By now, we all know that Rachel McAdams is Hollywood's go-to girl for romantic roles—whether they're kind of quirky ("Wedding Crashers"), kind of tear-jerking ("The Time Traveler's Wife"), or kind of responsible for an entire generation of teenage girls simultaneously deciding that we would never again be satisfied by a romantic relationship that did not directly involve making out with Ryan Gosling in the rain. (No, it's NOT just a phase! If we can't have soaking wet Gosling, we just won't have anything at all!)
So after all these years, how does Rachel fake falling in love so well? In this month's Elle magazine, she opens up about her romantic role models, her real-life relationships and the latest evolution of her career.
As it turns out, Rachel grew up with a great example of great love right in front of her: her parents.
"[They are] still together and still in love," she said. "I’m very blessed that way. I had a great example of love in front of me, and that’s probably what makes me such a romantic, because I’ve seen it firsthand."
But while that ready romanticism makes it easy for Rachel to play a lusty leading lady, she said that it's also been cause for some disappointments off-screen: "You grow up and you assume that everyone is like that, and you quickly realize that they’re not, and then you have those days when you wonder if you’re going to find it for yourself," she said of looking for love in real life. "It’s such a hard thing to find. I think it was more that realization that rocked me."
Of course, we're still getting over our own, personal devastation at the end of the McAdams-Gosling romance. But Rachel isn't embittered by the trials and tribulations of her real-life relationships; instead, she said she's still a romantic.
"I am," she confessed. "When Billie Holiday comes on, I can’t help but be transported—and I’m sure it wasn’t as romantic then at all—but that’s the wonderful part of my job: dressing up and walking down the street in New York or Toronto, pretending I'm in the '40s."
Lately, though, Rachel's work has taken her across the Atlantic—where she filmed "Midnight in Paris," starring opposite Owen Wilson. But while the two of them already charmed audiences once as a couple in "Wedding Crashers," she said we shouldn't expect a repeat of that funny, friendly dynamic.
"It's definitely a different dynamic from the last time we were together," she said of the movie, where she plays the not-so-lovely wife of Owen's frustrated character. And while it's fun to see the two of them in this more grown-up comedy, she admitted that she didn't enjoy abusing him—even though it made the movie work. "It wasn’t as fun being mean. I love that Woody [Allen, the director] likes good guys to be good guys and bad guys to be bad guys. Owen seemed to respond really well when I was a really bad guy."
Clearly, Rachel's grown up a lot since "Mean Girls"—where being mean was the best part. But as she takes on more mature roles, she says that she's still catching up to the way her career is evolving.
"Sometimes I don’t think I’m the best person for the job," she said. "That was the case with 'Morning Glory.' Sometimes I think, Really? You see me as this? Just because I don’t see myself that way, does that mean I shouldn’t do it? I tend to go, 'Is this the right decision? What are the ramifications of doing this part?' You can start to overanalyze.
"But once I make the decision, it’s full steam ahead."
Will you be watching Rachel's next move on-screen?
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