George Clooney reveals he almost starred in 'The Notebook' alongside late actor Paul Newman

WASHINGTON: American actor George Clooney said he had nearly landed a role in 'The Notebook' alongside the late Hollywood star Paul Newman.

According to People Magazine, while promoting his upcoming Netflix film 'The Midnight Sky' during a virtual chat for the 64th BFI London Film Festival, the 59-year-old star Clooney recalled how he and Newman - who died in 2008 at age 83 after a long battle with cancer - almost joined the beloved 2004 romantic drama based on Nicholas Sparks' novel.

According to Deadline, Clooney recalled,"We were going to do 'The Notebook' together. Basically, I was going to play him as a young man, and it was funny. We met and said, 'This is it. It's going to be great.' "

However, Clooney said he got cold feet after he went home and watched a number of Newman's iconic films.

Clooney recalled, "He's one of the most handsome guys you've ever seen. We met up [again] and I said, 'I can't play you. I don't look anything like you. This is insane,'.We just wanted to do it because we wanted to work together, [but] it ended up being not the right thing for us to do."

Ryan Gosling went on to play Noah Calhoun with James Garner playing the older version. Rachel McAdams starred opposite Gosling as Allie Hamilton and Gena Rowlands acted opposite Garner.

As per People Magazine,'The Midnight Sky', based on a novel by Lily Brooks-Dalton and directed by Clooney, follows Augustine (Clooney), a lonely scientist in the Arctic racing to stop a group of fellow astronauts (led by Felicity Jones) from returning to earth after a global catastrophe decimates humanity. The film also stars Kyle Chandler, David Oyelowo and Tiffany Boone.

'The Midnight Sky' is scheduled to premiere in December on Netflix.