Godzilla stars hit the red carpet at Leicester Square premiere

Godzilla stars Bryan Cranston, Aaron-Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen mingled with fans in Leicester Square at the film's European premiere last night.

Fans flocked to the centre of London for the star-studded premiere of the $160million remake of the classic 1954 Japanese monster movie.

Olsen is making her Hollywood blockbuster debut after winning plaudits in several indie movie including Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene.

She wore a sheer midnight blue gown by Elie Saab and was accompanied by her fiancé Boyd Holbrook.

Taylor-Johnson, whose character is married to Olsen in the film, was supported on the red carpet by his real-life wife, the director Sam Taylor-Wood, who is currently directing the highly anticipated adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey.

Breaking Bad star Cranston revealed he initially passed on the script but was persuaded to reconsider taking the part, as Taylor-Johnson's father, after realising he was being "a little snobbish".

The 58-year-old, who has won awards for his portrayal of chemistry teacher-turned-meth maker Walter White in the hit TV series, had to be convinced to play Joe Brody after first passing on the part in Gareth Edwards' remake of the 1954 Japanese monster movie.

"I wanted to do something different. I didn't want to do something that can be compared to Breaking Bad. At first I turned the role down because I didn't think Godzilla would be the best thing for me to do. I think I was a little snobbish, to be honest with you," he said.

"The writing in Breaking Bad was so superb and I wanted something to match that, but I thought, 'What a fool. Maybe I'll never find anything to match that. So (I should) do something in a completely different genre but still have a very strong, compelling character-driven arcs."

The film was directed by Welshman Gareth Edwards, best known for his 2010 sci-fi thriller Monsters, which was made on a shoestring budget of just £10,000.