Shaquille O'Neal was rejected by Marvel.

The 54-year-old basketball legend would love to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe but admitted he has had trouble convincing Hollywood executives that he can play a role other than himself.

He told Variety: "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.

"I wanted to be in the 'Avengers' and they were like, 'Shaq, we f****** 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."

O'Neal portrayed a DC superhero in 1997's Steel, had a cameo at the end of this year's Scary Movie and will also appear in Grown Ups 3 but his ultimate dream is to co-star with wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne The Rock Johnson.

He said: "I want to do a movie with The Rock so I can beat him up."

When questioned on if he would be able to take down The Rock, he replied: "Oh, easy! Barbecue chicken."

Meanwhile, recently spoke out about how one extraordinary year forced him to maintain a level of focus that helped shape the rest of his career.

During the year of 1996, Shaquille joined the Los Angeles Lakers after four seasons with the Orlando Magic, represented the United States at the Atlanta Olympics, was selected for the NBA's 50th Anniversary Team, released his third studio album, You Can't Stop the Reign, and starred as a genie in the fantasy comedy Kazaam.

Shaquille said: "That was probably one of my years where I had to be focused every day."

He added: "I'm a guy that likes to go up and down with my focus on purpose, of course, because I always like to get away from it and then get back. But that year, there was so much coming, so much expectation, so many opportunities."

Shaquille had established himself as one of basketball's biggest stars with the Orlando Magic after entering the NBA in 1992, but his move to the Lakers in 1996 began the defining period of his playing career.

He said: "I just had to be so focused. But it taught me a lot. It taught me that if you put your mind to something, you can definitely get it done."

Shaquille added: "So the fact that I was able to do that and delegate certain things to certain people and still be a part of that growth, it was a wonderful thing."

The 7ft 1in tall centre subsequently formed one of the NBA's most celebrated partnerships with Kobe Bryant, who was 41 when he died in 2020.

Together they helped the Lakers win three consecutive NBA championships between 2000 and 2002, with Shaquille collecting the NBA Finals MVP award in all three series.

He later won a fourth championship with the Miami Heat in 2006 before ending a 19-season NBA career that also included spells with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.