You’ve got to hand it to Shaquille O’Neal. He basically took the “Yes And” approach to acting in the mid-1990s through early 2000s. There wasn’t a single project it seemed like he said no to, whether it’s popping up in Good Burger or showing up at wrestling events (like a lot).

Some of those are unforgettable in their own way, and you don’t need anyone at this point to make any more Kazaam jokes, or point out that it seems like Shaq has a signed agreement with Happy Madison to do a cameo in at least 50 feature films.

It’s the stuff that we may have let fall by the wayside which allowed Shaq to really shine. His commitment to appearing in Nickelodeon shows and movies was downright awe-inspiring. It made him an even more marketable athlete (which he already was to begin with), but it had a whole generation hooked on him. He’d never resist a chance to co-host, make a guest appearance, cameo, do an interview or a commercial.

Shaq knew how important his name and likeness was, even if he diluted that value somewhat by the sheer volume of appearances he made. Here are a few times Shaq showed up that you maybe forgot about because our brains are fallible, and the computers will eventually take over anyway:

In Living Color

This episode of In Living Color is a great one because it’s an NBA-themed episode with one heck of a special guests list. Where else will you find Danny Manning and James Worthy in the same sketch comedy show?

What takes this over the top is that Shaq decided to do a Fire Marshal Bill impersonation. I wonder if they asked him to do it or if it was his idea.

“Sorry, guys. I can’t be there for the show itself, but I swear, I’ll make it up to you. I’m going to do Fire Marshal Bill!”

“No, Mr. O’Neal. That’s okay. We don’t…”

“Pish posh! It’s no trouble at all. I already have the wig!”

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Maybe this one is cheating because I definitely have not forgotten that Shaq was in Curb. Larry stretches his legs out and accidentally trips Shaq during a game, and everybody thinks it was on purpose because Larry is a Knicks fan.

Nobody wants anything to do with Larry because he tripped Shaq, and this is exactly what Larry has always wanted in the first place, so he’s super happy about it. But he goes down to the hospital to give Shaq some Seinfeld tapes (yes, tapes) because he heard that Shaq is a big fan of the show.

This leads to possibly Shaq’s best acting performance, when he and his TV girlfriend – who just so happens to be Lana from Archer – argue about peanut butter being a diary product.

Aaron Carter’s “That’s How I Beat Shaq” video

Most famously known as Nick Carter’s younger brother and that kid who sang “Aaron’s Party,” Aaron Carter had a song that was essentially just him telling the story of how he beat Shaq at basketball. The twist, of course, is that it was all a dream, but he still has on an O’Neal jersey at the end of it. Wild stuff.

Sports Theater with Shaquille O’Neal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr44M4V_YEw

This was a short-lived show on, you guessed it, Nickelodeon, where Shaq hosted these hour-long movies that were sports-themed. They weren’t just about basketball; there was an episode about football and an episode about soccer, for instance. And in case you were wondering, Kenan Thompson was prominently featured. The main character from the “4 Points” episode, Robert Ri’Chard, would work with Shaq again in another show on the list.

Cousin Skeeter

You may have forgotten about Cousin Skeeter, but that’s more of a you problem. For those who were “outside” or “had friends” or participated in “after school activities,” it was another show on Nick. Robert Ri’Chard plays Bobby, and his cousin named Skeeter moves in with his family. It’s got a laugh track, and it’s a typical family sitcom, except for the fact that Skeeter is a puppet voiced by Bill Bellamy.

Shaq appears in a basketball-themed episode where Skeeter decides to start playing basketball again to help Bobby get better at it, but Skeeter is way too good and makes Bobby look bad. If I remember correctly, Skeeter gets caught up in the fame and loses sight of why he started playing in the first place. If that’s not the plot, it’s pretty dang close.

Arli$$

Oh, Arli$$. This show about a sports agent played by Robert Wuhl got seven seasons. Seven. Freaks and Geeks got one season. Enlisted got one season. Television is dumb.

Lots of sports people showed up over the years, including Barry Bonds, Eric Karros, Al Michaels, Bob Costas, Curt Shilling, Rich Eisen, and Kobe Bryant.

Shaq was one of those sports people, and he was in two episodes.

The Parkers

https://youtu.be/d_u9rUpuSio?t=14m15s

I desperately miss the era of spin-off shows on UPN more than I thought I would. They’d show re-runs of The Parkers nestled in a block somewhere between Fresh Prince, The Steve Harvey Show and The Simpsons locally by me, so I caught quite a few episodes.

Shaq also was in two episodes of this show, and his most memorable line is probably, “What are you, Oprah?” They also make fun of his free throw shooting.

I get that O’Neal was in L.A., so it was easy for him to hop over to a studio, but how did he have so much time to do this? He also found time to be in two episodes of My Wife and Kids!

Mo’Nique’s Fat Chance

I don’t know what this is.

I have to appreciate Shaq’s commitment and drive toward acting. It’s probably the same reason he won three NBA Finals MVPs, made 15 All-Star teams and averaged almost 24 points and 11 rebounds over his career. I guess he wasn’t afraid to break character, either.