Have you ever watched a movie and wondered if the actor or actress was that amazing in real life? Or perhaps that nice, that humble, that attractive? I have on a number of occasions. Sometimes there are articles about celebrities that lend themselves to aiding us in developing thoughts and feelings about them. In everyday life I try to hold off on forming an opinion about someone until I’ve had the opportunity to meet them. Unfortunately, when it comes to celebrities, I’m normally stuck with the articles which means I sit at home and try to picture that person in their real life and form thoughts based on my imagination. Then there are those random occurrences, those times when I am extremely lucky and I am invited to attend a Disney Press Event and I get to meet amazing actors up close and personal. Last week was such a time when I attended the Doctor Strange Press Event, more commonly referred to as #DoctorStrangeEvent on Twitter, and I was able to sit down with the remarkable talent behind the film.
After sitting down for an exclusive interview with Dr. Stephen Strange himself, Benedict Cumberbatch, we had the opportunity to meet with Rachel McAdams who plays Christine Palmer in the movie. After seeing Rachel in Mean Girls I developed a love/hate relationship with her … I think a number of us did. Then there was The Notebook, ahhh I adored her. Then I saw her in The Family Stone and The Vow and my adoration turned to love. I walked into this interview in awe of Rachel McAdams and hoped that I would walk out the same.
Photo Credit: As Mom Sees It
The first thing that I noticed about her is how absolutely beautiful she is. Like, seriously, she’s gorgeous. As she approached she seemed a bit nervous, which was kind of nice since I know that I was, but then she started talking and it was magic. The best word I can use to describe Rachel McAdams is delightful. She was extremely personable, humble, happy to be a part of the “moment”, and bright. I loved listening to her talk and likely could have sat there for hours. Asking her to join me for coffee may have been pushing it a bit but that is how friendly she was and how comfortable I felt. Okay, I didn’t ask her for coffee but I wanted to!
It was a great talk; I just wish it had lasted longer. Here are a few of the tidbits from our time!
Marvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE..L to R: Doctor Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) and Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch)..Photo Credit: Jay Maidment..©2016 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
JOINING THE MARVEL UNIVERSE
It was everything I had hoped for and more really. I assumed I would be working with the crème de la crème really and I was. It was just great to be in such great hands. From costumes to everything was just so well done, so beautifully thought through and well-crafted. They didn’t even make me pretend that much with green screen. I mean that’s how considerate they were. They had real things on fishing wires to actually try and scare me. They are very thoughtful people.
Photo Credit: As Mom Sees It
PREPARING FOR HER ROLE
I’m a little funny when it comes to blood and guts and stuff like that. But, my mom’s a nurse so I’d kind of grown up around medicine which is probably why I became an actress instead. I did get to shadow some amazing brain surgeons, a female brain surgeon in Toronto, another surgeon in London. And then we had a surgeon onset every day. He taught me to do sutures and was practicing on turkey breasts, raw turkey breasts. That was interesting. Oranges, that was a little easier to take in my purse so I could practice wherever I went.
I read this really great book called Do No Harm by Henry Marsh who is a world-famous brain surgeon. I don’t know if anybody has read it but it was just a phenomenal book and really eye-opening when it comes to being your own advocate when it comes to your health. And I thought it was so funny, he said the number of people who don’t ask me how many times I’ve actually done the surgery I’m about to do on them is extraordinary. It gave me some good insight into things, questions to ask if I was ever in that position.
I got to learn a lot. And I became kind of obsessed with the suturing. It was almost like knitting. I just took it everywhere with me and I would put it on a doorknob and I think I looked a little crazy but it was fun.
Photo Credit: As Mom Sees It
PORTRAYING AN EMOTIONAL CHARACTER
Good question. I do think having a mother as a nurse who’s kind of a compass — she’s so compassionate and she really unfortunately would take her work home with her sometimes. I think Christine’s more that kind of character. I think I kind of grew up with that a little bit and have great admiration for people who do that for a living and who are real empaths. I suppose I drew from my mom a bit. She did IV therapy. If she would miss someone’s vein, she beat herself up so bad. I guess it was a little bit personal that way.
Also, Benedict is such an extraordinary actor that you just have to be present with him and it all kind of falls into place. We did a lot of crying together. We cried one day for eight hours straight, every single take. I’ve never been able to do that before. It comes, it goes, and it comes back again. But with him, he’s so emotionally available and present that I’d look at him and I’d start crying. He’d look at me — it was just like water works all day long. We both had these incredible headaches at the end of the day. And I was like, well we’re dehydrated. I really have to give kudos to him for that.
Marvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE
L to R: Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams)
Photo Credit: Jay Maidment
©2016 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.
THE SUPER POWER SHE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE
I would like to be invisible because I’d love to go into people’s houses and see their interior decorating. Like when you’re driving at night and you can kind of see through the window and you think, oh that looks so cozy in there. I wish I could get a free pass. Yeah, so that’s probably the one I’d pick. I’d be a total creeper but…
To say that sitting down with Rachel McAdams was fun would be putting it mildly. She’s spunky, cute, and oh so friendly. When asked about introducing her fan base to Marvel she even said, “It’s really exciting. I hope the mean girls like it…” Too cute!
Doctor Strange opens in theaters EVERYWHERE November 4, 2016.
Marvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE follows the story of the talented neurosurgeon Doctor Stephen Strange, who, after a tragic card accident, must put ego aside and learn the secrets of a hidden world of mysticism and alternate dimensions. Based in New York City’s Greenwich Village, Doctor Strange must act as an intermediary between the real world and what lies beyond, utilizing a vast array of metaphysical abilities and artifacts to protect the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
CONNECT WITH DOCTOR STRANGE
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Disclaimer: I was sent on an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles to cover the #DoctorStrangeEvent and #FindingDoryBluray Event with Disney/Pixar, Marvel, and Freeform. Regardless, all opinions expressed are still 100% my own.
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