Rachel McAdams explains why she felt guilty for taking a 2-year break from work

Rachel McAdams recently opened up about her decision and experience of taking a break from Hollywood. She talked to Bustle about her role in the new film adaptation of Judy Blume's "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret." McAdams, 44, said, "I guess I always had a sense that it would be OK; either it's going to work out or it's not." When talking about taking a break from her career, she said that the time away from work "really helped [her] feel empowered." "It helped me feel like I was taking back some control. And I think it allowed me to come in from a different doorway."

McAdams has been a part of comedies like "Mean Girls", romantic dramas like "The Notebook", and the Oscar-winning "Spotlight." Now, "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret" will be McAdams' third movie since 2020, per her IMDb profile. "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 about taking a two-year break from acting in the 2000s. "But I also knew it wasn't quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane."

McAdams also revealed during the interview that she was not sure of her decision to take a break at the time. The outlet noted that she turned down roles in movies like "The Devil Wears Prada", "Casino Royale", and "Iron Man" just years after she achieved success in the 2004 movie "Mean Girls". "There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that?" she recalled. "It's taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing." 

She added, "There are certain things like 'I wish I’d done that.'" But the success of those projects, she says, makes her think twice about her potential casting. "I step back and go, 'That was the right person for that.'"

In the new movie adapted from the 85-year-old author Blume's 1970 novel of the same name, McAdams stars as Barbara Simon, mom to 11-year-old protagonist Margaret Simon (played by Abby Ryder Fortson) as both the mother-daughter duo experience changes in their lives. "I think she's still getting over having parents that didn't support her. So she wants to be incredibly supportive of her daughter, almost to a fault," the actress told PEOPLE about her character at the movie's premiere. 

"I don't think she's a smothering mother at all," she added. "But she's almost too hands-off in some ways, certainly when it comes to the religion. She's got her own shadows there, and I think it takes her a minute to realize Margaret can handle it." While Margaret deals with the challenges of a new school, Barbara is still "finding her own footing in a new place" and grandmother Sylvia (played by Kathy Bates) tries to find "happiness in the next phase of her life" as her loved ones take their own paths. 

"Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" will be in theatres on April 28.