Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling played lovers in 2004's The Notebook, but didn't begin their off-screen romance until "quite a while after the movie," she says.

And even though McAdams wasn't with Gosling, 26, on Oscar night – she was working, so the Best Actor nominee for Half Nelson brought his sister and mother – she tells Elle magazine in its April issue, "He did such an amazing job" in the movie.

The actress, 30, says she admires her boyfriend of two years for his work ethic.

"He never does the same thing twice. He's very brave. I don't think he sees the point unless he can find out what he's made of every time," she says. "He just doesn't back off. He goes into everything from that place."

Clearly, Gosling's dedication has rubbed off on McAdams. "I'm not going to make movies just to make movies," she says. According to Elle, she turned down parts in Mission: Impossible III and Casino Royale, as well roles that went to Anne Hathaway in both The Devil Wears Prada and the upcoming Get Smart.

"I have to be passionate about it," the Wedding Crashers star says of taking a role. "And at the same time, I can get very distracted when I'm working, and I like to get back to my life a lot."

And what about the ubiquitous claim that she's "the next Julia Roberts"? McAdams says modestly, "There's always that need to turn everything into something you can recognize."