“She was more frightening”: Marvel Star Rachel McAdams Beat Amanda Seyfried to Bag the Most Crucial Role of Her Acting Career
Rachel McAdams had a successful resume in film as her acting career spans a decade. The actress has ruled the entertainment industry by being part of blockbuster films. McAdams has been in hit movies like Mean Girls, About Time, Southpaw, and Wedding Crashers. She even joined Marvel with her role in Doctor Strange.
Over the years, the 44-year-old had made a name in the industry. Rachel McAdams’ role in Mean Girls is seen as her most successful and revered project. In the 2004 raunchy comedy film, The Notebook actor played Regina George. However, the actress was not the only choice to play the role as she competed with Amanda Seyfried to bag the role.
Rachel McAdams beat Amanda Seyfried to bag the role of Regina George
The 2004 film Mean Girls is one of the important projects in making Rachel McAdams‘ career in the Hollywood industry. The 44-year-old played the iconic role of Regina George in the film. McAdams’ performance in the raunchy comedy film was both critically acclaimed and memorable, so much so that she credited it for giving her the career she currently enjoys. However, the Marvel star had to compete with Amanda Seyfried to bag the role.
The Mean Girls cast looked completely different than it turned out to be. The director, Mark Waters, revealed Lindsay Lohan was first chosen to play the antagonist Regina George, and the About Time actress auditioned for Lohan’s character Cady. However, Waters thought McAdams was too mature to play Cady and seemed a perfect fit for Regina George.
In an interview with Vulture, the director said,
“When Lindsay was acting with Rachel, she got very shy, because Rachel was older and a very accomplished actress. She’d come in the room and not talk to Lindsay — she was very focused. Lindsay kind of got nervous around her, and I thought that, more than anything, was going to be the deciding factor, the fact that she affected Lindsay in that way.”
It led to Waters deciding McAdams was a perfect fit to play Regina George. However, the Doctor Strange actress had to compete with her other Mean Girls co-star, Amanda Seyfried, for the role.
In an interview, Waters described Seyfried’s audition for Queen Bee. He said (via Glamour)
“The person who was neck and neck for the role of Regina — and we agonized over which one we were going to cast — was Amanda Seyfried. She tested for Regina and was kind of brilliant, and very different than Rachel’s approach. She played it in a much more ethereal but still kind of scary way. She was more frightening, but oddly, less intimidating.”
Eventually, the role went to Rachel McAdams, marking it an iconic in her acting career, and Seyfried played Karen Smith in the film.
Rachel McAdams took a break from acting
Rachel McAdams made her debut onscreen with a minor role in Disney Channel’s television show The Famous Jett Jackson, in 2001. After moving to Los Angeles, the 44-year-old was cast as a lead in The Hot Chick (2002). She rose to fame with her role of malicious popular girl Regina George in Mean Girls (2004).
Demonstrating her versatility, the About Time actress starred opposite (Ryan Gosling), in the adaptation of Nicholas Sparks’s best-selling novel The Notebook.
As a result of her roles in box office hits like The Notebook and Mean Girls, Rachel McAdams was experiencing a major surge in popularity in 2006. She abruptly decided to halt her Hollywood career and take a well-deserved two-year break. The break allowed the actress to return to her profession in a new form. Her past experiences caused her to choose new roles with caution.
Source: Glamour
