Quotes

As strange as movie making is, doing love scenes for the first time with someone you've never even said hello to does work in terms of having a fresh quality to a relationship.

It takes a lot of time, commitment and a choice. I've chosen this path, but it's not to say I'm not open to love or whatever comes my way. You never close doors.

The craziest thing I've ever done to get a guy's attention? I admit I stalked someone. I showed up at a restaurant where I knew the guy worked, and we were actually good friends and had lost touch, and I pretended that I didn't know he worked there. And then ran into him and, "Oh my God, you work here? I had no idea." It's the most manipulative thing I've done in my entire life, but it all worked out very well, so I have no regrets.

The most romantic thing, a lovely boy bought me a dress once. He got my measurements, actually they were from The Notebook (2004) and I had them sitting somewhere, and he found them and bought me this dress, tailor-made, this beautiful little black cocktail dress. And I thought that was very, very classy.

I want to try a lot of things that I haven't tried. You know, I did a thriller (Red Eye (2005)) after this, because it was so different and it was a genre I hadn't worked in yet. Then I did a beautiful family ensemble drama. And next? I don't know. I might go off to do a small independent in New York. I'm not sure. The quality of material is important but, basically, I'm open to anything. I like to stay open to anything.

A friend of mine had this great theory about the Teletubbies (1997), that it's preparing us for being mindless. And getting us ready for living in an underground world. When they build the underground world because we can no longer breathe the air that it will look like Teletubbie land.

I don't know, I like to go on really different types of dates. Going someplace new or some new part of the city, something that's not your average thing. Something where you just go have an adventure together.

I guess you have to be really open to your acting partners and believe in the story.

I have a certain curiosity for life that drives me and propels me forward.

I once made a (it was supposed to be a 30-minute) bean salad that took me like 6 hours.

I want to work with great directors and try not to put too much pressure on myself and just read things for the story and recognize when I'm drawn to something for the right reasons and try to maintain some sanity.

I've discovered as I've grown up that life is far more complicated than you think it is when you're a kid. It isn't just a straight-forward fairytale.

I've sort of heard that "it" girl thing, but not really. Hearing it from a few people doesn't solidify it in my mind and I wouldn't know how to solidify that title. It's so elusive and what does it mean, I don't know?

I'm a sucker for those sweeping love stories. When I read the script (The Notebook (2004)), I couldn't stop crying! I just had such a powerful, instantaneous reaction - it was written so well.

I was not popular in high school, I know every actress says that, but really, I was a big geek.

Paramount sent them nine-foot-high (theater lobby) cutouts of me. They say, "You don't have to come home, we've got you in every room of the house!"

Most of the time, people will just pass me by, or if they do realize, they'll say something like, "My girlfriend said that was you, but I didn't believe her."

I did (training in) tennis, ballet, swing dancing, piano, art class and etiquette. I also did French dialect, but then it was mixing me up with my Southern dialect, so we stuck to Southern!

I wanted to be a secretary, I love paper clips and staplers.

If I hurt someone, if I were to accidentally poke someone's eye out, I would laugh. And then I'd say, 'I'm sorry, I really do feel bad,' but then I'm on the floor rolling.

Yeah. I still live in Canada, so it's not quite the same. And when I'm in L.A., I'm in a car; you don't have the contact with the public. It's not so bad. It's still pretty much the same. I still feel pretty normal-ish.

I've been very lucky so far. I haven't had any bad experiences as far as fan encounters. They don't really recognize me. I think it has to do with my hair. I change it all the time. I like changing my hair color and sometimes it's just not for a role. Usually, I just do it for me.

I guess each relationship is different. That's what I love about relationships. Even when they end, you've learned so very much, so much to take into your next relationship and to take into your life. It's the greatest thing that comes out of an ending - so it depends on the person - On what she learned about herself when her relationship with Ryan Gosling ended.

I would love to have kids someday; I actually can't imagine not having them. My parents have been married for 36 years. They [Lance, a mover, and Sandy, a nurse] have a pretty honest, straightforward relationship that I hope to have myself. - On having her own kids someday.

You never really know the person you're sleeping beside. You have a right to your secrets, but that's very difficult when you're supposed to be someone's partner. - On marriage as a minefield of secrets, as suggested in Married Life (2007).

What about nudity in films? Nudity for fictional characters is as normal and mundane as eating breakfast. What bothers me is our culture's obsession with nudity. It shouldn't be a big deal, but it is. I think this overemphasis with nudity makes actors nervous. There's the worry about seeing one's body dissected, misrepresented, played and replayed on YouTube. - On nudity in films.

[on director James Toback inviting her to 'workshop a role one-on-one' during the casting process for Harvard Man (2001)] I really didn't want to go. I was so nervous about this show that I was starting because I hadn't done TV before. I wanted to focus on that, but he was so insistent. So I went over to the hotel, went to the room, and he had all of these books and magazines splayed out on the floor. He invited me to sit on the floor which was a bit awkward. Pretty quickly the conversation turned quite sexual and he said, 'You know, I just have to tell you. I have masturbated countless times today thinking about you since we met at your audition.' (...) He started that kind of manipulative talk of, 'How brave are you? How far you are willing to go as an actress? I want to build some intimacy between us because we have to have a very trusting relationship and this is a very difficult part. [Comment: McAdams left the hotel room and wasn't cast later] [Vanity Fair, Oct. 2017]

I'll put on a punk rock T-shirt, a '50s style skirt, and a pair of flip-flops. I like to mesh a whole bunch of things together.