University’s School of Psychology, says a certain taste or the look of an alcoholic drink might be associated with previous feelings of drunkenness, so “when someone with experience of drinking alcohol switches to a zero-alcohol drink, which is designed to be similar… in look and taste, the expectancy of alcohol’s effects from our previous experiences can cause us to feel tipsy”.

Nottingham Trent University psychology professor Thom Baguley says the placebo effect is “deeply misunderstood” – including by many experts – and that it is important to consider the social setting; people behave differently even when drinking alcoholic drinks depending on whether they are alone or in a group, drinking at home or in a “stimulating” environment such as a pub.

“People aren’t that good at disentangling multiple influences on their behaviour so it seems most likely that people are attributing other influences to what they drink rather than the drink itself having an effect per se.”

So… will a low-alcohol drink get you drunk?

Non-alcoholic beer

Janey Lee Grace, who founded The Sober Club, believes that in situations where you would be able to drink a soft drink, alcohol-free alternatives should be allowed.

“I think most people would probably think twice before popping a cork on a bottle of 0% fizz at 11am when colleagues are drinking cola, but that’s just psychological,” she said. “Alcohol-free fizz isn’t intoxicating or addictive – they’re just ‘grown up’ soft drinks, so there is no difference to drinking cola – just less sugar.”

And brewing experts say they are safe.

Rod White, a master brewer and assistant professor at the International Centre for Brewing Science at the University of Nottingham, says alcohol-free beer will not have any impact – and even drinking low-alcohol beer of up to 1.5% is unlikely to get you drunk.

Take a low-alcohol 1.5% beer and a typical 4.5% beer – while you might think it would simply take three times as much of the low-alcohol beer to reach the drink-drive limit, he says research suggests this is not the case.

“I’m fairly sure that drinking 1.5% you would find it difficult, and that’s tested on people drinking over 10 pints,” he said. “It’s because with so much water coming in with the low level of alcohol, you break it down. There is more research required, and I am not a medical expert, but it’s likely to be very, very difficult, if not impossible – although I’m not suggesting people should try drinking that much and driving.”

Whatever the industry, there is technically no reason not to allow employees to drink alcohol-free alternatives, he said.

“Beer is actually very good for you, if you take the alcohol out. It contains things like soluble fibre, vitamins and minerals. It’s far healthier than a can of coke, because it’s all natural sugars.”

But is society ready to think of alcohol alternatives as general daytime drinks?

“It’s become acceptable in the pub as an alternative,” said Rod. “But in an office for example – I don’t think people could quite get their heads around it.”

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Harper Lee mystery:  Is there a To Kill A Mockingbird prequel and true crime novel ‘waiting to be published’?

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Harper Lee mystery:  Is there a To Kill A Mockingbird prequel and true crime novel 'waiting to be published'?

One of Harper Lee’s surviving relatives says it’s possible there could be major unpublished works by the author still to be discovered, following the release of eight of her previously unseen short stories.

Describing the mystery around a manuscript titled The Long Goodbye, which Lee wrote before To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee’s nephew, Dr Edwin Conner, told Sky News: “Even the family doesn’t know everything that remains in her papers. So, it could be there waiting to be published.”

Dr Conner says Lee submitted a 111-page manuscript, titled The Long Goodbye, after writing Go Set A Watchman in 1957.

The retired English professor explains: “It’s not clear to me or to others in the family, to what extent [The Long Goodbye] might have been integrated into To Kill a Mockingbird, which she wrote immediately after, or to what extent it was a freestanding manuscript that is altogether different and that might stand to be published in the future.”

Lee researched Reverend Maxwell's death, but no book was ever published. Pic: AP
Image:
Lee researched Reverend Maxwell’s death, but no book was ever published. Pic: AP

A second mystery exists in the form of a true crime novel, The Reverend, which Lee was known to have begun researching in the late 1970s, about Alabama preacher Reverend Willie Maxwell who was accused of five murders before being murdered himself.

Dr Conner said: “The manuscript of a nonfiction piece, that according to some people doesn’t exist, according to others who claim to have seen it, does [is also a mystery]. We don’t know where it is, or whether it is, really.

“That could be a surprise that has yet to be revealed if we discover it and it’s published, which is a real possibility.”

More on Literature

He believes much of the manuscript was written in his family home and says his mother, Louise, who was Lee’s older sister, saw a “finished version of it” on the dining room table.

Dr Conner says there are “others who just as fiercely say no, it was never completed”.

A C Lee (L) - the inspiration for Atticus Finch with his grandchildren, including Edwin Conner (C), in 1953
Image:
A C Lee (L) – the inspiration for Atticus Finch with his grandchildren, including Edwin Conner (C), in 1953

‘She did want to publish these stories’

There has long been debate over why Lee published just two books in her lifetime.

To Kill a Mockingbird came out in 1960. Selling more than 46 million copies worldwide, translated into more than 40 languages and winning a Pulitzer Prize, it’s arguably the most influential American book of the 20th century.

Fifty-five years later, Lee published a sequel, Go Set A Watchman, written ahead of Mockingbird, but set at a later date.

Then aged 88, and with failing health, there were questions over how much influence Lee had over the decision to publish.

Asked how happy she’d be to see some of her earliest work, containing early outlines for Mockingbird’s narrator Jean Louise Finch and the story’s hero Atticus Finch, now hitting the shelves, Dr Conner says: “I think she’d be delighted.”

A previously unseen image of one of Lee's short story transcripts. Pic: Harper Lee Estate
Image:
A previously unseen image of one of Lee’s short story transcripts. Pic: Harper Lee Estate

He says Lee had presented them to her first agent, Maurice Crane, at their first meeting in 1956, “precisely because she did want to publish these stories”.

And while dubbing them “apprentice stories,” which he admits “don’t represent her at her best as a writer,” he says they show “literary genius of a kind”.

Notoriously private, he says the stories – which were discovered neatly typed out in one of Lee’s New York apartments after her death – offer “deeply enthralling new glimpses into her as a person”.

Never marrying or having children, he says Lee maintained a degree of privacy even with her family: “You never saw her complete personality… We thought we knew her, we thought we’d seen everything, but no, we hadn’t.”

George W Bush awards Lee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007. Pic: Reuters
Image:
George W Bush awards Lee with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007. Pic: Reuters

‘That’s it, I’m not giving any more interviews’

While describing her as a “complicated woman,” he insists Lee was far from the recluse she’s frequently painted as.

He says: “In company, she was most of the time delightful. She was a lively personality, she was funny, witty, and you would think she was very outgoing.”

But Lee was known to have struggled with her success.

Dr Conner explains: “She never ever wanted fame or celebrity because she suspected, or knew, that would involve the kind of uncomfortable situations in public situations that she found just no satisfaction or pleasure in”.

He says while in the early years of Mockingbird Lee gave interviews, the wild success of the book soon rendered such promotion unnecessary, leading her to decide: “That’s it, I’m not giving any more interviews”.

While he admits she was subsequently much happier, he goes on: “Not that she was a recluse, as some people thought. She wasn’t at all a recluse, but she didn’t enjoy public appearances and interviews particularly. She wanted the work to speak for itself.”

Truman Capote and Harper Lee in April 1963. Pic: AP/The Broadmoor Historic Collection
Image:
Truman Capote and Harper Lee in April 1963. Pic: AP/The Broadmoor Historic Collection

‘Deeply hurt’ by Truman Capote

Famously close to Truman Capote, one of the pieces in Lee’s newly released collection is a profile of her fellow author.

Dr Conner says that piece – a love-letter of sorts, describing Capote’s literary achievements – is all the more remarkable because at the point Lee wrote it in 1966, when she and Capote “were not even on speaking terms”.

He says Lee “probably knew [Capote] better than any other person alive when that was written”, adding, “she did love him as a friend very much, even when he was not speaking to her”.

Friends since childhood – and the prototype for the character of Dill in Mockingbird – Capote later hired Lee to help him research his 1965 true crime novel In Cold Blood.

Despite his book’s relative success, Dr Conner believes Capote was “bitter” over the fact Mockingbird far eclipsed it in accolades and recognition.

“He had been writing for much longer. He felt that he was at least as good as she was, and he was very envious of her success”.

Dr Conner says Lee was “deeply hurt” at Capote’s rejection of her, never speaking about him in later life.

Recalling his own meeting with Capote many years later, Dr Conner says he “got a personal sense of how [Capote] could charm the socks off of anybody, male or female”.

He says it was noteworthy that while Capote asked about his mother, who he had been fond of, he “never once mentioned” Harper.

Sky News has contacted Lee’s lawyer and the executor of her estate, Tonya Carter, for comment.

The Land of Sweet Forever: Stories and Essays, by Harper Lee is on sale from Tuesday

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Gangsters, billionaires and love triangles: Behind the scenes of China’s micro-drama boom

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Gangsters, billionaires and love triangles: Behind the scenes of China's micro-drama boom

It was a pretty wild morning.

In the space of just a few hours, we witnessed a gangland killing, a jewellery heist and stepped onboard a private jet.

We observed a billionaire CEO at work, a dramatic family showdown in a hospital and a drunken karaoke party.

It was all part of a tour around a massive Chinese facility producing what are known as vertical micro-dramas. To describe the experience as somewhat dizzying is an understatement.

If you haven’t heard of them, micro-dramas are a new cultural sensation sweeping not just China but the world, a remarkable example of China’s booming soft power.

They are essentially serialised productions split into episodes of roughly a minute, shot in vertical and viewed solely on smartphones.

Think soap operas for the TikTok generation.

‘Secret surrogate to the Mafia King’

The story lines are sensational and melodramatic with titles that border the ridiculous; ‘Ex-Convict nanny and Billionaire single dad’, ‘Pregnant by my Tough Daddy CEO’ and ‘Secret Surrogate to the Mafia King’, just some examples.

Micro dramas are designed to be watched on smartphones only
Image:
Micro dramas are designed to be watched on smartphones only

The action is fast and the characters simplistic, while autoplay and multiple mini cliff hangers are designed to provide an addictive dopamine hit.

It’s a format which has sprung to life in just the last few years, developed initially in China in the wake of the pandemic, and its success has been extraordinary.

Some of the most-watched titles have hundreds of millions of views and downloads of short drama apps were over six times higher in the first quarter of 2025 than that same period last year, according to data from Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm.

The Chinese government recently revealed that over 50% of all internet users in China have watched a micro-drama, more than have ordered food online or used a ride-hailing service.

‘You can easily binge five or six episodes on the subway commute’

One of the many set designs in the production factory
Image:
One of the many set designs in the production factory

“People’s lives are so stressful and packed these days,” explains Ji Jingdong, a producer of micro-dramas who made the switch from traditional film around three years ago.

“When you watch vertical-screen content, you can easily binge five or six episodes on the subway commute, right? And let’s face it, you’re barely halfway through an ordinary TV episode before you reach your stop.

“Scrolling through vertical screens at a fast pace is actually pretty stress-relieving. Especially those so-called ‘mindless dramas’ – they’re incredibly relaxing to watch.”

That mass appeal, paired with extremely fast turnaround times and no-frills production is translating into massive revenues.

Read more from Sky News:
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Last year, the industry revenue was an astonishing $6.9bn, for the first time exceeding the value of the Chinese box office.

Its figure is almost 14 times as high as in 2021, just three years ago.

But with this huge reach and revenues comes both challenge and opportunity for a system like China where everything including cultural products is strictly controlled.

An actor is filmed for the latest micro-drama
Image:
An actor is filmed for the latest micro-drama

1,200 series taken down

Indeed in February of this year over 1,200 series were taken down, deemed too “vulgar” or inappropriate, while a wave of new regulations now require projects over a certain value to have government approval.

In addition there are initiatives to encourage production houses to make dramas that promote certain values such as ‘Learn the law with Micro-Short Dramas’ and ‘Explore intangible cultural heritage through micro short dramas’.

It’s a framework they are aware of at the Meigao Micro Drama Super Factory, in the southeastern city of Quzhou.

This 67,000 square metre facility was initially constructed as a COVID quarantine hotel, but it now houses around 200 different sets where multiple crews can shoot their dramas simultaneously.

There is almost any indoor environment you could imagine – from a bank, courthouse and subway to a ballroom, office and multiple home environments.

The CEO Dai Wenxue explains with pride how they made 500 micro-dramas last year.

But there is also a clear acknowledgement that the transformation of this venue was achieved with local government support, and that this massive Chinese success story also serves a political purpose.

The industry revenue was $6.9bn last year
Image:
The industry revenue was $6.9bn last year

Aligning with ‘the nation’s overarching strategic vision’

“The early phase emphasised growth, with the government taking a relatively relaxed but not lax approach,” he explains. “Now, the focus has shifted toward premium production, cultural exports and telling compelling Chinese stories.

“This aligns with the nation’s overarching strategic vision. That’s the current landscape.”

Indeed, while the majority of productions are fun and frivolous, for its critics, the industry is a perfect propaganda tool.

This autumn, in fact, saw a huge boom in government-encouraged patriotic war productions to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two and a huge accompanying military parade in Beijing.

All this mattered because the format is now being aggressively exported abroad.

The Meigao Micro Drama Super Factory in Quzhou
Image:
The Meigao Micro Drama Super Factory in Quzhou

Almost all production houses worth their salt are leaning into English language productions. Meigao is in fact building an entire second location with American-style scenes.

And it’s no wonder when you look at the numbers. According to analysis undertaken by Sensor Tower, in the first quarter of 2025, downloads in the US had gone up 54% compared to the same period in 2024. In Latin America it was 69% and in India a remarkable 113%.

‘A huge uptick’

“So in the past 10 months, right after the Chinese New Year, there was definitely a huge uptick,” says Max Olsen, an American actor living in Beijing. For him and other Western actors there has been a hugely noticeable boom in work .

“A bunch of productions decided that they were going to shoot, you know, they’re going to produce one a week.

“Obviously, with money, with eyeballs, with attention, comes a degree of power.”

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Three things you may have missed from China this week

There are of course questions about how this type of soft power translates and what China could or would do with it. But it is just one of a number of cultural exports playing into a trend of China positioning itself as accessible and relatable, even ‘cool’.

Indeed for such a new format there is clearly still results yet to be seen.

“I don’t think the double-digit growth will continue forever,” says Olsen.

“But I suspect in five years’ time, we’ll have a very established industry.”

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Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere – a raw portrayal of the young rock star on the cusp of huge success

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Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere - a raw portrayal of the young rock star on the cusp of huge success

“It’s a cliché,” says Bruce Springsteen, “but he is a rock star – and you can’t fake that.”

The Boss is talking about Jeremy Allen White, star of The Bear, who is now playing him in the upcoming film Deliver Me From Nowhere.

It comes after a flurry of biopics on musical greats in recent years, from Bohemian Rhapsody and Elvis to A Complete Unknown and Back To Black, but rather than an all-encompassing look at his epic career, this one focuses on a very specific period of its subject’s life; a raw portrayal of the young Springsteen, on the cusp of even greater success following the release of The River album, but struggling with inner demons and childhood trauma while writing the stark follow-up Nebraska, released in 1982.

Bruce Springsteen on stage in LA in 1985. Pic: AP/ Lennox McLendon
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Bruce Springsteen on stage in LA in 1985. Pic: AP/ Lennox McLendon

Speaking at a Q&A held at Spotify’s London headquarters ahead of the film’s release, Springsteen, 76, said he had watched The Bear and “knew that was the kind of actor” needed – someone who could convey his inner turmoil, as well as play a convincing rock star.

“You either got that or you don’t have it, and he just had the swagger.”

Directed and co-written by Scott Cooper, the film is based on the book of the same name by Warren Zanes, and is the first time Springsteen’s life has been depicted on the big screen.

The star was on board straight away. “I figured, I’m 76 years old, I don’t really care what the f*** I do anymore. As you get older, certainly at my age, you take more risks in your work and in life in general.”

Jeremy Allen White stars as Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me From Nowhere. Pic: Disney/ 20th Century Studios
Image:
Jeremy Allen White stars as Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me From Nowhere. Pic: Disney/ 20th Century Studios

He and White first met at one of his gigs at Wembley Stadium, where Springsteen prepared himself for lots of questions. “I figured this guy is going to be tremendously interested in me.” But White had done his homework, arriving “so prepared that he really asked me very few questions”.

Springsteen was on set regularly, “which I always apologise to [White] for because… it’s gotta be really weird playing the guy with the guy’s stupid ass sitting there.”

Learning five Bruce songs

And White also had to take on the music. When told he would need to sing and play guitar, his jokey response was: “I don’t do those things. Are you sure?” He had about six months and learned on a 1955 Gibson J-200, sent to him by Springsteen, as the closest model to his Nebraska guitar.

“I was getting together with [teacher JD Simo] on Zoom, four or five, six times a week to prepare. And the first time we hopped on, I said, ‘hey, I’m so excited to learn how to play guitar with you’. And he said, ‘we don’t have time to learn how to play the guitar, we have time to learn these five Bruce songs’. So I learned the guitar in a very strange way.”

Springsteen says it “took me a moment” to get used to seeing his story being dramatised, to White playing him. But he was happy.

“I always go, damn, when did I get that good looking?” he jokes. But he says White’s performance was impressive, that he was able to sing songs “that are hard for me to sing, some of them”.

Keeping the sweat going

Mastering the big hits, Born To Run, Born In The USA, was tough, says White. Thinking he would need to keep his heart rate high for his performance scenes, White says he took a weighted rope on set, to skip and “keep my sweat going”. Turns out, it wasn’t necessary. “When you perform Born To Run or Born In The USA, that sweat comes naturally… I did not need to use that rope.”

Part of the film goes back to Springsteen’s childhood, to the house he grew up in. “They did a very, very good job of putting that house back together,” he says. It is the home he visits “in my dreams to this day, at least a couple of times year… so being able to physically walk into what felt like that living space, my grandmother’s house, my grandfather’s house with my parents, we all lived there together. It was quite a miracle and quite wonderful”.

Springsteen with White and Stephen Graham at the Deliver Me From Nowhere London Film Festival premiere. Pic: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP
Image:
Springsteen with White and Stephen Graham at the Deliver Me From Nowhere London Film Festival premiere. Pic: Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP

British actor and recent Emmy winner Stephen Graham plays Springsteen’s late father, and the drama delves into their difficult relationship.

Remembering the family struggles

Reliving those experiences was “powerful”, the star says. He watched an early screening with his younger sister, who held his hand throughout. “And at the end she says, isn’t it wonderful that we have this… it honours our family, it honours the memory of the struggles that we went through… To have it on film in the way that it was portrayed, meant a great deal to my sister and myself.”

Springsteen says he hopes people will connect with the film, with this part of his story, the same as the crowds in front of him do every time he walks on stage.

“The E Street Band will be good every night because that’s what we do,” he says. “But how great we’re going to be is up to you… Hopefully there’s an element of transcendence… and hopefully it stays with [the audience] for as long as they need.”

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