Britney Spears’ autobiography, “The Woman in Me”, hasn’t even arrived and has already brought other unusual revelations from the singer’s life. Among them, that the pop princess almost gave life to Allie, the main character in the movie “Diary of a Passion”, alongside Ryan Gosling. The film, inspired by the book of the same name by Nicholas Sparks, stars Rachel McAdams.
The audition was shown by the Daily Mail. Britney appeared very emotional in a scene alongside Ryan Gosling. “I’m not staying. I tried to call you to tell you I wasn’t staying – but no one answered the phone… Noah, you can’t marry two people. And I’m marrying Lon, so I should go, okay?” she began.
Hollywood casting director Matthew Barry shared the video of Spears’ audition with the Daily Mail and said that she was “not just good” in her session with Gosling, but “phenomenal”. The audition tape was recorded in Los Angeles on August 18, 2002.
“It was a difficult decision. Britney surprised us. Our jaws dropped. I was blown away. Absolutely dazzled. She brought her best game that day. Britney beat several of the leading female actresses of the time. Scarlett Johansson, Claire Danes, Kate Bosworth, Amy Adams, Jamie King and Mandy Moore auditioned for this role. Britney beat them all. Everyone who was anyone that year wanted this role,” Barry told the tabloid.
In the book that will be released soon, the singer also spoke about her experience and said that she wasn’t angry about losing the role. “Even though it would have been fun to reconnect with Ryan Gosling after our time in ‘Mickey’s Club’, I’m glad I didn’t make the movie. If I had, instead of working on my album ‘In the Zone’, I’d be acting like a 1940s heiress, day and night.”
She said that the process of acting would really mess with her mind, as she would adopt the “Method”, which is when the actor or actress lives 24 hours a day as if they were the character they are playing. This happened when she acted in Crossroads: Friends Forever, in 2002.
“I just didn’t know how to get out of my character. I really became this other person. Some people do method acting, but they’re usually aware of the fact that they’re doing it. But I didn’t have any separation. I ended up walking differently, behaving differently, talking differently. I was a different person for months while filming ‘Crossroads’. Even today, I bet the girls I shot that movie with think: ‘She’s a bit… peculiar. If they thought that, they were right.”
“I imagine there are people in the acting field who have dealt with something like this, where they found it difficult to separate themselves from a character. I hope I never come close to that occupational hazard again. Living like that, being half yourself and half a fictional character, is a mess. After a while you don’t know what’s real anymore,” he concluded.