Rex Features
Crowe, who portrays a journalist uncovering a political conspiracy in Kevin Macdonald's big screen version, told Empire that he would most likely be "angry" if he saw the acclaimed 2003 TV show.
"I was aware of [State Of Play] but haven't seen it. I haven't and I'm not going to see it. It's six hours of finely crafted BBC television and it's not something you can compare, really. It would probably just make me angry if I watched it, because no doubt it's full of really lovely details and lots of cross-connections with characters and stuff.
"Where possible we've done that here, but essentially it's a different form and there's a big difference between two hours and six hours. A huge difference."
Crowe added of his role, played by John Simm in the mini-series: "I'm fascinated by the ambiguity of journalism and how there are supposedly rules that are lived under, but the reality is you are a human being and humans are never objective. They always drag their life into what they do. And journalists are no different."
State Of Play is out in UK cinemas on April 24.
