Marvel rejected Shaquille O'Neal, as former NBA star reveals why he'll never fulfill dream of becoming actor
Executives loved the idea of working with him but believed audiences would never stop seeing the NBA legend
Shaquille O’Neal spent his basketball career using his enormous presence to overwhelm opponents. In Hollywood, that same unmistakable presence has created a problem he never expected.
The four-time NBA champion has revealed that he tried for years to secure a place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe , including pursuing an appearance in an Avengers movie, but was ultimately told that audiences would struggle to forget they were watching Shaq .
Speaking to Variety while promoting his Dunkman professional dunking league, O’Neal explained that Hollywood executives have repeatedly identified his celebrity as an obstacle when considering him for traditional acting roles.
“I would love to do more action roles but we were told by top Hollywood executives that I’m too big, and what they mean by that is when I pop up on the screen everyone will go, ‘Oh, that’s Shaq!’ So, if I’m trying to play a doctor or anything, my character won’t be believable,” O’Neal said.
At 7-foot-1, O’Neal was already one of the NBA’s most recognizable figures before expanding into television, advertising, music and entertainment. His personality became almost as famous as his dominance with the Los Angeles Lakers , making anonymity on screen virtually impossible.
Marvel gave Shaq brutally simple explanation
That became especially frustrating when O’Neal pursued the franchise he most wanted to join.
The former Lakers, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat center had publicly expressed his interest in appearing in an Avengers movie years earlier. Eventually, he received a direct explanation for why Marvel was reluctant.
“I wanted to be in the ‘Avengers’ and they were like, ‘Shaq, we fuckin’ love you and we’d love to put you in, but if your face pops up on screen people are going to go, ‘Hey, that’s Shaq!’” O’Neal added.
“He said it truthfully, and I was like, alright… I guess my face is too bigtime.”
It's an unusual problem considering Marvel has incorporated some of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars, including Robert Redford, Sylvester Stallone, Angelina Jolie, Christian Bale and Harrison Ford .
O’Neal , however, has already experienced life as a superhero. He starred as John Henry Irons in the 1997 DC Comics adaptation Steel , one year after leading Kazaam .
His movie career didn't end there. Shaq has appeared in projects including Scary Movie 4, The House Bunny, The LEGO Movie and What Men Want , while developing a long-running screen relationship with Adam Sandler. He's also set to appear in Grown Ups 3 .
Next Hollywood target chosen
Missing out on Marvel hasn't completely ended O’Neal ’s ambitions. Instead, the 54-year-old already knows which action star he wants standing opposite him and that is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson .
“I want to do a movie with The Rock so I can beat him up,” O’Neal said.
Asked whether he genuinely believed he could defeat Johnson , Shaq delivered an answer entirely in keeping with the confidence that defined his NBA career: “Oh, easy! Barbecue chicken.”
Marvel may believe O’Neal is too recognizable to disappear inside one of its characters. His next Hollywood opportunity may therefore need to do the opposite: build the character around the personality audiences already know.
