Rachel McAdams is making the rounds amidst her return to the big screen in the film adaptation of Judy Blume's coming-of-age classic Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
Of course the talented actor is no stranger to the territory, finding massive success early in her career. McAdams booked her first Hollywood film The Hot Chick less than a year after graduating from York University.
Soon after, the actor stayed incredibly busy working on back-to-back projects—with Mean Girls, Wedding Crashers, The Notebook, Red Eye and The Family Stone all coming out within the span of a couple of years.
McAdams told Bustle her launch into the industry and subsequent immediate success "did feel a little overnight."
And while the Morning Glory star did realize she was incredibly fortunate to find such footing in the competitive industry, she revealed she turned down some quite monumental roles over the course of two years after moving back to Canada to "recenter."
Among those were for films such as Casino Royale, The Devil Wears Prada, Get Smart, Iron Man and Mission: Impossible III.
McAdams admitted sometimes the thinks back and "[wishes she'd] done that," but then said:
"I step back and go, 'That was the right person for that.'"
Of her break, McAdams acknowledged:
"I felt guilty for not capitalizing on the opportunity that I was being given, because I knew I was in such a lucky spot."
"But I also knew it wasn't quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane."
Many on social media imagined McAdams as the female lead in some of the films she turned down.
\u201c@PopCrave she would have been a better pepper tbh\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave I love her. Can see her in some of these roles she turned down. :)\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave omg wait she would\u2019ve fit so good in iron man\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave she couldve been pepper potts\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave she would've ate whatever role she was supposed to play in the devil wears prada\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave She would have chewed Iron Man\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
But all in all, nobody blamed her for wanting to take a step back for a beat.
\u201c@PopCrave NORMALIZE TAKING BREAKS AND NOT HAVING FOMO\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave she literally made mean girls and the notebook in the same year omg she already decimated\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave She is still getting The Notebook and Mean Girls check\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave Her playing Regina George is all we really needed \u2665\ufe0f\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
\u201c@PopCrave Your decision is not a mistake! Good for u\u201d— Pop Crave (@Pop Crave) 1681856035
McAdams did reveal she had some doubts about her decisions.
"There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that?"
"It's taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing."
You can catch McAdams in her newest role as matriarch Barbara Simon in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret in theaters beginning April 28.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC