24 October 2023 , 10:35
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Britney Spears was sensational as she gave an emotional performance in a newly-released video showing her audition for The Notebook, which was hidden for two decades.
The iconic singer auditioned for the film when she was 21 years old and Hollywood casting director Matthew Barry has now revealed she only narrowly missed out on the lead role of Allie, which eventually went to Rachel McAdams. During Britney's screen test with leading man Ryan Gosling, she broke down in tears while reading a very moving scene.
Matthew was blown away by Britney's performance and said she beat a slew of other hopeful actresses, including Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Claire Danes and Jessica Biel, the current wife of Britney's ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake. The film's creators ultimately settled on Rachel for the role.
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Britney Spears was 21 when she auditioned for the film (WireImage)
She filmed the audition tape alongside Ryan Gosling (Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)Britney's audition tape lasted for two and a half minutes and shows her sobbing in front of Ryan. In the video, the singer is dressed in a white lace top and pearl necklace, with her hair styled in a middle parting. Ryan, who Britney first met on the set of The Mickey Mouse Club, was stood off to the side.
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"I'm not staying. I tried to call you to tell you that I wasn’t going to stay - but nobody answered the phone," Britney said in the video, which was obtained by the Daily Mail.
Throughout the video, Britney got more and more emotional, looking off to the side as she struggled to maintain eye contact. She added: "I prayed for you to die in the war, really. Well not die. I would have felt completely horrible if you would die. But I kinda didn't want you to be alive anymore because I couldn't bear the thought of you being with somebody else."
Rachel McAdams was cast in the lead role (New Line/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)Britney's audition "blew away" the producers and secured her the part, until Rachel then did a screen test opposite Ryan and won the part. The Notebook is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks.
It follows Allie and Noah who fall in love in the 1940s before being forced apart by her mother. They reunite years later, only for Allie to be engaged to a wealthy businessman. Nicholas Sparks based his book on the grandparents of his ex-wife, Cathy.
On his website he said: "The Notebook was originally inspired by the story of my wife's grandparents. They had a rare and beautiful relationship, one that withstood the test of time and circumstance."
Britney has admitted she was "glad" the role of Allie went to Rachel. Writing in her memoir, The Woman in Me, she said: "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."
Britney Spears’s memoir, , published by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is available Oct. 24 wherever books are sold.