"Les Miserables" stars step out in London for premiere

Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman braved the London cold on Wednesday to walk the red carpet for the world premiere of "Les Miserables."

Hathaway, wearing a white, pearl-studded gown by Givenchy, said at the premiere that playing the role of Fantine in the film adaptation of "Les Mis" was a dream job she would have done anything to land, describing the gig as "the sort of job you should give your paycheck back" for.

The 30-year-old actress lost 25 pounds and cut her hair to play the role of a struggling, sickly mother forced into prostitution in 1800s Paris in Tom Hooper's screen adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic.

Hathaway told Vogue magazine that she became fixated on losing the weight.

"I had to be obsessive about it -- the idea was to look near death. Looking back on the whole experience -- and I don't judge it in any way -- it was definitely a little nuts," she said in the magazine's December issue. "It was definitely a break with reality, but I think that's who Fantine is anyway."

She added that the role left her in a "state of deprivation, physical and emotional."

Joined by Jackman and other costars Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried, Hathaway signed autographs and met fans in central London at the event.

"Les Miserables" opens in U.S. theaters on Christmas Day.