Tom Cruise is one of the world’s most prominent actors in the world. Cruise has delivered several hit films in his decades-long career. Though Cruise is well known for delivering action-adventure films like the Mission Impossible franchise, Top Gun franchise, etc. Cruise has also been seen delivering romantic movies like Endless Love, Far and Away, and much more. The Mission Impossible star could have delivered one of the best romantic films of all time, The Notebook. It was revealed by the movie’s director that Tom Cruise and Britney Spears were nearly cast as romantic partners in the film.

Tom Cruise

Ryan Gosling And Rachel McAdam Starrer The Notebook

The Notebook is a 2004 romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. The movie stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as the lead characters, Noah and Allie, who fall deeply in love over the summer but are separated by circumstances beyond their control. The Notebook has become a beloved classic and has left an everlasting impact on the audience. However, it has been revealed that the film almost had a completely different cast.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams kissing each other

Tom Cruise And Britney Spar Could Have Played The Role Of Noah And Allie

In an interview, the director of the ionic movie, Nick Cassavetes, revealed that the makers initially had Tom Cruise in mind as a lead. When the New Lines Cinema bought the rights to the novel, Steven Spielberg came forward to direct the movie and chose Top Gun: Maverick star to play the role of Noah. But because of certain reasons, he had to drop the project. Cassavetes was on board years later and decided to cast Ryan Gosling as the lead. Cassavetes shared the difficulty of casting gosling, as the La La Land star was quite unknown at the time.

“When I told [New Line Cinema] I wanted to hire Ryan for the lead, they kind of looked at me like I was out of my mind.”
Cassavetes also shared that the selection of McAdams as the lead was done through an audition. The Notebook director highlighted the fact of making a movie with two unknown actors, at the time.

“And we found Rachel through an audition process and she was wonderful. A lot of studios wouldn’t have had the courage to put two relatively unknown people in a movie like this. But they did and, gosh, weren’t they terrific?”

Nick Cassavetes

While it may seem strange to imagine Tom Cruise and Britney Spears as romantic partners in The Notebook it’s not entirely surprising. At the time, both were at the height of their fame and were considered some of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. It’s clear that the film’s success and lasting impact can largely be attributed to Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams’ incredible chemistry and performances. Despite the initial casting considerations, it’s hard to imagine the film without them. One can watch The Notebook on streaming platforms like Netflix.