Jeremy Allen White is preparing for Thanksgiving. He plans to spend the day at a gathering of about 30 people at a friend’s house in Los Angeles. He offers green bean casserole, sweet potato sides, and salads.
He admits there has been more pressure to cook well since he shot to fame with his award-winning role as Carmy in The Bear.
“We had Thanksgiving after the first season, and we cooked for everyone there,” he told me. “Before filming Season 1, there was a Christmas where I cooked for about 30 people. That was after I had one-on-one training at culinary school and was in and out of the kitchen. Not that it was a bad thing, but everyone was like, ‘Okay, yeah, it’s real.'” Yes, there’s definitely a lot of attention on me. ”
But what happens if someone asks White what he thinks about their cooking? He’s too nice to ever criticize. “I’m never trying to incriminate anyone,” he says. “I didn’t earn it.”
His most recent win was award buzz for his role as Bruce Springsteen in Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere. The Scott Cooper-directed drama chronicles the making of his 1982 album Nebraska during the singer-songwriter’s life as Boss battled depression and other mental health issues.
With awards season underway, White has taken on the challenge of playing another real-life person. He stars as Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz in the sequel to The Social Network, The Social Reckoning, written and directed by Aaron Sorkin. White’s Springsteen co-star Jeremy Strong will play Mark Zuckerberg.
And then there’s Star Wars. White will be voicing Jabba the Hutt’s son Lotta in the upcoming film The Mandalorian and Grogu.
I met White at Variety’s offices on Monday afternoon before he drove to Santa Barbara for a screening of “Delivering Me from Nowhere” and a conversation hosted by Oprah Winfrey.
The last time we talked about Springsteen, you broke the news to me that you were going to sing it yourself. You hadn’t met Bruce yet. You just texted him. You are now friends with Bruce Springsteen. He has a lot of love for you.
That’s amazing. he is very nice He stood before it in such a beautiful way that he didn’t need to. I feel really lucky.
So you went from being a Brooklyn kid to being a Jersey kid now?
No, no. I can’t go that far. Be careful there. I had never spent much time in New Jersey. But it’s in very beautiful condition. I love it.
Jersey has all the Academy voters.
that’s right. We love New Jersey.
Scott Cooper and others who appeared in the film told me that when Bruce first heard your song, he thought it was himself.
We fooled him for a moment. I think the first song he heard was “Mansion on a Hill.” I remember him texting me something like: “You look like me, but you don’t just look like me.” So you’re making the song your own. And I want it to feel like that’s the process of making this film. ”He gave me great permission early on and freed me from thinking that I needed to do this or I needed to do that. Do I need a prosthesis?
Have you really considered using prosthetics?
That was something Scott and I talked about. I was asking about a dental device for his underbite. That was definitely part of the conversation. Ultimately, Scott and I wanted this performance to be internalized in that it was from the inside out, rather than the outside in. Let’s not distract people with these works.
When did you know you had the blues?
Never. I never feel that way about any job. And especially with this work, I don’t think I ever thought that I would be supported in some way. It continued. I’m visiting Bruce at a very strange, lonely, and sad time in his life, so I tried to be as in tune with those feelings as possible. The process of making the film wasn’t always fun for me. I don’t allow myself to feel like I’ve got it figured out, because so much of this story and era is about a kind of doubt and fear and the future.
If you’re an artist, you know that feeling.
Yes, of course. Very familiar. There was never a day when I went home and said, “That worked out great.”
Have you ever felt that way about any project?
not much. There are days when I have a certain amount of confidence, but I don’t think you need to feel like your job is done. I think that’s one of the best parts of this job, and you don’t have to feel like you’ve got it figured out.
But are you scared?
Certainly driven by pressure. I was on a show called “Shameless” for a very long time. For the first four years, I felt connected and motivated. When that happens, it’s not the show’s fault, but I think in a show that goes on for years, it’s hard for the actors to really feel connected. There were a few seasons on that show where I had an attitude of, “I’ve got this figured out.” That way I can show up and be a little lazy, which I never want to do. I don’t think in these kinds of jobs, especially film jobs where you only have a few months, you shouldn’t go home and say, “Okay, I understand this.” You should always be chasing something.
If you felt a certain kind of laziness after four seasons of Shameless, how can you make sure that doesn’t happen with Season 5 of The Bear?
That’s not true. I feel that my responsibility for that program is different. I mean, it’s an ensemble like Shameless, but I don’t feel like I carried the same weight that[William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum]had on Shameless. On Shameless, some years I felt more connected to Philip Gallagher and other years I felt less connected. I feel a real connection to Carmy, and I feel a real connection to[The Bear creator]Christopher Stoller, which I didn’t always feel with[Shameless showrunner]John Wells, probably because of his age. They were two completely different stories, one coming from me at 18 and 19, and another coming from Chris, who I truly consider a friend and colleague.
When does “The Bear” season 5 start filming?
Something like January 5th. It’s coming soon.
I didn’t know Jabba the Hutt had a son.
Neither did I.
They say, “We want you as Jabba the Hutt’s son.” How do you start preparing?
I’ve been a fan of Jon Favreau for a long time. “Swingers” and “Made” had a huge impact on me as a young man, a young actor. we met at a party. When I told him about it, he was like, “I want to talk to you, can I call you?” It was the next day and he was talking about “The Mandalorian,” and I said, “That’s a great show. He’s doing a great job. I’ve known Pedro Pascal for a while, and he’s a great guy and he’s enjoying this and he loves you.” He was like, “I want you to be a part of it.” Of course it’s great. Then he started explaining and talking about Lotta. I had never done voice work. There’s no stop-motion work or physical work like that. I was excited to be able to work in the world of Star Wars, which I have always admired. He was also excited to be in a movie that his daughters (with ex-wife Addison Timlin, Ezell, 7, and Dolores, 4) could see.
How do you find Lotta’s voice? Or is it just a voice?
I did a little bit of the voice, and I think John made some adjustments in the end as well. It was probably a year ago. We did a few sessions. I’ve never seen any of them.
Do you find a part of yourself in Lotta?
Yeah, sure. I’m not going to go into too much detail about that, but yeah.
Sequel to “The Social Network.” Play another real person. How much time did you spend with Jeff Horwitz?
none. I talked to Aaron early on. I told him that I was hesitant because I had been away from blues movies and it would be heavy to play another character who is a real person. That was a very responsible thing to do. He was like, “Well, this guy isn’t that well known.” I thought, “Of course, but still, those are real people. They’re nearby, they’re there.” “How important is it to you that we’re together? Do you want me to look like him, and do you want me to sound like him?” he said, “I’ve talked to Jeff a lot. He’s been a blessing to us. This is my story, my understanding of these characters. I want you to serve my script, not the world.” So it was nice to be able to approach it that way and implement Sorkin’s words.
That’s a lot of memorization.
It’s hard work, but once you do it, that’s it. There’s not much to speculate about. Everything is very clear. The rhythm is very clear. It felt like a good break to me. Jeff is very healthy internally. The issues these characters are dealing with on an external level are vast, but Jeff himself is pretty much resolved. There was something wonderful about not having to do a huge amount of emotional work and just being available to your fellow actors and staying true to Sorkin’s word.
Has this movie changed your perspective on social media?
No, for a long time I had some kind of curiosity and doubt that I was addicted to this thing.
Are you a scroller?
It can be.
That’s bad. As you may know, I’m in recovery and scrolling can sometimes give me a rush of dopamine.
The worst thing is when you find yourself thinking, “This is ridiculous,” and you put down your phone, pick up a book, or turn on the TV, and then five minutes later (White picks up the phone). And you’re like, “Fuck!” (White moves to throw the cell phone across the room).
He comes home at night and says, “Let me sit on the couch for a minute.” And an hour later I wonder what I just did.
We will delete it at any time. I will delete it while I am at work. But it’s difficult. You can’t just remove it. It pervades our lives.
Are you afraid of your child using social media?
Yeah. Obviously they don’t know anything about that kind of thing right now, but I want to keep them as far away from that as possible. Even if you get hooked on it, at least you can remember a time when it wasn’t a part of your life. I have a hunch and hope that there will be a slight setback. There’s something going on with teenagers right now that it’s cooler to have fewer followers, it’s cooler to not post as much, it’s cooler to not connect as much. No one knows whether there will be enough such a revolution among teenagers and young people in their 20s.
I think you should lead the revolution.
I’m not a revolutionary. I have an iPhone 12.
There is no 12.
I think so. It’s very old. It’s very broken. There is no case. I like how this works so poorly. It takes me away from it. I went to Europe and downloaded an eSim card, but I can’t use the internet on my phone unless it’s connected to Wi-Fi. In fact, without Wi-Fi, you wouldn’t be able to use Instagram, Twitter, or be online. So unless I’m at home, I don’t use it much because I’m not looking for Wi-Fi anywhere.
As you know, Wi-Fi is now available everywhere.
I don’t like asking for help.
