Britney Spears, 41, was nearly cast as Allie Hamilton in Nicholas Sparks‘ The Notebook in 2004, a new clip obtained by the Daily Mail on October 23 revealed. In the audition tape, the “Hold Me Closer” co-hitmaker read a scene that was meant to be between Allie and Ryan Gosling‘s Noah Calhoun. Brit even posed alongside the now 42-year-old in the audition room when they were both in their early 20s.
In the rare clip, the blonde beauty broke down in tears when reciting the lines opposite Ryan. Britney was disclosing to Ryan’s Noah that she was set to marry James Marsden‘s Lon Hammond when the scene proved emotional and led the pop star to cry. “Noah, you can’t marry two people. And I’m marrying Lon, so I should go, okay?” she said through tears. During the audition, the songstress rocked a white lace top and wore her golden tresses straight down.
The film’s casting director Matthew Barry even spoke about Brit’s audition during an interview with the tabloid. He revealed that Britney outperformed A-list actresses for the role including Claire Danes, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams and Jessica Biel. “Britney wasn’t just good – she was phenomenal,” he gushed over the now mother-of-two‘s then audition. “It was a tough decision. Britney blew us all away. Our jaws were on the floor. I was blown away. Absolutely blown away. She brought her A-game that day.”
The Grammy winner reportedly opened up about the audition in her upcoming memoir, The Woman in Me, due out on October 24. “The Notebook casting came down to me and Rachel McAdams, and even though it would have been fun to reconnect with Ryan Gosling after our time on The Mickey Mouse Club, I’m glad I didn’t do it,” Brit penned in an excerpt obtained by DM. “If I had, instead of working on my album In the Zone, I’d have been acting like a 1940s heiress day and night.”
Soon after the audition tape landed on social media one day ahead of the release of the popstar’s book, many of her fans took to the comments to compliment Brit’s acting skills. “of course rachel mcadams is an expert of her acting craft – but britney’s audition for the notebook wasn’t as bad as i though [sic] it would be in comparison? like i see the potential,” one admirer tweeted, while another added, “Give her an Oscar right now.” Later, in 2005, Rachel and Ryan took home the MTV Movie and TV Award for “Best Kiss” for their work on the film.
