Rachel McAdams Talks 'Guilt' of Taking a 2-Year Break from Acting: 'I Needed to Stay Sane'

Rachel McAdams stars in the new movie Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, in theaters April 28

Rachel McAdams is reflecting on her decision to take a break from Hollywood.

While speaking with Bustle about her role in the new film adaptation of Judy Blume's Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret, McAdams, 44, told the outlet: "I guess I always had a sense that it would be OK; either it's going to work out or it's not," when it came to pausing her career.

That time away from the spotlight "really helped me feel empowered," she said. "It helped me feel like I was taking back some control. And I think it sort of allowed me to come in from a different doorway."

McAdams, who has starred in comedies like Mean Girls, romantic dramas like The Notebook and the Academy Award-winning Spotlight, has taken more than entire years off of work in the past. She did not appear in any films during 2006 or 2019, and Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret marks McAdams' third onscreen role 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."

Related:Rachel McAdams Says She'd Return for Mean Girls Movie Musical: 'We'll See How It All Shakes Out'

McAdams added during the interview that she did not feel entirely confident her break was the right decision at the time; the outlet noted she turned down parts in movies like The Devil Wears Prada, Casino Royale and Iron Man just years after she initially broke out in 2004's Mean Girls.

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"There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that?" she recalled to the outlet. "It's taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing."

In the new movie — an adaptation of 85-year-old author Blume's 1970 novel of the same name — McAdams plays Barbara Simon, mom to 11-year-old protagonist Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) as both mother and daughter experience changes in their lives.

Related:See Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates in Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret First Look

"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 Los Angeles premiere on Saturday.

"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 a new school, Barbara is still "finding her own footing in a new place," and grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates) tries to find "happiness in the next phase of her life" as her loved ones move away, according to an official synopsis for the film.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret is in theaters April 28.

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