Kevin James was part of an ensemble of comedians who made the 2013 movie Grown Ups 2 a riot fest, right from start to finish. Starring the likes of Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Salma Hayek, the movie also saw a hilarious cameo from none other than NBA icon Shaquille O’Neal, who has had a bit of an acting career himself.
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The LA Lakers legend played the role of Officer Fluzoo and had a hilarious couple of scenes that seem to have impressed his more acclaimed co-stars as well. Back in 2013, speaking during the promotion of Grown Ups 2 on the Dan Patrick Show, James commented on the kind of impact O’Neal made via his cameo.
The actor revealed that he was left annoyed with the fact that Shaq seemingly had no trouble with acting.
“It pissed me off because usually when you are usually good at one thing, okay enough already know know? And he was fantastic obviously at basketball and he comes into our world and you are thinking, alright, now we can show him who’s boss,” James revealed.
Hence, while the actor was hoping to show off in front of Shaq, he instead found that O’Neal was seemingly a talented actor as well. James even thought that Shaq was one of the funniest parts of the overall movie.
“He honestly is probably one of the funniest in the movie, and it really, it honestly annoys me at some level…Ask Sandler about it, it pissed me off, really did,” he said, concluding by claiming that even Adam Sandler had a similar opinion when he saw Shaq act his scenes out.
Hence, rather than being frustrated with his acting skills, Shaq’s fellow castmates were left stunned by the ease with which he acted in the movie. That of course, comes as little surprise, considering Shaq is one of the most multi-talented personalities related to the NBA.
The Lakers legend made his acting debut back in 1996 with Kazaam. Although the movie flopped at the box office, Shaq must have gained experience from it, which the Grown Up 2 cast witnessed on their set. The Lakers legend was also seen starring in movies such as Steel, and Uncle Drew, during this time.
Like Shaq’s most of the films, Grown Ups 2 also had mixed reviews from the viewers some even claiming it as as the worst Sandler movie ever made. Although Shaq had very little to do with the success or failure of the film due to his short role, the Lakers legend will definitely be eyeing that one role that will give him grand success in Hollywood.
Shaquille O’Neal wants to return to acting soon
Following multiple box office failures, Shaq seems to have found his niche as a comedy actor, and has been impressive in a range of cameos over the years, Grown Ups 2 included.
While the last movie he acted in was the 2020 Hubie Halloween, O’Neal recently talked about making a return to acting, in November. “I actually had three meetings today. I wanted to be respectful of everybody during the strike, but I came out to Los Angeles for this event and I set up some meetings here,” he said, speaking to The Messenger.
It might be fair to say that the kind of success Shaq has had via his cameo roles has led to regular acting work as well. While it has been a considerable time since he was last seen in a movie, that is set to change in the near future.
