Glen Davis Almost Had a Shot at an Oscar

I’m the culturally disconnected guy who didn’t watch The Oscars last night, but WEEI has an interesting piece about how Celtics forward Glen Davis almost landed a role in one of the Best Picture nominees, The Blind Side.↵↵⇥ Back in 2007, Davis was a top candidate for the lead role of Michael Oher in “The Blind Side.” (Bullock won Best Actress for her work in the film Sunday night.) The casting seemed like a perfect fit for Davis, a former high school football player who shared a love of athletics and the arts. He performed in improv shows while playing college basketball at Louisiana State University and enjoyed being on stage. ↵⇥↵⇥So when he was approached to audition for the film at the start of his rookie season with the Celtics, Davis jumped at the opportunity. ↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥“I’ve always wanted to act,” he explained. “I knew about the football player, he played at Ole Miss, and I heard there was a book out about that. So I said, ‘Sure, I’ll try out.’ ”↵⇥

↵↵↵Davis reportedly became one of the top three candidates for the role, but his schedule never allowed Davis to take a meeting with the film’s executives -- let alone actual shooting of the film.↵

↵↵Knowing Davis’ natural personality, it would’ve been strange to see him playing Oher on film. Oher, the high school student, was described as a quiet, introverted boy in the book by Michael Lewis. Knowing Davis’ effusive personality, I’m wondering how many viewers would’ve been distracted by Davis’ presence. ↵

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