Shailene Woodley Offered Lead In ‘The Fault In Our Stars’

The Secret Life of the American Teenager star Shailene Woodley has been offered the lead role of Hazel Grace Lancaster in the movie adaptation of John Green’s novel The Fault in Our Stars.

“During our exhaustive search to find Hazel Grace Lancaster, I saw some stunning auditions by today’s finest young actresses,” director Josh Boone told Entertainment Weekly in statement. “Over 250 girls read for the part, but it wasn’t until Shailene stepped in front of the camera that I truly saw Hazel for the first time. It was like lightning striking. I can’t wait for the rest of the world to see what I have.”

Producer Wyck Godfrey agreed, saying, “Shailene’s love of the book and dedication to the character was evident in not only her pursuit of the role but her delivery of the essence of Hazel in her audition.”

Godfrey, who has previously adapted the Twilight saga for the big screen, added, “I have no doubt that she will deliver a Hazel that will floor both fans of the book and those who have yet to be introduced to the transcendent story of The Fault in Our Stars.”

Green echoed Godfrey’s sentiment, saying that he is “thrilled” that Woodley will be playing Hazel, and that it meant a lot to him that the 21-year-old is a fan of the book.

” … I know from our conversations that she has a profound understanding of Hazel,” Green said. “Watching her audition, I felt like Hazel Grace Lancaster was talking to me. It was eerie–and very exciting.”

While Shailene Woodley rose to international fame for her role as Alexandra King in The Descendants, the actress has played young mother Amy Juergens in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager since 2008. The series was canceled on October 29, 2012, and it will wrap its fifth and final season this summer. Earlier that month, Woodley was cast as Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

The Fault in Our Stars tells the story of Gus and Hazel, two teenagers who meet in a cancer support group and fall in love. The novel, which is narrated by the 16-year-old Hazel, draws its title from a line in Act 1, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/But in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who wrote the screenplay (500) Days of Summer, have been tapped to write the screenplay for the film. The pair also wrote the screenplay for the comedy-drama The Spectacular Now, Woodley’s second lead movie role.

Are you excited that Shailene Woodley will be playing Hazel in The Fault in Our Stars?

[Photo credit: DFree / Shutterstock.com]