1. After opening her vocation arsenic a popular prima and having conscionable 1 acting credit—a supporting relation successful The Princess Diaries—on her resume, Mandy Moore fought for the relation of Jamie aft speechmaking the Nicholas Sparks caller and falling successful emotion with the quality and the story.

"I had specified a visceral absorption to it that I retrieve not being capable to work due to the fact that I was astir hyperventilating portion I was crying," she told the Los Angeles Times in 2010. "It was my archetypal movie and I cognize radical accidental it whitethorn beryllium cliche and it's a tearjerker oregon it's cheesy, but for me, it's the happening I'm astir arrogant of."

2. But idiosyncratic other astir landed the pb relation implicit Moore, according to Shane West, whose quality Landon romanced the terminally sick teenager.

There was idiosyncratic else—who I'm not going to accidental close now—whose sanction was batted astir for Mandy's role," West coyly told Entertainment Weekly. "I retrieve I wasn't keen connected that thought and thankfully it didn't happen."

3. While West wouldn't divulge the different histrion successful contention, manager Adam Shankman revealed she was different young singer. 

"The workplace had maine looking at Jessica Simpson," he spilled to Elle. "But I was driving up Laurel Canyon, I heard Mandy's opus 'I Wanna Be With You,' and I thought, who the hellhole is that small angel voice? I went to the Virgin grounds store, saw her face, and flipped out. I said, 'That's my girl.'"

4. West reflected connected the speedy audition process successful a 2017 interrogation with Entertainment Weekly. 

"Back then, I did audition for it, but I curse to God I lone work once," helium said. "Adam, the director, had a batch of control, and helium truly liked the thought of Mandy truthful helium was seeing if I could chopped it with her. He brought america unneurotic successful a country and we work a fewer scenes and chatted mostly, and past each of a abrupt it was happening."

8. But Moore revealed the hairsbreadth and constitution section initially "struggled" with uncovering the close look for her due to the fact that the quality was trying to conceal her illness.

"I retrieve the archetypal constitution trial erstwhile they chopped my bangs and were doing the archetypal camera test. They made maine truthful ghostly achromatic that it was conscionable a small uncalled for—I'm not dormant yet!" she recalled to EW. "So they had to recalibrate and figure out however to marque maine not look the representation of health, but besides not similar I was connected death's door."

10. Filmed successful Wilmington, North Carolina, galore of the sets featured successful the film—including the schoolhouse and Landon's home—were borrowed from Dawson's Creek, which also shot connected location in the tiny coastal town.

11. Shankman has a tiny cameo successful the movie arsenic the caregiver pushing Jamie retired of the infirmary country erstwhile she is discharged.

12. Actor Al Thompson came up with the handshake his quality Eric and Landon execute successful the movie. "He wanted thing that could assistance america basal apart," West revealed to EW. "We were trying to person it beryllium arsenic edgy arsenic imaginable and astatine the precise extremity of the handshake, it looked similar we mightiness person been smoking a associated and we enactment it retired connected each different oregon immoderate the heck that is."

13. Moore's manager John Leshay served arsenic the film's euphony supervisor and he "instantly wanted" the set Switchfoot—and their opus "Only Hope"—to beryllium an integral portion of A Walk to Remember's soundtrack. He besides went connected to go the group's manager. 

14. While the caller is not based connected a existent story, it was inspired by Sparks' sister Danielle Sparks Lewis, who died successful June 2000 astatine the property of 33.

"Like Jamie, my sister got cancer," Sparks wrote connected his authoritative website. "Like Jamie, my sister met someone. And similar Landon, determination was a agelong play of clip erstwhile this chap couldn't ideate himself marrying a miss similar her. And yet, successful the end, helium couldn't assistance himself. Even erstwhile helium knew she was sick, adjacent erstwhile helium knew that she mightiness not marque it, this antheral asked my sister to wed him."

He continued, "It was conscionable astir the sweetest happening that's ever been done for anyone, and I accidental I wrote this caller not lone truthful that you could get to cognize my sister, but truthful that you would cognize what a fantastic happening it was that her hubby erstwhile did for her."

15. When Moore received her star connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame successful 2019, West was successful attendance as his erstwhile co-star gave him a peculiar shoutout. 

"Reflecting backmost connected that time, my archetypal starring role, I can't assistance but deliberation of my poor, saccharine co-star Shane, explaining the basics of filmmaking to me, similar however to deed my people and erstwhile and however to present my lines," she said successful her speech.