Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#796
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Rachel McAdams works on versatility rather than volume, and the catalogue keeps proving that the quieter choice was the correct one.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Rachel McAdams appears in 32 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Rachel. The Notebook is the clearest case: a film rated 8.1 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for comedy, horror, thriller. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Sam Raimi, Brad Baruh, David Dobkin and others, Rachel McAdams helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
The Notebook (2004) as Allie Hamilton · About Time (2013) as Mary · Spotlight (2015) as Sacha Pfeiffer
Career snapshot
Ranked #796 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
32
2002–2026
Career length
24 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.1
The Notebook
Average Nutevio score
6.9
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.9
About Time
Most frequent director
Sam Raimi
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Sam Raimi
Most common genre
Drama
16 titles
Average runtime
1h 50m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.1
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.7
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2020s
7.0 average MV
The 2020s are where the work and the material meet. Send Help, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2020s
7.0
Across 5 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2020s
7.0
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Sherlock Holmes, The Time Traveler's Wife, State of Play.
Most productive era
2010s
15 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 6.86 films | 6.79 films | 7.21 film |
| Action | 7.41 film | 7.43 films | 7.41 film |
| Thriller | 6.62 films | 6.51 film | 7.11 film |
| Comedy | 6.56 films | 6.64 films | 6.93 films |
| Crime | 6.32 films | 6.81 film | — |
| Romance | 6.75 films | 6.87 films | — |
| Horror | — | — | 7.11 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2002The Hot Chick
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Jessica.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2004The Notebook
8.1 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026Send Help
The current state of the argument, as Linda Liddle.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
32 of 32 films
as Allie Hamilton
Directed by Nick Cassavetes
as Mary
Directed by Richard Curtis
as Sacha Pfeiffer
Directed by Tom McCarthy
as Dr. Christine Palmer
Directed by Scott Derrickson
as Paige Collins
Directed by Michael Sucsy
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
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The defining work
#1
Allie Hamilton
The Notebook (2004)
Performance score8.3
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Allie Hamilton gives Rachel McAdams a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Mary
About Time (2013)
Performance score8.2
About Time asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Mary is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Sacha Pfeiffer
Spotlight (2015)
Performance score8.1
Spotlight asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Sacha Pfeiffer is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Dr. Christine Palmer
Doctor Strange (2016)
Performance score8.0
Doctor Strange asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dr. Christine Palmer is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Allie Hamilton
Start here. The Notebook is the clearest statement of what Rachel McAdams does — accessible, 123 minutes, and rated 8.1 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Rachel at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
The Vow (2012)
Keeps the romance register of The Notebook but asks for a colder reading of it.
About Time (2013)
Keeps the romance register of The Vow but asks for a colder reading of it.
Spotlight (2015)
Keeps the drama register of About Time but asks for a colder reading of it.
Doctor Strange (2016)
A deliberate change of key after Spotlight — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Guy Ritchie
Director
2 films together
Notably Sherlock Holmes
David Dobkin
Director
2 films together
Notably Wedding Crashers
Sam Raimi
Director
2 films together
Notably Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Tom Brady
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hot Chick
Nick Cassavetes
Director
1 film together
Notably The Notebook
Mark Waters
Director
1 film together
Notably Mean Girls
Wes Craven
Director
1 film together
Notably Red Eye
Thomas Bezucha
Director
1 film together
Notably The Family Stone
Neil Burger
Director
1 film together
Notably The Lucky Ones
Kevin Macdonald
Director
1 film together
Notably State of Play
Robert Schwentke
Director
1 film together
Notably The Time Traveler's Wife
Roger Michell
Director
1 film together
Notably Morning Glory
Woody Allen
Director
1 film together
Notably Midnight in Paris
Michael Sucsy
Director
1 film together
Notably The Vow
Terrence Malick
Director
1 film together
Notably To the Wonder
Richard Curtis
Director
1 film together
Notably About Time
Wim Wenders
Director
1 film together
Notably Every Thing Will Be Fine
Antoine Fuqua
Director
1 film together
Notably Southpaw
Cameron Crowe
Director
1 film together
Notably Aloha
Mark Osborne
Director
1 film together
Notably The Little Prince
Tom McCarthy
Director
1 film together
Notably Spotlight
Scott Derrickson
Director
1 film together
Notably Doctor Strange
John Francis Daley
Director
1 film together
Notably Game Night
Brad Baruh
Director
1 film together
Notably Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Sam Raimi
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessGuy Ritchie
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Sherlock HolmesDavid Dobkin
Director
2 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Wedding CrashersNick Cassavetes
Director
1 film together · 8.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The NotebookRichard Curtis
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
About TimeTom McCarthy
Director
1 film together · 7.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SpotlightScott Derrickson
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Doctor StrangeMark Osborne
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Little PrinceWoody Allen
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Midnight in ParisAntoine Fuqua
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SouthpawMark Waters
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Mean GirlsMichael Sucsy
Director
1 film together · 7.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The VowBrad Baruh
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Robert Schwentke
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Time Traveler's WifeJohn Francis Daley
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Game NightKevin Macdonald
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
State of PlayRoger Michell
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Morning GloryNeil Burger
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Lucky OnesWes Craven
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Red EyeTom Brady
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Hot ChickThomas Bezucha
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Family StoneTerrence Malick
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
To the WonderCameron Crowe
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
AlohaWim Wenders
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Every Thing Will Be FineSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
The Notebook
as Allie Hamilton
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
The Notebook
as Allie Hamilton
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
The Notebook
as Allie Hamilton
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Marvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
as Self - Dr. Christine Palmer
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Notebook
as Allie Hamilton
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Rachel McAdams has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
24 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Drama Legend
Awarded
16 catalogue titles in drama, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
The Little Prince
as The Mother (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Sherlock Holmes
as Irene Adler
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Disobedience
as Esti Kuperman
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Game Night
as Annie
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Doctor Strange
as Dr. Christine Palmer
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
as Dr. Christine Palmer
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
The Lucky Ones
as Colee Dunn
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Doctor Strange
as Dr. Christine Palmer
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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Bonnie Hunt
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David Krumholtz
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Cillian Murphy
Built a career in the same territory: drama and history
Have your say
Community
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Our readers argue about this one. Make your case, or read the ranked debate already in progress.
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Reference
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