Singer and all-round icon Britney Spears has had a rough time in a lot of ways, and famously has been silenced throughout her career despite her immense fame and influence. However, with the upcoming release of her tell-all autobiography, she just might finally have the chance to have her real voice heard.
Given her storied history in the public eye, it’s no surprise that the snippets her agency have been releasing are full of the juciest gossip, including revelations which confirm things that many people long thought might be true but had no proof of, while also giving us new insights into some of pop culture’s most memorable moments from the late nineties and early 2000s.
One bit of information that has caught quite a few people’s eyes is that the book claims Britney was in the running for Rachel McAdams’ role in The Notebook, and even got through to the final two. But is this really true, or are people jumping on the Britney hype with fake news in an attempt to boost their own profiles? Read ahead to find out!
Was Britney Spears really in the running for The Notebook before Rachel McAdams was cast?
The short answer is yes, Spears was very much in the running for the role of Allie in The Notebook. She even got as far as a reading with Ryan Gosling, whom she knew from her Mickey Mouse Club days. English tabloid the Daily Mail even managed to obtain the video of their “chemistry reading,” which shows that the pop starlet was quite far along the audition process at one point.
Britney confirms all of this in her upcoming memoir, also adding that she was “glad” that she ended up losing out on the part. However, she wasn’t just there because of her name, and beat out names like Claire Danes and Jessica Biel to get to the final two with McAdams. With that said, the pop star seemed to have already gone off acting by that point after her experiences on the film Crossroads, as per her book:
“The experience wasn’t easy for me. My problem wasn’t with anyone involved in the production but with what acting did to my mind. I think I started Method acting — only I didn’t know how to break out of my character. I really became this other person.”
She then added:
“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. If I had, instead of working on my album In the Zone I’d have been acting like a 1940s heiress day and night . . . I hope I never get close to that occupational hazard again.”
As much as we stan the legend that is Britney, even we think this was probably for the better!