"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"
About this Quote
The surface intent is practical career management: work with great directors, pick scripts for story, resist the noise. The subtext is a quiet refusal of the algorithm of prestige. “Great directors” signals taste and seriousness, but it’s immediately counterweighted by a plea for “sanity,” as if excellence is inseparable from the risk of spiraling. She’s acknowledging how quickly “the right reasons” can get contaminated - by awards calculus, by brand strategy, by fear of disappearing. The line suggests that even an A-lister has to constantly audit her own motives.
Context matters because McAdams has a filmography that ping-pongs between crowd-pleasers and more auteur-leaning work, and she’s famously not a nonstop visibility machine. So this isn’t a star selling hustle; it’s a working actor articulating boundaries. The real cultural tell is how “pressure” and “sanity” sit beside “great directors” as equal priorities. In 2026’s attention economy, that’s not just personal wellness talk; it’s a subtle critique of an industry that treats burnout as the admission price for legitimacy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work-Life Balance |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
McAdams, Rachel. (2026, January 16). 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. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-want-to-work-with-great-directors-and-try-not-109460/
Chicago Style
McAdams, Rachel. "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." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-want-to-work-with-great-directors-and-try-not-109460/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"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." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-want-to-work-with-great-directors-and-try-not-109460/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

