Shaq Declined a Major Role in The Green Mile: ‘Didn’t Want to Play’ the ‘African-American Guy During Slavery’

Having played Kazaam, Steel and various roles in Adam Sandler movies, Shaquille O’Neal is no stranger to acting on the big screen. But Shaq had his chance at a role that was eventually nominated for an Oscar and the NBA superstar said no thanks.

Shaq joined Andrew Marchand and John Ourand on their sports media podcast this week, and the four-time NBA champion was asked if he ever turned down a prominent movie role. The answer was shocking.

“That was my role in Green Mile,” Shaq said. “I turned it down.”

Shaq was referring to the role of John Coffey, played by the late Michael Clarke Duncan.

“I didn’t want to play the down-South African American guy during slavery,” Shaq explained. “I didn’t want to play that role. But the guy who played it, Michael Clarke Duncan, did an excellent job. I think I made the right decision because he did way better than I could have done, but I got offered that role.”

Clarke Duncan’s portrayal of Conner was nominated for best supporting actor at the 2000 Academy Awards. Set in the 1930s, the role of Conner featured a man who was wrongly convicted of murdering two young girls and also had supernatural powers to cure illness.

Based on the movie roles Shaq has said yes to in his career, it’s hard to guess how the basketball Hall-of-Famer would have done in The Green Mile.

Shaq’s post playing career has been defined by his role as a basketball analyst alongside Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley on TNT’s Inside the NBA. While he continues to make occasional movie cameos, it would have been interesting to see the path his career might have taken if he accepted a more serious acting role in 1999.

Watch above via Marchand and Ourand