Rachel McAdams Reveals Why She Turned Down Roles in Iron Man and Casino Royale

Rachel McAdams' filmography is dotted with some epic projects, from comedies like Mean Girls and Game Night to dramatic fare like The Notebook and Spotlight. In between those roles, it sounds like McAdams has been offered, and turned down, some other major movies. In a recent profile with Bustle, McAdams spoke about some of the roles she did not accept during a two-year break she took in the industry, which was her attempt to distance herself from the perils of fame. These include the previously-reported role of Pepper Potts in Iron Man, as well as characters in Devil Wears Prada, Casino Royale, Mission: Impossible III, and Get Smart.

"There's certainly things like 'I wish I'd done that,'" McAdams explained. "I step back and go, 'That was the right person for that.'"

"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 said. "But I also knew it wasn't quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane."

Not that she would have articulated it that way at the time. "There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that? It's taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing."

Will Rachel McAdams return to the MCU?

Despite turning down the role of Pepper Potts in Iron Man, McAdams joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe years later as Christine Palmer in 2016's Doctor Strange. At the moment, McAdams is not lined up to return to her role as Christine Palmer, but it sounds like she's definitely on board with that prospect.

"I mean, it's a great gig. So I wouldn't be sad to keep going with it," McAdams explained during an interview with Variety last year. "It's a fun part. And I liked that she's gone in different directions now. And now that the multiverse is open, you know, anything could happen. The world's your oyster." 

What do you think of Rachel McAdams turning down these major movies? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!