‘I am not ashamed of it, but recent events have caused a change in my heart’
Canadian-American actor Jim Carrey is a household name when it comes to Hollywood.
Over the past 30 years he’s starred in over 50 major productions including The Truman Show, The Mask, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
However the 61-year-old has revealed there’s just film in his entire back catalogue he’s having second thoughts about…
Jim Carrey regrets Kick-Ass role
That’s right…it’s Kick-Ass 2, the 2013 sequel to Mark Millar’s tale about a group of amateur superheroes.
Based on the comic-book of the same name, the Kick-Ass franchise follows teenager Dave Lizewski and his quest to become the a real life superhero.
The sequel, while not nearly as successful as the first instalment, actually stands up pretty well ten years on.
It stars Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes, a textbook over-the-top loud-mouth Carrey character that he plays brilliantly.
Real life events change Carrey’s perspective
A successful franchise, a well-received sequel, a top notch performance from Carrey, so why the regret?
The answer is the Sandy Hook Massacre, a national tragedy in America which saw a lone gunman killing 26 people.
Sandyhook sparked a global debate on violence in movies and video games, causing Carey to rethink his role in the film.
“I did Kick-Ass a month before Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence,” he wrote on Twitter back in June 2013.
He went on to say he’s “not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart.”
Scottish comic book writer Mark Millar, the mind behind the Kick-Ass series, had this to say about Carrey’s comments:
“[I’m] baffled by this sudden announcement as nothing seen in this picture wasn’t in the screenplay 18 months ago…
Yes, the body count is very high, but a movie called Kick-Ass 2 really has to do what it says on the tin. A sequel to the picture that gave us Hit Girl was always going to have some blood on the floor and this should have been no shock to a guy who enjoyed the first movie so much…
Like Jim, I’m horrified by real-life violence (even though I’m Scottish), but Kick-Ass 2 isn’t a documentary. No actors were harmed in the making of this production!”
