Stepping back: Rachel McAdams reflected on her career in a new cover story interview with Marie Claire, and revealed why Mean Girls inspired her to press pause on her film career
Change of character: The 36-year-old says she is ready to make the move from girl next door to something far grittier and her leading role in the second season of True Detective should fulfill that objective
Rachel
McAdams stunned the world in 2004 when, after starring in a series of
phenomenally successful movies, she chose not to capitalize on her fame
and fortune, but rather to take a step back from showbusiness in order
to reassess the direction her career was going in.
Now the 36-year-old actress has revealed to Marie Claire why
she pressed pause on her film projects, despite having incredible
success with a number of films in quick succession, admitting that she
felt like she needed to take some time off in order to figure out if all
that success was what she really wanted.
'I
had to kind of reassess and go, "What did I want this [success] to be,
and how did I expect it to look?"' she said in an interview which
accompanies her cover shoot for the publication.
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Stepping back: Although Rachel was on a roll after starring in Mean Girls (left), The Notebook and Wedding Crashers, the star said it was important for her to take a time out and step back for a moment
Meteoric: Rachel’s career took off after she appeared in major movies like The Notebook (pictured) where she starred opposite Ryan Gosling. She took time out to process her success and revaluate her goals in life
Her portrayal of the kind-hearted, yet feisty, Allie Hamilton in The Notebook, alongside her then-boyfriend Ryan Gosling, charmed audiences, while her role as Regina in Mean Girls remains one of the most-quoted movie parts in modern history.
And, Rachel admits, it was this role that she truly relished playing the most.
'I prefer to be a villainess,' she added to Marie Claire. 'There's something a bit more delicious about their wickedness.'
Now Rachel is about to play another strong woman in the second season of HBO's True Detective, starring alongside Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn.
Latest project: The actress plays a strong woman in the upcoming season of True Detective, in which she stars alongside Colin Farrell (left) among others
'I love that she's not the girlfriend or the wife,' she told Marie Claire of her strong detective character Ani Bezzerides, who battles addictions to gambling and alcohol.
'She doesn't really care what everyone thinks; she feels no responsibility for other people's feelings. She's not trying to be charming, which isn't always the case with a leading lady.
'There's [usually] sort of a responsibility to be a little bit likable... Not that you want to be a horrendous character, just a little more human.'
Rachel will also feature in a number of other films this summer including Aloha, alongside Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone, and Southpaw, with Jake Gyllenhaal.