She was at a crossroads of her own.
Britney Spears revealed in an excerpt from her upcoming book, “The Woman in Me,” that she unknowingly slipped into method acting while filming the 2002 drama-comedy “Crossroads.”
“My problem wasn’t with anyone involved in the production but with what acting did to my mind,” Spears, 41, wrote in an excerpt obtained by People. “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,” the “Toxic” singer continued. “But I didn’t have any separation at all. I ended up walking differently, carrying myself differently, talking differently.”
She added: “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.”
Method acting, or simply the Method, was developed by theater director, actor and acting teacher Lee Strasberg, who believed that the only way for an actor to give a genuine performance was through understanding and experiencing a character’s inner motivation and emotions.
Notable practitioners of this method include Marlon Brando, Christian Bale, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Jared Leto and Jeremy Strong.
Elsewhere in the novel, Spears revealed that the film was “pretty much the beginning and end of my acting career,” and she felt “relieved” at that notion.
The Princess of Pop, however, was in the running for another movie — which would have reunited her with “Mickey Mouse Club” co-star Ryan Gosling. The singer claims she was up for Rachel McAdams’ role of Allie in 2004’s “The Notebook.”
“‘The Notebook’ casting came down to me and Rachel McAdams, and 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,” Spears wrote. “If I had, instead of working on my album ‘In the Zone’ I’d have been acting like a 1940s heiress day and night.
“I imagine there are people in the acting field who have dealt with something like that, where they had trouble separating themselves from a character,” she added. “I hope I never get close to that occupational hazard again.”
The musician noted that “living that way, being half yourself and half a fictional character is messed up.”
“After a while you don’t know what’s real anymore,” she concluded.
“The Woman in Me” is set to hit bookshelves on Oct. 24.
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