Britney Spears revealed that she turned down a role in the Chicago movie musical in her new memoir. Spears regrets turning down the role of an unspecified murderous villain in the film after she became too engrossed in her character from Crossroads.
Writes Spears:
When it came to Chicago, I should've done it. I had power back then; I wish I'd used it more thoughtfully. Chicago would have been fun. It's all dance pieces – my favorite kind: prissy, girly follies, Pussycat Doll-like, serve-off your-corset moves. I wish I'd taken that offer.
While she does not reveal what role she was offered, she shared that she "would have gotten to play a villain who kills a man, and sings and dances while doing it, too."
Which, in Chicago, doesn't exactly narrow it down. I don't know if Spears had the perceived acting chops to be cast as either Velma or Roxie, so my guess is that she was offered the part of one of the murderess row.
By the way, if anyone happens to be reading this in Australia I highly recommend the one-woman show Britney Spears: The Cabaret starring Christie Whelan Browne, written and directed by Dean Bryant, and with musical arrangements by Mathew Frank. It's playing for two nights in Melbourne at Chapel off Chapel on 26 & 27 October and for one night only in Sydney at the Hayes Theatre on 29 October. Britney Spears the Cabaret is at the top of my list of best Australian musicals (along with Muriel's Wedding).