Britney Spears book: what has she said about Notebook audition with Ryan Gosling in new memoir?

Britney Spears has revealed in her memoir The Woman in Me that she auditioned for The Notebook alongside Ryan Gosling. The pop superstar explained that she was "glad I didn't do it" following her experience of method acting for her 2002 film Crossroads.

The audition tape which was published by the Daily Mail shows a tearful Spears acting out the role of Allie, which would ultimately go to Rachel McAdams. Casting director Matthew Berry revealed that Spears' audition was "phenomenal".

Spears new tell-all book is officially out, the memoir explores her early career, rise to fame, relationships and 13-year conservatorship. It has revealed some shocking details about her relationship with Justin Timberlake including claiming that she had an abortion.

The memoir also discusses her infamous interviews with Diane Sawyer and Ryan Seacrest. Here's everything you need to know about Britney Spears The Notebook audition and how to watch it.

Did Britney Spears audition for The Notebook?

Spears has revealed in her memoir that she did audition for The Notebook. The audition tape was published by the Daily Mail on October 23, which shows her reading an emotional script with Gosling off camera. She impressed production, with casting director Matthew Berry revealing in an interview with The Daily Mail that Spears was "phenomenal".

Berry said: "Britney beat out several of the top female actresses at the time. 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." He added that the singer "wasn’t just good - she was phenomenal."

The role ultimately went to Rachel McAdams. Britney Spears' The Notebook audition tape has since been removed by the uploader, but some clips remain on social media, you can watch more below.

What has Britney said about The Notebook audition?

Spears has opened up about The Notebook audition in her new book, The Woman in Me. In the memoir she explains she is "glad I didn't do it".

Reported by Variety, Spears writes: "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."

She went on to explain what acting "did to my mind", after she started method acting during her filming for the movie Crossroads. Spears continued: "My problem wasn’t with anyone involved in the production but with what acting did to my mind."

She added: “I think I started method acting, only I didn’t know how to break 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 at all. I ended up walking differently, carrying myself differently, talking differently. I was someone else for months while I filmed Crossroads. Still to this day, I bet the girls I shot that movie with think, She’s a little… quirky. If they thought that, they were right.”

Did Ryan Gosling have a crush on Britney Spears?

Gosling and Spears met on the set of Disney's Mickey Mouse Club in the early 1990s. In an interview with The Sunday Times Style magazine in 2013 the Barbie actor revealed that he had a crush on Spears, describing her as his "girl next door". Gosling said: "Britney was a sweetheart. She lived right above me, the girl next door. The little girl I used to play basketball and spin the bottle with."