Rachel McAdams Responds To Being Called A ‘Reluctant Actress'

She's been called a "reluctant star" by the media for her penchant for appearing to take time off between break out roles, but the tag isn't one the "State of Play" actress is fond of.

"That's sort of annoying, isn't it?" Rachel told AccessHollywood'com's "Dish of Salt" Laura Saltman over the weekend. "I try to pace myself… I try to take it easy."

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Rachel, whose filmography includes "Mean Girls," "The Wedding Crashers" and seminal chick flick, 2004's "The Notebook," which spawned a former romance with co-star Ryan Gosling, said she doesn't try to put her career on hold after a big film. She just likes taking a breather every now and then.

"You just need a break sometimes afterwards. And then timing is such sometimes that, you know, everything comes out at once and then there's nothing," Rachel noted. "And there you are and people wonder where you've been."

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Recently, the actress was in New Zealand on a break, following the completion of Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes."

Now, however, Rachel is back promoting "State of Play," a thriller that sees the actress playing Della Frye, one of several journalists working alongside a police detective to look into the mysterious death of a congressman's (Ben Affleck) mistress.

"It was… really interesting to be on the other side of things," Rachel said of playing a reporter in the film. "I discovered a lot… speaking to a lot of these reporters and journalists that work on the Hill in particular. Their lives are really complicated and… quite a spider web of politics and working with the police and having sources and not revealing their sources… And not having a social life, or a family life. It's quite involved."

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The subject matter of "State of Play" was quite different from "Sherlock Holmes," which Rachel said was a little gritty.

"Cold and dirty," she laughed. "The 1800's are kinda dirty, I realized. I didn't think about that before… Lots of dirt."

While the set was full of soot, Rachel loved the period costumes of the upcoming movie, which also stars Robert Downey Jr.

"Beautiful! Tight, but beautiful… Like satin dresses with the big bustle off the back and corsets – hard to breath," she said.

And as for working with Robert, Rachel said it was a dream.

"He's amazing," she noted. "He's just beautiful to watch and he's just got such a keen mind and he's so playful… Every moment he's so present."

Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Dish Of Salt: Rachel McAdams Talks 'State Of Play'
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MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Rachel McAdams - Celebrities - Movies - Robert Downey Jr.

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