Rachel McAdams on her Mean Girls role: ‘I didn’t know how hated she’d be’

Rachel McAdams was surprised by the hatred for her Mean Girls character, Regina George. Photo / Getty Images

Rachel McAdams “didn’t know how hated she would be” for playing school bully Regina George in Mean Girls.

The 47-year-old actor starred alongside Lindsay Lohan, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Tina Fey and Tim Meadows in director Mark Waters’ 2004 teen comedy.

In the film, Lohan plays Cady Heron, a 16-year-old girl who transfers to a public high school after being homeschooled her whole life in Africa who carries out a plan to destroy the clique of popular girls “the Plastics”: Regina (McAdams), Gretchen Wieners (Chabert) and Karen Smith (Seyfried).

McAdams admits she wasn’t prepared for Mean Girls to become a pop culture phenomenon nor the level of hatred film fans felt towards Queen Bee Regina.

Rachel McAdams reveals she never expected Mean Girls to become a pop culture juggernaut. Photo / Getty Images

Appearing on The Graham Norton Show, she said: “I didn’t know how hated she would be and for how long.

“The first time I saw the film with an audience I was with my best friend. Everyone cheered when Regina was hit by a bus, but my friend stood up and screamed, ‘nooooo’!”

McAdams’ latest movie is Send Help.

Directed by horror master Sam Raimi, the film follows the struggle for survival for financial strategist and survival enthusiast Linda Liddle – played by McAdams – who ends up stranded on a deserted island with her boss Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) after a plane crash.

Discussing working with Raimi – who she previously teamed up with on 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – McAdams said: “He is so wonderful and such a kind and lovely man who makes dark demented films, so I knew it would be a big reach.”

Raimi, 66, built his filmmaking reputation in the horror genre with 1981 cult classic The Evil Dead and its two sequels starring Bruce Campbell as demon-battling Ash Williams.