At Ricki’s (Meryl Streep) side, on lead guitar in Columbia Pictures’ new dramedy “Ricki and the Flash,” director Jonathan Demme cast rock legend Rick Springfield. Best known for his 80s-era hits, including “Jessie’s Girl,” Springfield’s career has taken on new dimensions with multifaceted and complex acting roles.
“The part of Greg is definitely dual-purpose,” says Demme. “We needed a terrific actor capable of going toe-to-toe with Meryl Streep, but also an authentic shredder. I was worried about finding a great Greg. The assignment to our great casting directors was to find any actor who can play guitar and might have the capacity to step up. Find anyone in that age range – I’ll see anybody. And then Rick Springfield came in, we meet him, he’s very nice – and then he plugs in and he’s amazing.”
