- Britney Spears auditioned for the lead female role in "The Notebook."
- It came down to her and Rachel McAdams for the part of Allie, which eventually went to McAdams.
- Watch Spears' audition tape, which the casting director said was better than readings from other big stars.
In her anticipated memoir, "The Woman in Me," Britney Spears writes about how she was very close to landing the role of Allie, the female lead in the 2004 adaptation of the Nicholas Sparks novel, "The Notebook."
Now, you can see her audition for yourself, thanks to the movie's casting director, Matthew Barry, who shared the video with The Daily Mail.
The audition, which was filmed in Los Angeles in August 2002, shows a tearful Spears delivering her lines to Ryan Gosling off camera. Gosling would go on to play Noah, the male lead.
"Britney wasn't just good, she was phenomenal," Barry told The Daily Mail.
"It was a tough decision," Barry said of not casting Spears as Allie. "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."
"Britney beat out several of the top female actresses at the time," Barry added. "Scarlett Johansson, Claire Danes, Kate Bosworth, Amy Adams, Jamie King, and Mandy Moore auditioned for this role. Britney beat out all of them. Everybody who was anybody that year wanted this part."
That also included Rachel McAdams, who was just starting out in her career. At the time, her biggest role was starring in the 2002 Rob Schneider comedy "The Hot Chick."
Barry said it was a "tough call," but the executives went with McAdams.
In hindsight, Spears said that she's OK with not getting the part.
"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," she wrote in "The Woman in Me." "If I had, instead of working on my album 'In the Zone' I'd have been acting like a 1940s heiress day and night."
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