The actor who saved ‘The Green Mile’ from disaster by turning it down: “That was my role”
Proving that lightning is more than capable of striking twice under the right circumstances, The Green Mile became Frank Darabont’s second consecutive Stephen King adaptation set largely within the walls of a prison that became a critical darling and awards season favourite.
Unlike The Shawshank Redemption, it didn’t flop at the box office and became the highest-grossing movie based on the prolific author’s work after hauling in almost $290 million at the box office, a record it would hold for almost two decades before being dislodged by Andy Muschietti’s It.
The heart-wrenching story, which was nominated for four Academy Awards, including ‘Best Picture’, featured an ensemble cast firing on all cylinders. Only one of them earned Oscar recognition, though, with Michael Clarke Duncan gaining a well-deserved ‘Best Supporting Actor’ nod for a career-defining performance.
The bodyguard-turned-actor only had a few minor credits to his name before The Green Mile, most notably in Michael Bay’s Armageddon, and it was his co-star, Bruce Willis, who helped him land the part. When the star caught wind of an open casting call for a character that fit Duncan’s towering profile, he personally introduced him to Darabont.
He delivered a touching, affecting, and hugely emotional turn, with John Coffey’s final scene still capable of leaving audiences reduced to tear-stained husks, no matter how many times they’ve seen it. And to think, the part was almost played by someone who’d made a solid job of establishing themselves as one of the decade’s very worst actors.
In his defence, as meagre as it is, Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t an actor by trade. He was one of basketball’s biggest stars and a world-famous athlete, but he couldn’t emote his way out of a paper bag. To put it lightly, his previous two attempts at carrying a motion picture didn’t go too well, and The Green Mile dodged a bullet when he turned down the gig that Duncan brought to such memorable life.
“That was my role in Green Mile, and I turned it down,” he explained. “I didn’t want to play the down south, African-American guy during slavery. 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.”
It’s easy to see why O’Neal was on the list; standing in excess of seven feet tall, there wouldn’t have been any camera trickery required to portray the convict’s hulking dimensions. He also had acting experience, even if taking top billing in a pair of unanimously panned flops, Kazaam and Steel, weren’t encouraging.
Could he have done solid work in The Green Mile? Maybe, maybe not, but hiring a Razzie nominee, not to mention a global superstar, would have been a massive risk that could have sunk the entire film if he wasn’t up to the task, never mind shattering the immersion by seeing Shaq attempting to play it straight opposite Tom Hanks. Instead, Duncan got the nod, and it’s impossible to imagine anyone else playing Coffey.
