The hot chick from “The Hot Chick” has arrived. Just over two years ago, Rachel McAdams was an unknown theater actress living in her native Ontario, Canada. In the fabled tradition of Hollywood’s overnight successes, she was plucked from obscurity to play the mean-spirited cheerleader who would become Rob Schneider, then appeared opposite Lindsay Lohan in the hit comedy “Mean Girls.” Today, the 27-year-old McAdams is one of a handful of “It Girls” whose name seems to be attached to every project in development. Her latest film, “The Notebook,” is a romantic tear-jerker from director Nick Cassavetes set in the 1940s American South, which co-stars Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands and James Garner. The suddenly celebrated siren sat down recently with a group of reporters for a tete-a-tete about the film, and offered her take on matters of the heart.
QUESTION: There’s real chemistry between you and Ryan Gosling. Would you attribute that to your both being Canadian?
RACHEL McADAMS: (Laughs) I don’t know what it is. Chemistry is such an elusive thing, isn’t it?
Q: There’s a pretty intense love scene in the movie. Given it was your first, was it uncomfortable to shoot?
RM: The thong was uncomfortable, yeah. (Laughs). But no, Ryan is a real gentleman, and all the guys on set were very classy about the fact that we were working. It was very dimly lit as well, which always helps.
Q: Your character, Allie, is a bit of a hopeless romantic. Are you?
RM: Oh yes. I’m a sucker, in every way. If it’s about love and soulmates, yes.
Q: So you believe in the notion that there is one true love out there waiting for you?
RM: I think you can fall in love with more than one person, but … I don’t know yet. I’m not sure.
Q: What’s the most romantic thing a guy’s ever done for you?
RM: An ex-boyfriend of mine had a dress made for me — a little black cocktail dress. He got my measurements and everything. I thought it was very sweet.
Q: Must have been a special occasion.
RM: I think it was, but we never did get around to going, though.
Q: What sort of direction did you get from Nick Cassavetes?
RM: Nick forced me to be brave. There was no way around it. I had to attack everything head on. He described it as being a car without brakes. What a gift to give an actress — that kind of freedom. Even when I wouldn’t take it, he’d make me take it.
Q: Your wardrobe for “The Notebook” was quite impressive. Do you like that 1940s style?
RM: I have a real appreciation for the class those women had. Just the little delicate additions — gloves or a veil. The little touches that made everything (better). Very sexy, in a controlled way. I find that more sexy than all that fleshy stuff, because when you finally get to the love scenes and peel off all those layers, there’s a payoff.
Q: What do you think it would have been like to grow up back then as part of the so-called Greatest Generation?
RM: I would have loved to have lived then. Half of me always feels like I should have been born a long time ago.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 25, 2004. Read the original PDF.