Producer Seth Rogen has apologised after reports emerged that a stand-in performer had skin-darkening makeup applied on the set of Good Boys, a children’s adventure film he is producing.

Saying “This shouldn’t have happened, and I’m terribly sorry it did,” Rogen issued a statement after celebrity gossip website TMZ reported that the stand-in – reportedly a “light-skinned African American kid” – was given dark brown makeup, apparently to match the skin tones of 11-year-old actor Keith L Williams, one of the film’s stars.

Rogen added: “I won’t give excuses for why it happened. I’ll just say that as soon I was made aware of it, I ensured we put an end to it – and I give my word that on any project my team and I are involved in, we will take every precaution to make sure something similar does not take place again. I’m engaging in conversations to make sure I find the best way to do that. It’s on me to be proactive. Reacting isn’t enough.”

Good Boys, directed by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, features Room’s Jacob Tremblay as one of a group of kids who skip school in a comedy described as “Stand By Me meets Superbad”. Rogen is one of the producers, along with his regular writing partner Evan Goldberg.