While it may seem as though pretty much everyone from the MCU's past and present will be part of either Avengers: Doomsday or Avengers: Secret Wars, there's one real-world face we assuredly will not see in either of the two Marvel Studios blockbusters: Shaquille O'Neal.
Speaking with Variety about his "Dunkman" league, the Big Diesel spoke a bit about his acting ambitions and how challenging it is to find roles where he isn't playing himself. He says, “I would love to do more action roles but we were told by top Hollywood executives that I’m too big, and what they mean by that is when I pop up on the screen everyone will go, ‘Oh, that’s Shaq!’ So, if I’m trying to play a doctor or anything, my character won’t be believable.”
Considering his immense global popularity, that's a fair assessment. If you see Shaq in a movie, it's hard not to be pulled out of the scene for a second while watching one of the greatest basketball players of all time—and a 7'1" behemoth—grace your screen.
His sheer screen presence has actually cost him a variety of opportunities, none bigger than his dream of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A vocal, longtime fan of the MCU, Shaq spent years campaigning for a part in one of Kevin Feige's films, but it sounds like the studio unfortunately had to turn the big man down. He recalls, “I wanted to be in the ‘Avengers’ and they were like, ‘Shaq, we [frick]in’ love you and we’d love to put you in, but if your face pops up on screen people are going to go, ‘Hey, that’s Shaq!’ He said it truthfully, and I was like, alright… I guess my face is too bigtime.”
The Big Aristotle isn't giving up on his acting dreams just yet, though. He noted that he'd still like to do a movie with Dwayne Johnson for one very specific reason: “I want to do a movie with The Rock so I can beat him up.”
In case you need a refresher, O'Neal is a four-time NBA champion, a three-time NBA Finals MVP, the 2000 League MVP, and the 1993 Rookie of the Year. Throughout his illustrious career, he played for the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Boston Celtics.
His more prominent film and television credits include 1996's Kazaam and the 1997 DC Comics adaptation Steel, where he played John Henry Irons. Outside of those, he's played himself in a number of films, including Good Burger, He Got Game, Freddy Got Fingered, After the Sunset, Scary Movie 4, The House Bunny, Jack and Jill, Thunderstruck, The Lego Movie, What Men Want, and Scary Movie (2026).
He's also partnered with Adam Sandler on several projects, including Grown Ups 2, Blended, and Hubie Halloween, and will reteam with the Sandman for the upcoming Netflix comedy Grown Ups 3.
Shaq is currently a sports analyst on Inside the NBA, appearing alongside Ernie Johnson Jr., Charles Barkley, and Kenny 'The Jet' Smith.
With a few months to go before the NBA season kicks off, Shaq is currently in the midst of a world tour as DJ Diesel.