The 48-year-old Oscar-winning actor said that he initially found nothing attractive about his character, the cruel police inspector Javert, reported Digital Spy online.
"Funnily enough, I had a negative response to the idea of it when it first came to me, when (producer) Cameron Mackintosh wanted to have a meeting in London," Crowe said.
"I was actually on my way to Europe for a friend's wedding, so I popped into London and went to the stage show with him and we talked afterwards."
"For me, and this is probably an unpopular attitude to have, considering what we're talking about, but I didn't like the character in the stage show, I didn't respond to it at all. I just thought it was overly simplistic and I couldn't follow why he came to the conclusions he came to, you know?" he added.
Crowe also said that it was director Tom Hooper, who inspired him to sign on for the "Les Miserables" all-star cast.
"When I had my meeting with Tom Hooper I started outlining all these things that I saw as being negatives and my reasons for saying 'Thanks, but no thanks'. And somehow in that meeting with Tom, all of those questions became my responsibility," he said.
Javert has previously been played on the stage, screen and television by Anthony Bate, John Malkovich and Antonio Passy.
The film is now playing in the US and opens in the UK on January 11, 2013.
