Renee Rapp is starring as Regina George in the new movie musical version of Mean Girls, and she was amazed to win the approval of the actress who played the role in the original film.
Rachel McAdams portrayed Regina, a rich, popular mean girl and leader of a clique known as The Plastics, in the 2004 film. She told Entertainment Tonight that Rapp, 23, was definitely the right choice to bring the character back to life in the new movie.
“I don’t think she can do any wrong,” McAdams, 45, said. “She is amazing. She’s already got me beat with that voice. I’m just excited to see her incarnation. It’s such a great character. It’s so much fun to play. I hope she has a great time with it. I can’t wait to see it.”
Rapp was overjoyed watching the video of McAdams praising her.
“She’s so cool. She’s so sick. I saw this and I was so geeked,” she told ET. “I love her. I’m obsessed with her.”
Rapp previously played Regina in the Mean Girls Broadway musical from 2019-2020, and she said she’s matured since playing the role on stage.
“It’s very different ’cause when I was doing it on Broadway I was 18, 19 and now I’m 23, 24, so I’m a different person,” Rapp added. “I also think the cinematic medium is more catered to the acting that I like to do. I like the intimacy and I like the nuance that you don’t necessarily get on stage.”
Rapp hopes she can emulate McAdams’ performance in the original Mean Girls, and she told People in April that in addition to McAdams’ acting ability, she also loves her personality.
“She’s so amazing,” Rapp said. “And she’s also just so — she just is so classy, which I actually find is probably the biggest difference between the two of us. I feel like she’s very kept and, like, ta-da-da, and I feel very relaxed and say whatever comes to mind.”
Rapp left the Broadway show after a year, and she previously told The Guardian in August she was bullied and was the victim of body-shaming from other people involved with the show.
People on the production “would say some vile … things to me about my body,” Rapp said. She revealed she was struggling with an eating disorder which further complicated starring in the Broadway show.
“Eating disorders don’t just go away and like, you’re healed, like: ‘Sorry, I can eat again, ha ha!’ It’s a lifelong thing,” she explained. “There are battles with addiction and whatever everywhere. I still struggle with it, but at least my parents know that I’ve been taken out of environments that were really harmful to my sickness, which is awesome and a huge win.”
Mean Girls will open in theaters January 12, 2024.
