Shaquille O'Neal Reveals Real Reason He Starred in 4 of Adam Sandler's Films (Exclusive)

Shaquille O'Neal became a legendary name through his success on the basketball court, but he's [...]

Shaquille O'Neal became a legendary name through his success on the basketball court, but he's also shown fans he's skilled at many other things — including acting. The former Lakers player has become a rather comical character in a slew of Adam Sandler's films, including Grown Ups 2, Jack and Jill, Blended and most recently the Netflix release of Hubie Halloween. However, it's not by mistake that the 48-year-old has appeared in multiple projects for Sandler. In fact, it's an interesting story he tells PopCulture.com exclusively.

Sharing in an episode of our series, PopCulture @Home, O'Neal reveals the real reason for his guest spot in Sandler's movies, admitting it dates all the way back to his early days on the court. "Crazy thing about the Adam Sandler movies — he used to sit there with Jack Nicholson, I used to always — especially after I scored a bucket and the crowd goes crazy — I'd be like, 'Adam, give me a movie!' He would say, 'Win a championship first,'" O'Neal recalled happily of their back-and-forth banter. O'Neal goes on to add that once he finally won a few championships, Sandler kept his promise but O'Neal admitted by the time Sandler gave him a call about it, he had actually forgotten.

"He called me up one day and said, 'Shaq, you got four championships, I owe you four movies,'" he said, noting that he's officially been in four of Sandler's films. While it's unclear if O'Neal will appear in any more of the filmmaker's projects, the former Saturday Night Live alum recently announced he would greenlight a Happy Gilmore sequel. The 54-year-old and Happy Gilmore co-star Christopher McDonald appeared on The Dan Patrick Show, talking about the movie turning 25 this year. When Sandler was asked by Patrick if there would be a second one coming, he gave viewers a little teaser to look forward to.

"Yes. Yes, you can green light this," Sandler said when Patrick asked if he can give the go-ahead to the film. However, Sandler may have spoken too soon as he soon backtracked a bit saying. "It has not been discussed but it has certainly been discussed on the internet," he said. "Believe me, that Senior Tour idea, it would be so amazing."

Meanwhile, O'Neal has been busy with his General commercials he's become popularly known for. In fact, the company has been focusing on creating a new look for their commercials as a way to let potential customers know they're a great insurance company to use. "I've been working with the General for a long time and I've always known they're a quality insurance company," O'Neal said before admitting that when he first started driving, he didn't know what insurance was until he got pulled over and the cop noted that he needed insurance. "I wanted to let the world know that, 'Hey, you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get quality assurance. The General is there for you.'"

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