‘They hated each other. And now they’re dating?’ said the film’s director, Nick Cassavetes. Once, during filming, Gosling asked if he could have a stand-in for his reaction shot because he felt McAdams was so uncooperative he couldn’t bear to look at her. Cassavetes refused. A screaming match ensued between the co-stars.

Gosling doesn’t deny this. ‘We inspired the worst in each other. It was a strange experience, making a love story and not getting along with your co-star in any way.’

And then what? I ask.

‘I don’t know what happened ,’ he says. ‘Two years later I saw her in New York and we started getting the idea that maybe we were wrong about each other …’

Although McAdams doesn’t reveal which of her former boyfriends has gone the extra mile, she says: “Someone once went behind my back, got all of my measurements, and had a dress made for me.” (Although unconfirmed, all signs point to Gosling, who has a passion for designing clothes).

And did this gesture win her over? “It certainly did,” she smiles. “I had seen the dress in a window one night when we were walking. I stopped and I was just gazing at it and he did that for me. That was lovely.”