(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Jim Sturgess thinks spending time away from his girlfriend makes their relationship stronger.

The actor plays Dexter in the movie adaptation of book One Day, with Anne Hathaway taking the part of his love interest Emma. The two get to know each other at university and the story follows them over the next 20 years.

It's got Jim thinking about love and what it takes to make a relationship work. He's been with musician Mickey O'Brien for seven years and their jobs mean they frequently spend long periods apart.

"It works in your favour a bit because you really miss that person, and you're reconnecting when you're together," he said. "You cherish the times that you're with each other."

The pair work hard to fit into each other's schedules. Mickey plays keyboard for La Roux, but whenever she has time off she's more than happy to go to film sets to be with her beau.

"When she's on tour, she might do two weeks solid then three weeks off, so she'll come and find me wherever I am, or if I'm not making a film and she's on tour, I can go and live out my rock n' roll dream," he laughed. (C) Cover Media