Myers was a huge hit in his role as Austin Powers

Dieter is based on a German talk show character created by the Canadian comic on Saturday Night Live.

He says he needed more time to fix the script, which was "fundamentally flawed" and could not meet the studio's deadline.

Last week, producer Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment company filed yet another lawsuit, this time for $30m (19.8m), suggesting Myers accepted $500,000 (�330,000) of his fee in exchange for a promise to work on the movie.

'Greed'

Myers' counter-suit, filed at Los Angeles Superior Court by his lawyer, describes the case as "a classic example of a movie studio... placing greed above artistic integrity".

He claims Grazer and Universal executive Stacy Snider told him the script was "good enough" and they could all make "huge amounts of money" out of it.

In an earlier statement issued by his publicist, he said: "I cannot in good conscience accept $20m and cheat movie-goers who pay their hard-earned money to see my work by making a movie with an unacceptable script."

Myers also filed claims for assault, abuse of process and invasion of privacy, saying a Universal representative "stalked" him.

He alleged the representative chased him "in a threatening manner down dark, winding and unlit streets".

A Universal spokesman said: "We fully expected a cross-claim and it has no merit."