Nicholas Sparks Says Gena Rowlands ‘Understood What Was at Stake’ with Her Role inThe Notebook(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Gena Rowlands in The Notebook.Photo:Photo 12 / Alamy

Photo 12 / Alamy

Nicholas Sparks is rememberingGena Rowlands’ incredible performance inThe Notebook.Speaking exclusively with PEOPLE about the adaptation of his bestselling novel, the North Carolina-based author, 58, sharedhis favorite memory of working with the late actress, whodied at 94 in Augustafter beingdiagnosed with Alzheimer’s diseasefive years prior.

In the 2004 film, Rowlands plays an older version ofRachel McAdams’ character, Allie, who is living with Alzheimer’s disease.

Many years before her own diagnosis, Sparks recalls that Rowlands was especially adamant about portraying the character and her illness accurately.

Nicholas Sparks and Gena Rowlands.Brad Poirier; Cindy Ord/Getty

Brad Poirier; Cindy Ord/Getty

“What was the neatest thing was that, even 20 years ago, she understood what was at stake with her role, that, for the families who are dealing with this, this can be very difficult,” Sparks tells PEOPLE.

“It can be very painful, it can be weary, frustrating,” he continues. “There’s a lot of different emotions. I think she was really clear on the fact that, ‘Hey, I don’t want this to be a fantasy. I want it to be like it might be, which is full of heartache and fright and fear and sudden confusion,' and all of those elements that really brought the performance up to a very high level.”

Sparks adds that it “was fun” getting to watch Rowlands work with her sonNick Cassavetes, who served as the film’s director after a lengthy search that Sparks says included everyone from Steven Spielberg to Tom Shadyac.

Nick Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands.Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty

Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty

For the film’s 20th anniversary in June, Cassavetes spoke withEntertainment Weekly, which is when he revealed that his mother had dementia like her character.

“I got my mom to play older Allie, and we spent a lot of time talking about Alzheimer’s and wanting to be authentic with it, and now, for the last five years, she’s had Alzheimer’s,” he told the publication of his mother. “She’s in full dementia. And it’s so crazy — we lived it, she acted it, and now it’s on us.”

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During a 2004 interview withOmagazine, Rowlands opened up about how her own mother’s struggle with the disease influenced her to take on the role.

source: people.com