Bruce Springsteen’s kids are tougher than the rest.
Despite the legendary rocker being “The Boss” to his millions of fans, he recently admitted that when it comes to his three kids — Evan, 34, Jessica, 33, and Samuel, 31 — he’s simply dad.
“Except for a few guitars and a piano, you wouldn’t know musicians lived here,” Springsteen said about his house in an interview with The Times published on Saturday.
“The kids grew up in another house in town, a midsized home not unlike the ones their friends lived in, and we tried to keep a very natural domestic existence for them. Anything else is a burden they don’t need.”
The musician, who called himself an “attention whore,” admitted that his children, whom he shares with wife Patti Scialfa, aren’t interested in his career successes.
“They ignore it,” confessed Springsteen. “They might come to a show, bring their friends, but it’s never been a central part of their lives.”
Evan, 34, is an Apple music programmer, Jessica, 33, is a professional equestrian and Sam, 31, is a New York firefighter.
“I wasn’t involved in the LA scene, whatever that is,” he recalled. “We had a pretty quiet life, me, Patti and the kids. I had the studio, and I certainly wasn’t living any kind of nightlife because I never liked it. I thought it was too unserious. And I was a serious young man.”
He quipped: “The only nightclub I was ever bopping in and out of was the Stone Pony in Asbury Park [between Philadelphia and New York]. That’s because I was playing there.”
The Grammy winner — who has released 21 studio albums over six decades — has never lost sight of what’s important.
“I was lucky enough to have Elvis, the Beatles and Bob Dylan, to follow in their footsteps — or not follow in their footsteps,” Springsteen shared. “From there I learnt how important it was not to lose focus on who I am or the work I’m doing. It’s more important than the money, although it’s great to get paid well. It’s more important than the fame, although that can be fun too, and a nuisance on occasion.”
He added, “I simply wanted to write great songs, play great shows and have a conversation with a great audience. It is what I’ve dedicated my life to doing.”
In 2017, the artist got candid about how the trio has handled his fame over the years.
“We had our kids late, I was 40 when our first son was born, and they showed a healthy disinterest in our work over all the years,” Springsteen told The New York Times. “They had their own musical heroes, they had their own music they were interested in. They’d be pretty blank-faced if someone mentioned a song title of mine.”
But their dad’s life in the spotlight isn’t stopping anytime soon, as his upcoming biopic, “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” hits theaters in October.
Jeremy Allen White portrays Springsteen in the film, which follows his upbringing in Freehold, N.J., and the making of his 1982 album “Nebraska.”
On Thursday, the singer detailed the making of the film while speaking to Rolling Stone.
“If there was a scene coming up that was sometimes really deeply personal, I wanted the actors to feel completely free, and I didn’t want to get in the way, and so I would just stay at home,” Springsteen said.
“If Scott Cooper, the director, wanted or needed me there for something, I would try to make it. But I was on tour in Canada for the whole first month or so of the filming, and so I was really out on the road quite a bit and working at that time.”
Springsteen praised White, 34, for being “very, very tolerant of me the days that I would appear on the set,” while also noting the project includes “some of the most painful days of my life.”
Reflecting on the on-set advice he gave “The Bear” actor, the performer recounted: “Look, anytime I’m in the way, just give me the look and I’m on my way home. The days that I got out there, he was wonderfully tolerant with me being there. And it was just fun. It was enjoyable.”
In the biopic, Jeremy Strong plays Springsteen’s producer and manager, Jon Landau, Stephen Graham portray’s the rocker’s father, Douglas, Paul Walter Hauser is Mike Batlan, who created a set-up for Springsteen to record his music in his bedroom, and Marc Maron stars as Chuck Plotkin, the producer who mastered the songs on the album.
Despite Springsteen’s positive outlook toward the film, he most likely won’t perform “Nebraska” in order to promote it.
“I doubt I’ll do it,” Springsteen confessed, “but I could possibly go out and play that record straight through one day. I think that would be fun to do, and the fans would get a kick out of it. That’s not off the table.”