Why Rachel McAdams made the decision to step away from Hollywood during the peak of her fame

Rachel McAdams experienced overnight fame after the release of Mean Girls. Photo / Supplied

Rachel McAdams was one of Hollywood’s most popular actresses in the 2010s but at the peak of her fame she quietly slipped away from the spotlight. Now, she’s revealing why.

Sitting down with Bustle magazine, the now 44-year-old actress revealed her decision to step away was one she felt guilty about but something she had to do nonetheless.

“I felt guilty for not capitalising on the opportunity that I was being given because I knew I was in such a lucky spot,” she said adding, “But I also knew it wasn’t quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane.”

Rachel McAdams as Regina George in Mean Girls. Photo / Supplied

The starlette experienced what is known as “overnight fame” after two films – The Notebook and Mean Girls - she starred in were released in 2004 and provoked a slew of attention.

“You don’t go to theatre school to learn about how to deal with that. There’s no book on how to navigate that,” she admitted to the magazine.

The Notebook – also starring Ryan Gosling – grossed US$118.2 million (NZ$191.8m), earning the title of the 15th highest-grossing romantic drama film of all time.

While Mean Girls has become a cult classic after it grossed $130 million ($210.9m) following its release the same year.

In light of the films release, McAdams made the decision to move to Toronto and take a two-year break from Hollywood so she could re-centre herself through bike rides and family time.

Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams in The Notebook. Photo / Supplied

At the time McAdams said she needed the break but admitted couldn’t help but feel like she had made a mistake.

“There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that?” she confessed. “It’s taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing.”

Ultimately, her time awayfrom the spotlight saw her turn down major roles in films such as The Devil Wears Prada, Casino Royale and Mission: Impossible III and sometimes she feels regret about that.

“There’s certainly things like, ‘I wish I’d done that,’” she told the magazine, however she said ultimately the women cast in the roles she passed on were the best choice.

“I step back and go, ‘That was the right person for that,’” she said.