10. While it’s hard to imagine any but Gosling playing Noah Calhoun in 2004’s The Notebook, director Nick Cassevetes admitted to Vh1 he had to fight to cast the then-23-year-old actor.
“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 revealed to VH1. Gosling was a little surprised, too, especially after his first meeting with the director.
11. Before Rachel McAdams landed the role of Allie, one of Gosling’s former co-stars was actually considered for the part: Britney Spears, his Mickey Mouse Club pal and, you know, one of the biggest stars in the world.
In an interview with ET, Gosling revealed he had screen-tested with Spears, saying, “I did…I hadn’t seen her really since she was about 12—we were both 12—so she’s grown up, but she was really good, actually. She did a really nice job. We were 12, I don’t remember much from when I was 12, but yeah, no, she did an excellent job, actually. That was cool.”
