Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t seem to abide by the age-old saying ‘a jack of all trades is a master of none’. He’s dipped his toe in so many facets of life that it’s difficult to keep track. One such is the film and TV industry, with him playing a mafia boss in Amazon Prime’s ‘Gravesend’. It didn’t take long for fans to throng him on set of the show either.
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Ever since he graced the silver screen with ‘Blue Chips’, he’s had an affinity for filmmaking. The reception his movies have gotten have been mixed to say the least with films like Kazaam and Steel not doing well commercially or critically.
Shaq was initially hesitant for a couple movies. “I said, ‘I’m not a movie star.’ (They said) $3 million. (I said) I’ll do it. I just had to play a basketball player, I think I can get away with that,” said O’Neal on his role in ‘Blue Chips’.
Following his 90s spree in Hollywood, Shaq took his pedal off the gas and focused on his basketball, TV career on ‘Inside the NBA’, and diversifying his business portfolio. Fast-forward to present day he’s returned as ‘Mustafa’ in ‘Gravesend’s’ season 3.
Of course, having a man of Shaq’s stature both physically and popularity-wise, must’ve been a bit troublesome while filming. William DeMeo, a star on the show, recalled how difficult it could get on set at times.
“Can’t control the crowd. You can’t control it,” said DeMeo. “You put Shaq on the boardwalk, the cops said, ‘We can’t handle it. Can’t handle it.’ When Shaq’s on set in Brooklyn in a place like Coney Island, there’s 60-70 cops just for him.”
This certainly must’ve hampered production or halted it for a bit. No hard feelings however as DeMeo had only nice things to say about the ‘Big Aristotle’, saying, “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” while speaking on the love Shaq receives from fans.
Shaq has been quite appreciative of this opportunity, expanding upon how it challenges him to play an actual character and not just a version of himself. “I had the opportunity to play a lot of roles, mostly Shaq. This is the first time in a while I get to play somebody different.”
