Shaquille O'Neal Reveals Why Marvel Turned Him Down For 'Avengers' Role

Even Shaquille O'Neal has a hard time booking acting roles.

The NBA icon recently told Variety that he was not able to book a role in the upcoming "Avengers" film because Hollywood executives believed that he was "too big." O'Neal shared that if he were in the film, fans would go, "Oh, that’s Shaq!" instead of the character he was portraying.

O'Neal told the outlet that he has been trying to work with Marvel for years. He did not disclose whether it was a character that Marvel had already has created in the cinematic universe.

Shaquille O'Neal's TV and Film History

Despite Marvel saying no to the four-time NBA champion, he does have experience if they ever reconsider him. O'Neal formally played the DC superhero "Steel" in the 1997 film.

O'Neal has made several cameos in films and television shows throughout his career, including appearances in "He Got Game," "The Smurfs 2," "Grown Ups 2," "My Wife and Kids," and "The Bernie Mac Show." He even lent his voice in several animated projects like "The Lego Movie," and "Static Shock."

Despite being turned down to play a Marvel character, O'Neal is still positive about his film and TV career. He told Variety that he is interested in playing alongside, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the future, jokingly adding that he "can beat him up."

The two have not starred in a project together but they were at the UFC Hall of Fame together last year and they went viral for a photo they took together. The NBA icon and WWE legend posed for a photo together where fans said that O'Neal's 7'1 height to the actor's 6'5 made him look like Kevin Hart.

“Got me out here looking like Kevin Hart”

— The Rock on his picture with Shaq pic.twitter.com/FO6I1PZEnF
— WrestlingWorldCC (@WrestlingWCC) June 27, 2025

What's Next For Shaq?

While O'Neal is working on his acting pitch, he has his hands busy in another project. He is working on his "Dunkman" league which is the first professional dunking league. Contestants will be competing for a grand prize of $500,000.

The Los Angeles Lakers alum is partnering with Lilly, in partnership with Credit One Bank for the contest. As for media partners, he will be working with Warner Bros. Discovery, who owns TNT and Authentic Brands Group.

He is also working alongside dunk icon Vince Carter, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, popular hoops content creator CashNasty, and host Adam Lefkoe for the project.

Fans can tune in on TNT for the world championships on Aug. 25 at 8 p.m. ET.

Add us as a preferred source on Google