Spider-Man, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man... He could have faced off against the greatest Marvel superheroes, but his fame decided otherwise. Unfortunately for him, Shaquille O’Neal will not be cast in the new Avengers: Doomsday, hitting theaters on December 16 and already having broken a record even before its release, and very likely not in future installments either. Yet, the NBA legend dreams of a role in the Avengers universe.

Shaq O’Neal Wants to Play in a Marvel Movie

During an interview with Variety journalists, the basketball star opened up about his difficulty finding a place in the Hollywood industry. According to Shaq O’Neal, his notoriety and giant physique are real obstacles when he tries to embody a character on screen: "I would love to play more action roles, but the bigwigs in Hollywood told us I was too imposing."

The NBA star also explained that producers were afraid of what viewers would think when seeing him in a role other than himself: "What they mean is that when I appear on screen, everyone will say: ‘Oh, it’s Shaq!’" while giving a concrete example: "If I play a doctor, my character won't be credible."

The NBA Star Rejected Multiple Times

Shaq O’Neal, now 54 years old, has auditioned numerous times hoping to land a role in an Avengers film, but in vain; the answer is always negative. In 2018, the athlete had already told Entertainment Weekly: "They told me: ‘Shaq, we love you and we'd be thrilled to have you in the movie, but if your head appears on screen, people will say: ‘Hey, it's Shaq!’"

The man who played the superhero Steel in Kenneth Johnson's Steel in 1997 has thus come to terms with the reality: his face is far too well-known to join the Marvel universe. As a result, Shaq O'Neal has set a new goal: to act with Dwayne Johnson. On Variety, he humorously stated: "I want to shoot a movie with The Rock so I can beat him up." So there you have it!

As a reminder, Shaq O’Neal has regularly played himself in cinema, such as in Scary Movie 4, The Year of the Yao, or When in Rome, but also on television, with series like My Wife and Kids, For Your Love, Fresh Off the Boat, or more recently Running Wild with Bear Grylls.