“Shaquille O’Neal turned down a role in Green Mile!”: When the Lakers legend rejected a role in the Oscar winning movie, missing the chance to work with Tom Hanks

Shaquille O’Neal recently reveals about when he turned down a part in ‘Green Mile’, adding that he didn’t want to portray the ‘down-south’ black guy.

Shaquille O’Neal is arguably the most dominant player in the history of the NBA. The 4x NBA champion had the ability to rise and shine above the rest of the competition. In the period between the late ’90s and early 2000s, there was no one more dominant and exciting to watch than Shaq.

Apart from dominating on the court, the ‘Big Diesel’ was almost dominating on the big screen. O’Neal dabbled with acting, starring in the basketball film Blue Chips opposite Nick Nolte in 1994. The former MVP also made numerous appearances in various commercials over the years.

His constant presence on TV makes it seem like the 4x NBA champion has taken many if not all roles he has been offered. However, he recently revealed a role he declined. So, what exactly did he reveal? Read on and find out…

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Shaquille O’Neal says he turned down the role in ‘Green Mile’ but has no regrets.

Shaquille O’Neal has made a name for himself as an actor on the big screen in countless advertisements, TV shows and movies post and during his NBA career. It seems that Shaq has rarely declined a job in the mainstream media due to his constant presence.

However, Shaquille O’Neal recently reveals that this isn’t the case. The NBA Hall-of-Fame center revealed one huge movie role that he turned down.

Via The Marchand and Ourand Sports Media Podcast –

“The Green Mile. That was my role, in Green Mile. I turned it down because I didn’t want to play the down-South African American guy during slavery, you know what I mean? I didn’t want to play that role.”

“But the guy who played it did a wonderful job. He’s no longer with us, he passed away. Michael Clarke Duncan did an excellent job, so I think I made the right decision, because he did way better than I could’ve done. But I got offered that role.”

No offense to Shaq, but The Green Mile would have been a much different film had he ended up as John Coffey. From what we have seen when Shaq played a lead role in movies, Green Mile wouldn’t have been such a big blockbuster if Shaq played the main character.

The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Writing, and Best Sound. For O’Neal, it’s a case of what might have been.

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Shaquille O’Neal did go on to have an illustrious acting career, appearing in over 60 movies. However, none of them even comes close to the success the “Green Mile” had.

Maybe if he did take up the role, his acting career would have completely gone in a different direction. Guess we’ll never know.