No Matter What Rachel McAdams Plays, She Plays for Keeps
Before there was Rachel McAdams, the Academy Award nominee and tough-as-nails star of films such as "Spotlight" and television series such as "True Detective," and before there was Rachel McAdams, the romance queen and star of "The Notebook" and "The Time Traveler's Wife," there was Rachel McAdams, who gained wide attention for her go-for-broke performances in comedies such as "The Hot Chick" (playing a body-swapped Rob Schneider) and "Mean Girls" (as the ruthless high school queen bee Regina George).
Posted — UpdatedBefore there was Rachel McAdams, the Academy Award nominee and tough-as-nails star of films such as “Spotlight” and television series such as “True Detective,” and before there was Rachel McAdams, the romance queen and star of “The Notebook” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” there was Rachel McAdams, who gained wide attention for her go-for-broke performances in comedies such as “The Hot Chick” (playing a body-swapped Rob Schneider) and “Mean Girls” (as the ruthless high school queen bee Regina George).
It’s a side of this versatile 39-year-old actress that re-emerges in “Game Night,” a new comedy from Warner Bros. that casts her and Jason Bateman as a competitive married couple whose weekly get-together with their friends — usually reserved for charades and Trivial Pursuit — takes an unexpected turn into crime, kidnapping and murder.
Not that McAdams sees herself as any of her characters, or feels that any genre best suits her. The actress, who grew up in Canada’s Ontario province, says she has tried to keep things unpredictable in an industry that can only imagine you as the last character you played. “You have to intentionally shake it up sometimes,” she said.
McAdams spoke about her aggressive side, defying Hollywood’s expectations and the effects of sharing a personal #MeToo experience. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.
A: Bingo. Even though it’s a game of luck and chance, I take it pretty seriously. I have weird, good bingo karma. It runs in my family. My grandmother used to knit her own special bingo dauber purse that she’d take to the bingo hall with her and she would lay out about 30 cards. I’m not at that point yet, but I hope to be by the time I’m in my 70s.
A: That’s me. (Laughs) Whenever we go up to northern Ontario, I go online, look up the local bingo hall and try to sneak in.
A: We did have a game night before we kicked off the film. We’re a very method ensemble. Billy (Magnussen), he’s an amazing cook, and he had everybody over to his place. We played Clue. And then we played this game called Joking Hazard, have you heard of that one? It’s like Apples to Apples meets Cards Against Humanity. It’s a little intense.
A: It is such an interesting social experiment to watch these sides of people come out. And it’s always the person that doesn’t want to play that won’t quit at the end of the night — the one you drag there, kicking and screaming, that you have to kick out at 3 in the morning.
A: I have to say, I was really inspired by Selma — I think she’s got that the other way around. We spoke to each other before we spoke to Vanity Fair. She was so, so brave, and she gave me courage. It was really amazing to think, that many years later, that you could take your power back a little bit. I never imagined, 17 years ago, when that happened, that I would have this opportunity. I had put it away, on a shelf, and to be able to help in some way is really extraordinary.
I feel like the shift has been really palpable, and we’re at a real turning point. I’m really grateful to be a witness to it in my lifetime. I love that people are talking and listening and there’s compassion. It’s a good thing.
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