The same year that she went down in history as Regina George on 'Mean Girls' was also the year that Rachel McAdams debuted in 'The Notebook.' While the actress was already on her way up, it's arguable that those two roles are the most iconic of her entire career.
But the 2004 film 'The Notebook' could have been very different, had Rachel not landed the lead romantic role alongside Ryan Gosling.
She's had a ton of career achievements since then, but 'The Notebook' really set the tone. And it almost didn't happen.
According to Pop Crush, one iconic pop star nearly stole the role from Rachel. It was none other than Britney Spears who could've changed the entire trajectory of McAdams' career.
Pop Crush pointed out that tons of other actresses were after the role, too. And who wouldn't be, given the fact that they would be locking lips with Ryan Gosling multiple times?
Stars like Ashley Judd, Reese Witherspoon, and Jessica Biel were all interested in or auditioned for the gig, too. And Ryan remembered it well, recalling that he hadn't seen Britney since age 12 when they were both on 'The Mickey Mouse Club' on Disney.
Still, he said she did "an excellent job" auditioning for the role of Allie. Of course, no one could compare to the way McAdams executed the role, no matter how excited Britney was for the opportunity.
For her part, Rachel admitted that she didn't know Britney had auditioned until later. In hearing the news, she noted that she was "very fortunate" to have secured the gig. She also pointed out that "it would have been a totally different movie," and fans have to agree.
After all, Spears' limited acting resume includes a handful of movies like 'Crossroads,' 'Austin Powers,' and 'Jackass 3D.' Not exactly Nicholas Sparks material, right? But Britney did appear on 'Glee' and is comfortable appearing on TV, having participated in plenty of documentaries and other shows.
She also appeared on 'Jane the Virgin' in 2015, so maybe it's not so crazy to think that Spears could've tackled bigger roles on TV and in film. After all, Mandy Moore did an amazing job on 'A Walk to Remember' and, much later, went on to impress audiences on 'This Is Us,' too.
While it's unclear just who received a bigger salary between the two lead stars, 'The Notebook' was wildly successful and remains a fan favorite today. And who knows how it would've gone down in history had Britney made up one half of the romantic duo instead?