Jim Carrey 'cannot support' violent upcoming film Kick-Ass 2

In the aftermath of school shootings, actor Jim Carrey says he "cannot support" his upcoming violent action film Kick-Ass 2.

The comedic performer has been outspoken on the issue of gun control andhas said in interviewshe is trying to be more conscious of his choice of roles following a series of high-profile U.S. shootings, including at the Sandy Hook ElementarySchool in Newtown, Conn., in December.

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"I did Kick-Ass a month before Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence," Carrey posted online on Sunday.

"My apologies to others [involved] with the film. I am not ashamed of it, but recent events have caused a change in my heart."

In the film's forthcoming August release, Carrey joins the cast as a character named Col. Stars and Stripes, who goes from a life of crime to born-again Christian vigilante.Like the original, the sequel is based on comic books by writer Mark Millar and illustrator John Romita Jr.

Millar responded on Sunday by saying he was surprised by the Canadian-bornactor's comment.

"Jim is a passionate advocate of gun control and I respect both his politics and his opinion, but I'm baffled by this sudden announcement as nothing seen in this picture wasn't in the screenplay 18 months ago," Millar said in a statement.

"Like Jim, I'm horrified by real-life violence ... but Kick-Ass 2 isn't a documentary."

Millar argues that his tale moves beyond the "bloodless body count of most big summer pictures and focuses instead [on] the consequences of violence, whether its the ramifications for friends and family or, as we saw in the first movie, Kick-Ass spending six months in hospital after his first street altercation."

Carrey, seen this year in the film The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, is bestknown for wacky comedies such as Dumb & Dumber, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Bruce Almighty but also for more serious fare like his Golden Globe-winning roles in The Truman Show and Man on the Moon.

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Earlier this spring, the actora father and a grandfather made headlines for an online comedy skit that skewered the U.S. gun lobby and announced plans to publish his first book: the illustrated children's story How Roland Rolls.