Remember When Bruce Springsteen Went Full Thespian for the First Time in One of His Videos in 1985?

Everything Bruce Springsteen did in the mid-80s was huge news. When he dipped his foot in the pool of the video-making world, it helped MTV, which was already in ascendance, hit a new level of popularity.

In 1985, Springsteen actually did some acting in a video for the first time. It was further proof that he was embracing the art form, a move that helped drive his popularity to its pinnacle.

Video Skepticism

When Bruce Springsteen was recording the album Born In The U.S.A., he struggled internally about whether he should lean into the crowd-pleasing aspects of the music he was making. He knew that once he crossed a certain line of popularity, his career and life would change immensely.

Nonetheless, he put aside his doubts and went for it. And part of that meant going along with the rest of the music world and making videos. Up to that point in his career, he’d made just one for “Atlantic City” in 1982. He didn’t even appear in that clip, so it wasn’t much of a concession that he made.

When he appeared in the concert-themed video for “Dancing In The Dark”, the first single for Born In The U.S.A., the song became his biggest hit ever. The follow-up single “Cover Me” featured no video. “Born In The U.S.A.” was next, and it was also mostly performance-based. The next single, “I’m On Fire”, marked The Boss’ acting debut.

“Fire” Starter

One of the things that Springsteen disliked about video was lip-syncing. With the performance videos, he could get around it because he was actually singing while being filmed. But it wasn’t likely that you were going to get him mouthing the words in a non-concert setting.

“I’m On Fire”, the fourth single from Born In The U.S.A. that was released in 1985, proved the perfect vehicle for Springsteen’s exploits as a thespian. A moody track that suggests a lot more than it comes right out and says, it allowed room for some sort of video interpretation that wasn’t on the nose.

Springsteen turned to John Sayles, who had directed the clip for the album’s title track as well. He cast The Boss as a mechanic. One of his clients is a woman who, as the dialogue makes clear, is particularly fond of this mechanic’s work. The insinuation made by his co-workers is that there might be some sort of attraction between the two.

The Boss as Grease Monkey

As the music plays, Bruce Springsteen is seen driving this woman’s car out to her estate. He then brings the keys up to the door and briefly looks up at what we assume is her bedroom. After some consideration, he drops the keys in the mailbox and begins to walk back home.

There’s nothing overly flashy or bombastic about it, which puts it at odds with most of the videos by big stars of that day. But the video manages to capture the song’s theme of how desire can overwhelm your best judgment.

“I’m On Fire”, like every other single released from Born In The U.S.A., shot to the Top 10. The video likely helped that result. Springsteen managed to come away from the video with his dignity intact. And he proved that some low-key acting chops resided somewhere within his rock star persona.

Photo by Bob Riha, Jr./Getty Images

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