Rachel McAdams on Her Screen Journey From ‘Mean Girls’ to ‘The Notebook’ to Oscar and Now the Hollywood Walk of Fame

When her manager first told Rachel McAdams she was suggesting her for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the actor didn’t think much of it. “I said, ‘Well, I think this is a futile exercise,’” McAdams recalls. “But it sounds nice, and I’ll just take it on the chin and hope I’m not too disappointed when it doesn’t come through.”

So imagine McAdams’ shock when “things went in a different direction.” Now, on Jan. 20, she’ll find herself unveiling her star on Hollywood Boulevard, fittingly mere blocks from the Pantages Theatre, which is currently hosting “The Notebook,” the musical adaptation of one of her most beloved films.

Mention this connection to McAdams and she literally gasps: “Ooh, that gave me goosebumps,” she says. Though she has yet to see the show ­— she was making her Broadway debut in “Mary Jane” when it opened in New York — she loves the music by Ingrid Michaelson and met several of the people involved when they came to her show.

McAdams is likely the only one surprised by the honor, considering the impressive and varied career she has built since hitting the big screen in 2002 with “The Hot Chick.” Always personable and relatable, McAdams is also a comedy assassin, as demonstrated in films like “Mean Girls” and “Game Night.” She can bring deep complexity to Everywoman roles, as in 2023’s “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret.”

And she can’t be predicted — after her Oscar-nominated turn in 2015’s “Spotlight,” she joined the Marvel Universe with “Doctor Strange” and went all-out for the musical epic “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga.” Though pure silliness, that film also demonstrates the actor’s commitment – you believe her as an Icelandic singer in love with Will Ferrell. When she delivers the line: “The elves! They went too far!” you laugh, but you also completely buy that her character believes in magical creatures.

McAdams never intended to work in Hollywood. “I was not even considering that as part of my world,” she recalls. Her love for performing came early. Growing up in Ontario, Canada, she did children’s theater and studied the craft at York University. Though she dabbled in local films like “Perfect Pie,” her aspirations were mainly onstage. “I was very happy to explore the theater scene in Toronto, which is rich and robust,” she says. “When anybody would say anything about New York or L.A., I laughed it off, either out of insecurity or lack of imagination.”

She recalls often telling people she would only go to L.A. if invited. “Which sounds so arrogant,” she notes. “But it was probably subconsciously self-preservation. It just felt so far away and impossible.” But when a network wanted to fly her out to test for a “Nancy Drew” pilot, she says, “I had to say yes and show up.” She didn’t book that role, but while in town, she was sent on a few other auditions, one being for the Rob Schneider body swap comedy “The Hot Chick.” Once again, she had no expectations. “I was so relaxed because I didn’t think I had any chance at getting it,” she reveals.

In that film, McAdams is bawdily hilarious yet shockingly believable as a high school girl who finds her body being embodied by Schneider’s boorish thief. She credits Schneider with his patience and guidance on her first American movie, stating, “I was both petrified and exhilarated by it.” She has a vivid memory of one moment in particular, when her character begins to morph back into Schneider. “I was standing backstage in greasy overalls with a hot pink bikini, knowing I was going to go out there and strip as a man in front of all of my new peers in my first Hollywood movie,” she says. “I will never forget hearing the beat of the music starting and thinking it was a great acting challenge. I just took a deep breath and told myself: Life is short, just go for it.”

Since then, McAdams has been guided to her roles by the story, the people involved and what’s new. “I try not to repeat myself,” she says. “I try to do something that feels slightly out of reach, something I’m not sure I’ll be good at because I think the most interesting work comes from that sweet spot.” That applies to her latest film, “Send Help,” opening Jan. 30, which reunites her with her “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” director Sam Raimi.

In the film, McAdams plays Linda, a timid employee who is stranded on a desert island with her sleazy boss (Dylan O’Brien) and begins to resort to a more primal personality. A fan of “Survivor,” her bookish wallflower is soon building shelter, hunting animals and generally living her best life. It’s one of her most physically demanding parts, but also shows her darker side. “It’s a real ride,” she says with a laugh. “The role was so rich and juicy and complex and I could see it going so many ways — I hadn’t done anything like it before.” Indeed, Linda requires all of McAdams’ range as it veers from horror to drama to what sometimes feels like a burgeoning rom-com. (Fans of “Red Eye” will remember how the start of the film is played like a meet-cute between McAdams and Cillian Murphy.)

But McAdams admits she still struggles with imposter syndrome. “I have great moments of self-doubt in every job,” she notes. “I remember Diane Keaton saying to me during ‘The Family Stone’ that she still felt like acting didn’t come easily to her. I was so surprised by that because she’s so effortless and she gives so much to it. But I still don’t feel like I have the art of acting figured out.”