Mean Girls star Rachel McAdams recently revealed the reason why she ditched Hollywood.
The 44-year-old took a two-year break from acting during the height of her career to maintain her mental health.
“I felt guilty for not capitalizing on the opportunity that I was being given because I knew I was in such a lucky spot,” she told Bustle.
“But I also knew it wasn’t quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane.”
Following her breakthrough roles in Mean Girls and The Notebook, both released in 2004, Rachel experienced a rapid rise to fame.
However, she found that there was no blueprint for navigating the sudden spotlight.
“You don’t go to theatre school to learn about how to deal with that. There’s no book on how to navigate that,” she explained.
As her career in Hollywood soared, the mom chose to return to Toronto to focus on herself.
She spent her time biking around the city, reconnecting with her family, and regaining a sense of balance.
During her hiatus, Rachel turned down several significant roles in films such as The Devil Wears Prada, Casino Royale, Mission: Impossible III, Iron Man, and Get Smart.
Reflecting on her decision, she admitted to occasionally questioning if it was a mistake.
“There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that?” she confessed.
“It’s taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing.”
She also acknowledged moments of regret for passing on some major movie roles, saying: “There’s certainly things like, ‘I wish I’d done that.’”
Despite any lingering doubts, McAdams has come to terms with her choices and believes that the women who ultimately took on the roles she declined were the right fit. “I step back and go, ‘That was the right person for that,’” she stated.
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