Summary

  • Britney Spears' audition tape for the role of Allie in The Notebook has been unveiled for the first time, showcasing her powerful acting skills.
  • Casting director Matthew Berry says Spears' performance left everyone in the room "blown away". The audition tape has long been a highly sought-after object of fascination.
  • Spears beat out the likes of Jessica Biel, Amy Adams, Scarlet Johansson, and Claire Danes for the role, but the production ultimately went with Rachel McAdams.

The Notebook stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple from different class backgrounds who fall in love and face the struggles that emerge due to their different upbringings. Spears was famously up for the role of Allie, the role that would eventually go to McAdams, with her audition tape long sought after.

Now, Barry has shared Spears' The Notebook audition tape with Daily Mail, unveiling the singer's powerful performance for the first time. Gosling was present during the audition and is standing just off camera as Spears delivers a tearful monologue. Check out the audition video and Barry's recollection of the occasion below:

"Britney wasn't just good - she was phenomenal. 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."

Blended image of Ryan Gosling as Noah and old Noah and Allie in The Notebook
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Britney Spears' The Notebook Audition Explained

Noah (Ryan Gosling) holding Allie (Rachel McAdams) in his arms as they embrace in the rain in The Notebook.

Spears was one of several candidates for the role of Allie in The Notebook, with Claire Danes, Reese Witherspoon, Amy Adams, Jessica Biel, and Scarlett Johansson among those in the running. The singer, who was 21 at the time, was brought in to audition in 2002, and apparently became a front-runner for the role, beating out the above actors until it was just down to her and McAdams.

Spears' was already a pop music sensation due to her debut studio album ...Baby One More Time, and news of her audition for The Notebook started a frenzy to find the buried footage. Even 20 years later, the Spears' audition video remained an object of cultural fascination, with one 2021 eBay listing purporting to have it available for sale for $1 million.

While McAdams ended up getting the role and the movie would go down as a quintessential early-2000s romance, it's interesting to imagine how The Notebook might have been different had Spears been cast. Gosling and McAdams famously butted heads on set and apparently even had a trailer screaming match to hash out their differences. While the on-screen dynamic between Gosling and McAdams works in The Notebook, Spears' casting could have resulted in a more harmonious dynamic while on set. With the audition tape having now been revealed, it's clear that she also had the acting chops for the role.

Source: Daily Mail