Shaquille O’Neal revealed that he declined the role of the later Oscar-nominated film because he didn’t want to portray a black man in “Down South.”

Shaquille O’Neal If he didn’t turn down his role in one of 1999’s most acclaimed films, he could have been the winner of the NBA Championship and starred in an Oscar-nominated film.

“That was my role in’Green Mile’. I turned it down,” O’Neill told the host of the “Merchand and Orlando Sports Media Podcast.” Until then, O’Neill had only advertised two movie credits, “Cather” in 1996 and “Steel” the following year.

If he accepted the role of John Coffey, a falsely convicted man with supernatural healing powers during the Great Depression, he was cast with Tom Hanks. Probably. Instead, a former Los Angeles Lakers star turned down the role, citing that the historical drama would have cast him as a black man during some of America’s most nightmarish years.

“I did not do it Want to He plays a southern African-American man during slavery, “he said. The era of slavery officially ended with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment on December 6, 1865, and continued for decades with reconstruction and the southern United States.

Instead, Coffey’s role became similarly statue-like actor Michael Clarke Duncan — O’Neill was 7 feet 1 and Duncan was 6 feet 5.

“Michael Clarke Duncan did a great job and I think he made the right decision because he did much better than I did,” O’Neill said. “But I was offered that role.” Duncan continued to receive the Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a healer larger than the real thing. Duncan died just 12 years later at the age of 54.

As for O’Neill, he won the NBA Championship three times in a row.Earlier this year, he was a big companion Missed millions of pockets Almost at the same time as the “Green Mile” when he passed a favorable franchise agreement with the up-and-coming coffee chain Starbucks. But after all, it’s no exaggeration to say that O’Neill, who is said to be worth $ 400 million, still worked for himself, even without these two slam dunk opportunities.

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