Rachel McAdams Honored with Star on Walk of Fame

Canadian actress Rachel Mc Adams was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday.

Mc Adams, 47, celebrated the occasion in Los Angeles alongside her family, partner, and co-stars. During her speech, she reflected on her modest beginnings in St. Thomas, Ontario, located south of London.

“Growing up in tiny little St. Thomas, Canada, I wrote my parents a very desperate letter asking them to figure out how to fulfill my greatest dream, to be on Ed Mc Mahon’s Star Search” – a TV talent show that aired in the 1980s.

“They were of course, incredibly supportive,” she said.

“What all those experiences and all of these people made me realize is I didn’t actually need to be a star. What I needed to be was a working actor. And for the past 25-plus years I’ve been very lucky to do that. And for that, I am so very grateful and so fortunate.”

Mc Adams poses with her new star during the ceremony. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/The Associated Press)

For decades now, Mc Adams has been a prominent figure in films, gaining fame from her breakout roles in 2004’s Mean Girls and The Notebook. She began acting at age 12 with the Original Kids Theatre Company based in London.

This year in 2024, she made her Broadway debut in Mary Jane, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog and directed by Anne Kaufman. Her performance earned her a Tony nomination and a Theatre World Award among others.

Mc Adams expressed gratitude towards her loved ones and colleagues who supported her throughout her career. She gave an emotional tribute to Diane Keaton, her co-star from 2005’s The Family Stone, who she said “took me under her wing like I was her own daughter.”

“She taught me that no matter how long you’ve been doing this, you have to leave everything you’ve got on the table,” Mc Adams said.

“Each performance you must muster up as much love as you possibly can, and then you’ll only feel like a dumb dumb idiot half the time in life.” Keaton passed away in October at age 79.

Jenelle Riley from left; Dylan O’Brien; Sam Raimi; Mc Adams; Domhnall Gleeson; and Jerry Neuman pose with Mc Adams’s star. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/The Associated Press)

‘Stays true to her passion’

London actor and acting coach Jim Schaefer shared fond memories of working with Mc Adams at Original Kids over three summers both in London and St. Thomas. He wasn’t surprised when he learned she’d received a star last summer.

“Well it’s about time,” he told CBC Radio’s Afternoon Drive back in July when he found out about Mc Adams’ honor.

“I’ve certainly enjoyed her work in movies and stage since way back in the ’90s; it’s wonderful seeing that she stuck with it-she got lucky but also put in lots of hard work to get where she is now.”

LISTEN | Schaefer recalls working with Mc Adams:

Afternoon Drive6:44Hollywood actress Rachel Mc Adams got her start in St. Thomas

From performing on stage in St. Thomas to making it big on Hollywood screens, Rachel Mc Adams has been named one of the Class of 2026 for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. London actor Jim Schaefer reminisces about his time collaborating with her at Original Kids Theatre Company.

Schaefer described Mc Adams as being “head and shoulders above anybody else we worked with,” admiring her instinctive approach as an actor.

“I told her to try to stay faithful to her zeal; she had zeal even back then.. she wanted more than anything else-and she definitely achieved it.. she was sought after.”

The excitement for Mc Adams was shared by director Sam Raimi and actor Domhnall Gleeson who starred alongside her in the film About Time released back in 2013.</Source link

“You’re a phenomenal actor. Every word you utter seems profoundly true and connected-I have witnessed that up close,” Gleeson noted during his speech.

Mc Adams will appear next opposite Dylan O’Brien in Raimi’s upcoming film Send Help scheduled for release on January 30.