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Last month, Rachel McAdams made waves when her audition tape for The Notebook surfaced in honor of the flick's 10th anniversary. But despite having nearly five million views on YouTube, the actress had yet to watch the clip—until today, that is.
The 35-year-old stunner stopped by the Today show on Tuesday to promote her upcoming flick A Most Wanted Man, but was unexpectedly treated to a surprise viewing party of the much-buzzed video after she confessed to never having seen it.
McAdams covered her face with embarrassment as she watched the 12-year-old clip, squirming with discomfort as she analyzed her performance.
"Why are you cringing?" anchor Matt Lauer asked. "You got the part!"
The 56-year-old television journalist also admitted that he was "weeping" like a baby the first time he watched the Nick Cassavetes-directed flick while flying cross-country with co-host Al Roker, who also confessed to crying "uncontrollably."
As for McAdams' reaction?
"Embrace it! I love that, it's very sweet," The Vow star kindly replied before revealing that those crying confessions are much more common than you may think.
"Men want to confess that they cried and it felt good, and it's a lovely thing," she admitted.
McAdams beat out ten actresses who tested with costar Ryan Gosling—"nine of whom were very well known"—Cassavetes previously revealed in a behind-the-scenes audition tape. "Some of them were really, really great, but when Ms. McAdams came in and read it was apparent that she was the one," he said.
"She left and Nick and I were just like, ‘Oh my God,' we gave each other a big hug, and it was just such a big relief," Gosling added while Cassavetes confessed, "At the end of the day, we went with the best person for the job."
And the rest is romantic history.
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