Rachel McAdams Admits She Can Be a 'Ferocious Mama Bear': 'Who Else Is Going to Do It?' (Exclusive)

The actress is mom to a son and a daughter, whom she shares with partner Jamie Linden

Rachel McAdams is drawing on her experience as a mom as she makes her Broadway debut.

The actress, who is starring in the Broadway play Mary Jane, spoke with PEOPLE about playing a mother on stage, noting that her role as mom to her 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter — whom she shares with partner Jamie Linden, 43 — lent her a helping hand.

"You've got a really ferocious mama bear in this play. I now, having my own children, really understand deeply what that is and what it feels like to know you would do anything for your child," McAdams tells PEOPLE.

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Related: Rachel McAdams Is 'Embracing the Nerves' as She Makes Teary Broadway Debut: 'I'm Finding My Feet' (Exclusive)

"This mother lives in that place every day and I do understand that intimately. I don't think you have to be a mom to play a great mom, but it definitely lightened my load in terms of research and the guessing."

Asked if she considers herself a "ferocious mama bear," McAdams says, "When it's required."

"Thankfully not often, but when it's required, yeah, you gotta jump in there. Who else is gonna do it?"

In November, the star spoke with PEOPLE about her role in the film adaptation of Judy Blume's novel Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, sharing that she made the movie with her daughter in mind.

"I was a very fresh second-time mom when we shot this," McAdams told PEOPLE at the time. "It was all very fresh and my hormones were probably raging."

She continued, reflecting on the making of the film: "It was very, very in the forefront — what it is to raise a girl. I was so excited to have a girl. I didn't even realize it until I found out I was having a girl. I assumed I was having a boy. As soon as I found out I was having a girl, I didn't realize how happy I would be."

"I didn't know that I was secretly maybe yearning for that gift of getting to raise a girl and also how scary it is to think about raising a girl in this world," McAdams added.

"I think it's all getting a lot better, and there's room to grow — that's why I'm so grateful for this movie. I think it's a movie for everyone, but I also think it's a really empowering movie for women, for young girls."

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Read the original article on People.